Written by Melissa Jouben and Mark Henely
Melissa: The final week of Weekend Update: Summer Edition and we finally get a cold open! I’d almost say they should have utilized these the past two weeks, but maybe that would have meant three weeks of Alec Baldwin’s rapidly outdated Trump impression, and I know I wouldn’t entirely be on board with that. The sketch was straightforward – a parody of Trump’s Phoenix campaign rally from earlier this week which doesn’t really have any unique insights, merely goes in with a highlighter and circles everything you’ve probably already read or heard about the event by now.
Later in the episode, Colin plays actual video from the rally, and I can’t help but realize how the Donald Trump impression we just saw moments earlier is just utterly ineffective. It’s a softer parody of Donald Trump than he is of himself. Of course if you’re looking for a sketch MVP, the answer is usually Keenan Thompson and that’s no exception here.
The jokes from Colin Jost and Michael Che are maybe stronger than usual, or maybe it feels that way because they had a lot of help from a lot of guests tonight. I’m sure Mark is going to wish this is what the first two episodes were like, because I know he’s been dying to see some of the cast members join in on the fun. And they cover a variety of topics, too, which is really satisfying. There’s Alex Moffat reprising his impression of Conor McGregor to discuss how he will absolutely win at a sport he clearly doesn’t know the first thing about, Cecily Strong as Cathy Anne, the woman always shouting outside Che’s window (and honestly one of her best Weekend Update characters to date), Mikey Day as a field correspondent in a bit that is so simple and so obvious that I’m actually embarrassed that it made it to air, and Pete Davidson to discuss the NFL and the ongoing controversy surrounding players taking a knee during the national anthem.
In terms of what these cast members brought to the table Thursday night, Pete Davidson probably had the most to say and said it in the most refined way. His main point touched on an issue that anyone who doesn’t watch football probably won’t know as intimately, but that has been becoming more and more of a mainstream news story: the decision of NFL players to take a knee during the national anthem in protest of racial inequality – specifically NFL player Colin Kaepernick, who has seen his career nearly destroyed by the ensuing outrage over his protest.
Davidson has been gone for the majority of the last season due to a stint in rehab and now that he’s sober, I think he’s better than ever. His Update pieces always read like a conversation with someone who knows his shit; I feel decently informed and it was so funny that I didn’t even realize I was learning anything. If there’s one thing I could say in criticism of Davidson’s piece, it’s the fact that the NFL’s decision to (usually) look the other way when it comes to their players committing domestic abuse and assault was an equally valid point for him to have brought up in defense of why the national anthem protests should be the least of the NFL’s concerns. Anyway, it was a strong start to what I hope is a really good season for Pete Davidson.
Speaking of a strong start to the season, the end of the episode came with an announcement for SNL’s season 43 premiere. The show will come back on September 30th, with host Ryan Gosling and musical guest Jay-Z.
Mark Henely: As Melissa predicted in her half of the review, I did love this episode of Weekend Update. I like that Alec Baldwin’s Trump made an appearance because it elevates this edition to the status of “spectacle” instead of just an “episode.” But, I also like that we got to see SNL stand outs like Davidson, Day, and Moffet on the show because I think they provide the show with its substance. Each guy is a strong comedian who is actively trying to forge a path forward in comedy and the show is a little dull without them.
As much as I like this show, Weekend Update is inherently a limited show. Weekend Update is essentially a vessel for world class one-liners. Lorne Michaels hires some of the funniest comedians in the world to craft incredible one liners for Jost and Che (both incredible comedians) to deliver expertly. But, the jokes themselves aren’t deeply informative. They rely on you, as an audience member, to have a passing familiarity with the week’s news. These jokes can change how you view a topic, but they won’t teach you anything you didn’t know before in the way a show like Last Week Tonight with John Oliver will.
That’s why I love the inclusion of the other cast members like Davidson, Day, and Moffett; they are the ones that really show us new things. As Melissa stated, Davidson teach us something. He spotlights the hypocrisy of the Kaepernick situation from a different perspective. Moffett shows us a side of McGreggor that sometimes gets lost. And Mikey Day uses his time to do a quirky alt comedy bit. They are the ones that take this successful, long running concept and are guiding it to new territory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioB2Vs_G45U
