This past week’s episode of Saturday Night Live (SNL) was full of celebration amid the election results and a big sigh of relief over the past four years. Many cities in America partied all afternoon, and what’s a better way to end the night than with some laughter and relaxation from SNL?
Viewers are first met with a cold open that acted as a satire to Biden’s victory speech that was only mere hours before in Wilmington, Delaware. The sketch includes comedic veterans such as Maya Ruldoph as Kamala Harris, Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump, and Jim Carrey as Joe Biden, to name a few. Although the victory speeches were just two hours before, the real heroes are the SNL Prop and Wardrobe team with how they managed to pull off the appropriate set stage and matched the white fitted suit Kamala Harris wore Saturday evening. Audiences got the last laugh with elaborate and witty jokes, and I’d say the sketch’s high point was when Jim Carrey called Trump a “Loser”. This is a reference from one of his best movies, “Ace Ventura.”
But what’s really important is the guest performance from Dave Chapelle. He opened with a sixteen minute monologue that was eye-opening and hilarious all at the same time. He commented on the current state of affairs and even made a point to ask his audience if they, “remember what life was like before COVID?” He answered his own question by saying that, “there was a mass shooting every week, thank God for COVID.” His jokes often teter the line of controversy, but he makes some good points. Although the audience laughed and agreed with most of what he had to say, he made a jab at Dr. Deborah Birx for agreeing with Trump about bleach being a serious treatment to COVID-19, saying, “that’s the reason women make less.” To which the viewers cringe and recoil, but he laughs it off by saying, “I’m sorry. Did I trigger you? I thought we were having a comedy show.”
Chapelle ends his set with an important lesson that all Americans must keep in mind. He suggests not to hold such importance on the election results, but to remember that the way we treat each matters more.
Photo credit: Will Heath, NBC
