"Saturday Night Live" premiered this past weekend and personally it was the best premiere that I've seen in all my years watching SNL. Of course, everyone was anticipating how SNL was going to interpret their version of the Presidential Debate and Kate McKinnon and Alec Baldwin delivered!! Margot Robbie was an awesome guest host and she slayed as Ivanka Trump. I had some mixed thoughts throughout the show especially now that Tarran Killam and Jay Pharoah are now gone, but overall I was impressed. With that said, here are five thoughts that I had while watching the SNL Premiere.
1. Presidential Debate: BEST EVER!!
Not going to lie, Alec Baldwin not only channeled his inner-Trump, he nailed the part and then some. Kate McKinnon was flawless as Hillary Clinton and she made me laugh from start to finish. When she entered in with a cane while coughing her lungs out before quickly losing the cane and doing a Willy Wonka-esque somersault, I knew that this cold open would be a great one. Baldwin definitely did his Trump homework. He did the signature Trump pout, referenced "CHINA," and being his typical bully self. The best line had to be when Clinton (McKinnon) responded to Lester Holt (Michael Che) by saying " I Think I'm gonna be president." Best....line...ever!! This sketch highlighted every major moment of the debate for sure.
2. Weekend Update: Could have been better
It was obvious that this "Weekend Update" wasn't the best. The banter between anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost was more serious than funny. Each of them expressed their strong opinions regarding the presidential debate, the whole Colin Kaepernick kneeling controversy, stop-and-frisk. The sketch was highlighted by Jost's dissection of Clinton's gloating and the campaign's attempt to prove she's healthy by playing James Brown's "I Feel Good" at a rally. Jost says, "I just want to point out that James Brown died of pneumonia," while Che's response was "If she actually had black friends, she woulda knew that." That response made things controversial for sure. Also, with the addition of Cathy Ann (Cecily Strong), a not-so-popular character who hasn't appeared in two years, her ranting of the candidates made things worse. The final appearance of David Ortiz (Kenan Thompson) was heartfelt yet there wasn't a lot of bite to his impression of the legendary baseball player. Hopefully "Weekend Update" will be better in the coming weeks.
3. Margot Robbie: Awesome Guest Appearance
Margot Robbie knew how to play her roles. She probably seduced every man who watched this episode when she played the Sexy Librarian (and she probably scared a few people with her Haley Joel Osment tattoos). Her best role of the night had to be when she portrayed Ivanka Trump in a political version of " Family Feud." Her funniest line had to be, "What a pleasure it is to be here, Steve. This is fun. I love fun. Every day I schedule 20 minutes of fun." She was able to utilize every part of Ivanka from the tight pink dress to the blonde wig and even tried to use her "brothers" to help her out with a question. Even though it's only been one episode, Margot Robbie is the best guest host thus far.
4. Live Report: Couldn't Stop Laughing!
I could barely contain my laughter as a local news team tried to figure out why a Kennedy married an unremarkable man by the name of Matt Shatt. Though the couple was nearly swallowed up by a nearby sinkhole, Neil McNabb and his fellow reporters were more interested in learning how this seemingly perfect woman wound up with a Crocs-wearing puppeteer who’s possibly lacking male genitalia. Note: it was the Crocs that made me lose it!!
5. Family Feud: Survey Says....Hilarity!!
This sketch took the popular game show and turned it into a battle of the Clinton supports vs. the Trump supporters. Of course Margot Robbie slayed it as Ivanka and Larry David returned to his iconic role as Bernie Sanders. It may downright lazy, relying on tired jokes about Bill Clinton’s history of infidelity and Chris Christie’s “Bridgegate” scandal, but come on who doesn't like "Family Feud?" (And why oh why did Cecily Strong play Lin-Manuel Miranda is beyond me).