Sometimes SNL just gets American politics and politicians right. From the early days of Chevy Chase falling over as Gerald Ford, through the solemn act of prayer from Dan Ackroyd as Nixon, to Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton, Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin and Kate McKinnon’s Hillary. And now we are treated to Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump.
Alec Baldwin has been a frequent guest on the late night sketch show. He has appeared sixteen times as host, more than anyone else, and apparently has been given permission to come on the show whenever he’s in town. Of course, he’s also a serious actor. He got his start playing Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, not easy when Marlon Brando has his name branded on the role. He was young and fresh in Beetlejuice, was Jack Ryan in The Hunt for Red October, was blazingly good in the film version of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross (‘Put that coffee down’ or ‘Fuck you, that’s my name’), had a string of less prominent roles (The Edge is a good film), then slowly emerged back into prominence with supporting roles in films like The Aviator and The Departed (thanks Scorsese). But the greatest thing about his comeback and his re entry into popular orbit was his role as network head honcho, Jack Donaghy in Tina Fey’s 30 Rock.
30 Rock is a great show. It’s endlessly entertaining, funny and smart. It’s also an intriguing look into what a writer’s room may look like on a sketch show, considering Fey took her time as head writer of SNL as a major influence for the premise. There’s some fantastic comedians at work, both on screen and behind the cameras as well. The writing is sharp, quick and the jokes roll off one after the other, seemingly without any real effort. It’s just a really good comedy.
Alec Baldwin is the best part. He brings a buffoonery and hilarious ignorance to the role that I don’t think anyone else could capture. The character’s supercilious nature, his put downs of Fey’s character, (‘Good God, Lemon’), his high-minded retorts (‘It’s after 6 o’clock. What am I, a farmer?’ when asked why he was wearing a tuxedo), his love of money and power; it is all played brilliantly by Baldwin. But despite these deplorable traits we still like him. Whatever the writers did, or whether it’s Baldwin’s genius, we still root for Jack, and along with Liz Lemon, learn to really like him.
His portrayal of Jack isn’t such a far cry from Donald Trump. They’re both wealthy, white men, with influence and a tendency to say things they really shouldn’t. They both have a self-belief that overpowers rational thinking, but also have a very business orientated outlook on life, purging them of the need to show emotion. I think another reason why he plays these characters so well is also the public’s knowledge of Alec Baldwin, and where he stands politically. He’s known to be one of the most out-spoken liberals in Hollywood, so it adds a certain amount of comedic weight knowing that he’s playing seemingly conservative men.
But the best thing about Baldwin playing Trump, is how much it has annoyed Trump. With Baldwin they have found something special. In an article for Slate, Willa Paskin writes that what makes it hard to satirize Trump is the fact that ‘what makes Trump ridiculous and grotesque is also what Trump loves about himself’. So by making fun of his wealth, his marriage to a beautiful young woman, his obnoxiousness, his combo-over, all these things, you’re only drawing attention to what Trump is already flaunting. With Baldwin, SNL is doing something that should have been done long ago. They’re being cruel. Instead of making fun of who he is, which Trump can take, (there’s a Roast of Donald Trump and he hosted SNL just last year) they’re taking shots at his massive inadequacies in this election. The whole sketch is based on the idea that Clinton has already won the election. And this has successfully irked Trump, enough for him to publicly denounce the show, and further display his petty, paranoid persona.
So, well done SNL for doing it again. This creative decision will go down in history, like all the other ones, the comedy and satire firmly placed alongside the reality of what is happening in the world.
