Saturday Night Live–Election years have often been comedy gold for SNL, and 2008 was no exception. And the record ratings and creative resurgence all came despite the lack of a solid Obama impression. Fred Armisen is trying his best, but our President-Elect is sort of hard to lampoon…for now. But his running mate was a slam-dunk (good on ya, Sudeikis!), as was Hillary Clinton and their opposition, who were both good sports and dropped by the show in a last-minute effort to get votes. The result? Amy Poehler’s brilliant “Palin Rap” during Update, mere days before giving birth to baby Archie, as well as John McCain’s self-deprecating monologue that showed he could actually be animated. There were great hosts, like Jon Hamm, Paul Rudd and Anne Hathaway, and great sketches. There were also quirky bits that were hilarious to some and head-scratchers to others, like “Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals”, “The Lawrence Welk Show” and Beyonce’s Single Ladies’ “Dancers”. To me, this calls to mind the good old days of SNL, when there was more weird, experimental stuff in each 90 minute show than anyone cares to recall. It’s what late night sketch comedy should be…and I’m glad it’s back.
