Saturday Night Live’s VP debate sketch goes full Goldblum
By Matt Moore
Saturday Night Live’s parody of the vice presidential debate drew inspiration from a Jeff Goldblum classic
Saturday Night Live‘s cold open was exactly what everyone expected: a parody of the vice presidential debate between Senator Kamala Harris and Vice President Mike Pence. The only question was how SNL would handle the fly. For that, it turned to Jeff Goldblum for inspiration.
SNL received a considerable election year bump for its season 46 premiere last week. It was the show’s highest-rated season-opener since 2016. Fans tuned in to see Jim Carrey as former Vice President Joe Biden and to see Maya Rudolph return as Sen. Kamala Harris.
After a brief cameo last week, Rudolph was front and center last night on SNL. While the VP debate didn’t offer the same trainwreck spectacle that the presidential debate provided, the SNL writers still managed to find the humor by taking things to absurd levels.
The fly that landed on Vice President Pence’s head was the biggest takeaway from the VP debate. Everyone knew that it would be the centerpiece to SNL’s parody. The show made the most of it with a little help from the 1986 Jeff Goldblum movie The Fly.
Saturday Night Live makes the most of Maya Rudolph and Jim Carrey’s talents
Not everyone watching Saturday Night Live at home may have been familiar with The Fly. It likely made things seem even stranger to see Jim Carrey/Joe Biden’s face superimposed onto Jeff Goldblum’s body from 1986.
Maybe under different circumstances, Goldblum himself could have reprised his role as Seth Brundle. But pandemic restrictions being what they are, the likelihood of cameos is much smaller in season 46. It would have been a nice touch though, considering Goldblum took the internet by storm when he recreated his famous Jurassic Park pose.
Instead, SNL did the next best thing and used Jim Carrey to do Jim Carrey things. The cutaway to Carrey as Biden seemed like he was being shoehorned into the sketch. However, imagining Biden transforming into the Fly (and then Jeff Goldblum) was an excellent twist.
Last week’s cold open was at its best when Carrey took things to the extreme and acted in an absurd way. After last night’s opener, this looks like the best way forward for his Biden impression.
Meanwhile, Maya Rudolph surprised no one by nailing her Kamala Harris impression again. As we noted in the episode preview, Rudolph admitted to being a bit off in the premiere due to the changes in rehearsing and writing at SNL during the pandemic.
But with a week to get her feet wet in the new normal (or is it “noon normal”?), Rudolph returned to form. Fans shouldn’t be surprised if Rudolph finds herself nominated for another Emmy when season 46 wraps up.
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