The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts & News
Wednesday, November 9, 2016 — 5A
NBC
The bird-man is maybe more attractive than Benedict Cumberbatch.
In the 41 years that “Saturday
Night Live” has been on the air,
the long-standing live sketch
comedy series has thrived on
the special material that ensues
during electoral years. This
year has been no exception to
that rule, with Kate McKinnon
(“Ghostbusters”)
and
Alec
Baldwin’s (“30 Rock”) respective
portrayals of Hillary Clinton
and Donald Trump taking the
stage for one last laugh. With no
debates left as comedic fodder,
this week’s “SNL” focused on
political commentary of Trump
and the media’s coverage of
the candidate’s transgressions
versus Clinton’s email scandal
with
the
FBI.
This
past
Saturday’s episode of “SNL” is
the last before the polls open,
and McKinnon and Baldwin
broke character during the cold
SNL contemplates Trump,
Clinton and Cumberfolk
MEGAN MITCHELL
Daily Arts Writer
Benedict Cumberbatch hosts final episode before the election
open for an appeal for voters to
get to the polls.
The sketch pushed Cecily
Strong’s
(“The
Boss”)
Erin
Burnett
together
with
McKinnon
and
Baldwin
on
her
CNN
news
show,
“OutFront.”
Starting
off
strong,
the
sketch mocked
Trump’s
suspicious
affiliations
while Clinton was questioned
over the ongoing investigation
of her email scandal. After a
brief interlude in which Trump
pursed his lips for kisses coming
from the likes of the FBI,
KKK and Vladimir Putin and
Clinton pleaded for America
to reconsider our options, the
camera panned out to Baldwin
and McKinnon, alone on the
stage. “I just hate yelling all this
stuff at you like this,” Baldwin
confessed, “Don’t you guys (the
audience) feel gross all the time
about
this?”
he
questioned,
turning to an audience that
roared with laughter. The two
held hands and dashed outside
the Rainbow Room to join
hands with Trump and Clinton
supporters
alike,
returning
not too long afterward to urge
viewers to vote on Tuesday,
regardless
of
the
candidate
they’re supporting.
One of the more noticeable
and planned breaks in character
for the series, the cold open
succeeds in focusing on the
exhausting
controversies
brought on by both candidates
during the presidential race.
McKinnon portrays Clinton as
deeply exasperated, with her
concerns
over
the
election
closing in and
the
closeness
of
the
race
showing
through in the
sketch.
Benedict
Cumberbatch
(“Sherlock”)
hosted
—
a
first
for
the
40-year-old British actor, who
is fresh off of the Marvel film
“Dr.
Strange”
—
alongside
musical guest Solange. In an
excellent counterpoint to his
stereotyped intellectual roles,
Cumberbatch showed the silly
side that he is known for during
personal interviews and off-the-
record taping sessions. Playing
characters such as an emo British
magician (obviously a play on
Criss Angel) and a construction
worker-turned-male stripper à
la “Weekend at Bernie’s” style,
Cumberbatch pulled his comedic
side out for the camera. From
an Apple iToilet advertisement
modeled after the 1984 Mac
commercial to another hilarious
sketch, a game show titled “Why
is Benedict Cumberbatch Hot?,”
Cumberbatch
explored
his
sexuality within his fan base,
the self-titled “Cumberbitches”
— a fact that Cumberbatch
makes sure to clarify in his
opening monologue. “Can’t they
be
Cumberfolk?”
The
game
show in particular showed off
Cumberbatch’s
modesty,
as
Aidy Bryant (“Brother Nature”),
Vanessa Bayer (“Trainwreck”)
and
Cumberbatch
played
contestants left to ponder the
long-questioned mystery — why
exactly is Benedict Cumberbatch
hot? The answer — nobody
really knows. Maybe it’s the
hammerhead shark look.
Emmy
winning
comedian
and “SNL” alum Dana Carvey
returned as the “Church Lady”
for Weekend Update, coming
after Donald Trump in this
sketch. Belligerently pushing Jost
to accept his homosexuality and
to spend his nights away from
the criticism of social media, the
church lady played on the material
that has been surging around
Trump’s Twitter account since his
presidential run announcement.
On a more lighthearted note,
“SNL” alum Bill Murray also
returned to the screen to root on
the Chicago Cubs, following their
recent World Series win against
the Cleveland Indians. Overall,
balancing the comedy standard
of “SNL” during an election year
with the cast’s more serious notes
regarding the fast-approaching
decision day was a daring move
by “SNL” — but it certainly paid
off in the end with McKinnon and
Baldwin in the lead.
“Why is Benedict
Cumberbatch
hot?” a game show
asks.
B+
“Saturday Night Live”
Season 42, Episode 5
Saturdays at 11:30 p.m.
NBC
TV REVIEW
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