SNL Opener: Senate Republicans High Five Over Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court Appointment
A week after Saturday Night Live opened its 44th season with Matt Damon playing a raucous Supreme Co..
A week after Saturday Night Live opened its 44th season with Matt Damon playing a raucous Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh when it seemed like sexual harassment allegations might halt his appointment, what in the world were the writers going to do, hours after Kavanaugh was approved by a narrow vote?
How about a funereal-feeling skit that replicated the winning and losing locker rooms of the baseball playoffs? The skit opened with the CNN logo and Kenan Thompson as a somber Don Lemon, saying there were protests in Washington, and several cry breaks here at CNN. Cut to Dana Bash, standing in the Republican Senate locker room, where a group of towel snapping, high-fiving senators celebrated their victory and where Bash said, a lot of pacemakers were being put to the test tonight.
The revelers included Senator John Kennedy (Kyle Mooney), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Beck Bennett?) who said “Republicans read the mood of the country and we could tell they really wanted Kavanaugh. Everyone from white men over 60 to white men over 70.” He added the victory was right up there with Vietnam.
Kate McKinnons Lindsay Graham was next, saying “we made a lot of real women really worried today, but Im not getting pregnant so I dont care.” Keeping with the baseball parlance, he said they worried it might be tied and they would have to go with their closer, Mike Pence, who would have emerged to Enter The Sandman and throw his vote at 100MPH, but fortunately that wasnt necessary. He hailed Maine Senator Susan Collins (Cecily Strong), who voted for Kavanaugh and said “its important to believe women until its time to stop, but also, Im a guys gal, I can party with the big dogs and we are going to have fun tonight. Were going to party like its 2020, when Susan Rice takes my seat.”
They trotted out Arizona Senator Jeff Flake (Pete Davidson) who said he was “sorry about the whole thing, which you can tell by my resting bitch face.” But his fellow revelers labeled him “Flake the Snake” as they gave him a pie facial and told him “you were never voting no.” There was a short note from the losing locker room and Senator Chuck Schumer, who took a shot in the nutsack by Senator Joe Manchin, the only Democrat to vote for Kavanaugh. The Republicans vowed to keep “this horny male energy going through the mid-terms.”
It was sour grapes writing, but many of the points the writers and cast hit on seemed plausible. Even though the Kavanaugh hearings were high drama, the result was as many felt it was going to be: as long as the Republicans had the votes they needed, they were going to pass through the guy who at least can be relied upon to bring the keg to any Supreme Court party.
SNL is hosted by Awkwafina, who came out with a low-energy monologue distinguished mostly by her shout out to Lucy Liu. The star of the sleeper summer hit Crazy Rich Asians, the Queens-raised comedienne said she was the first Asian to host the show in 18 years, with Liu being the last one.
On a night when there wasnt much for women or most reasonable people to laugh about to open the show, that seemed at least some kind of step in the right direction.
