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Photos, Videos: Jimmy Fallon Plays Jared Kushner, Brings Back Denise & Sully On Saturday Night Live
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 16, 2017
Modified Apr 16, 2017
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 16, 2017
Modified Apr 16, 2017
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Jimmy Fallon brought his Tonight Show approach to his old stomping ground of Saturday Night Live, as he hosted the show's first-ever nationally live broadcast. Instead of a traditional monologue, Fallon held a dance party while singing David Bowie's "Let's Dance" with the legendary Nile Rodgers, who produced the song with Bowie, playing guitar.
The show opened with Alec Baldwin returning once again as President Trump. After a chat with Vice President Pence (Beck Bennett), Trump held an America's Next Top Model-esque deliberation about who would remain in the Oval Office as a trusted adviser: Steve Bannon, seen as a Grim Reaper, or Trump son-in-law, Jared Kushner, played by Fallon in a blazer and flak jacket (his intro music was EMF's "Unbelievable"). Spoiler: The result hews closely to this Times article.
Pence also got a shout-out in Melissa McCarthy's reprisal of Sean Spicer, angrily repentant about his Syria-Holocaust mess as well as in Weekend Update, where Colin Jost remarked on the "mother of all bombs" dropped on Afghanistan. Noting that the bomb cost $16 million and apparently killed 94 members of ISIS, he said "That doesn't sound efficient, but remember, Fox News spent $13 million to get rid of five women." Weekend Update also saw visits from stand-up Kyle Mooney's hapless standup comic Bruce Chandling and Vanessa Bayer's perpetual Bar Mitzvah Boy Jacob.
Eager to prove he's more than a boy band, musical guest Harry Styles appeared multiple times, from the monologue to a Civil War bit that involved singing and instrumentation that sounded a lot of classroom instruments and a "Family Feud" 1970s stars-vs.-current day stars sketch playing vintage Mick Jagger. In "Family Feud," Fallon played both Saturday Night Fever-era and American Story: O.J.-era John Travolta while Kate McKinnon was a pitch-perfect Kristen Stewart.
The show's best moment was Rachel Dratch appearing as Denise (or "Zazoo!") with Fallon's Sully. The Boston loudmouths' daughter, "Little Denise" (McKinnon), was accepted to Harvard and the family was touring the institution—"She's like Good Will Hunting!" The sketch was just a string of one-note jokes, but Dratch was a welcome presence.
SNL is off until May 6, when Chris Pine will host with musical guest LCD Soundsystem.
Tagged
alec baldwin
harry styles
jimmy fallon
melissa mccarthy
saturday night live
snl
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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