SNL and Cecily Strong toss one last glass of wine in the face of Fox News bigot Jeanine Pirro
Aux Features Jeanine Pirro
Sometimes a political impression is based on minute and uncanny observation of a powerful subject’s every tic and mannerism. Other times, it’s a loony but essence-capturing series of catchphrases that does the trick. And then there are those impressions that go both high and low for verisimilitude, which brings us to last night’s Anya Taylor-Joy hosted Saturday Night Live finale, and the ever-spot-on hilarity that is Cecily Strong’s take on Fox News’s human false alarm, Jeanine Pirro.
Strong’s made the blustery, boozy Pirro her target for a while now, but, this being the season’s last episode (and Pirro being as loudly wrong and racist as ever over on Fox), the sketch standout decided to go out with a bang. Or, rather a splash. Several splashes. Let’s call it a few dozen splashes, right to the kisser of Weekend Update anchor and straight man Colin Jost, who would up taking even more of the (allegedly) sozzled and seditious Pirro’s spilled wine than usual in a barn-burner of an Update segment from the sometimes-suspended former judge.
Strong’s Pirro began with a signature rant about everyone from the “gauchos to the banditos,” El Chapo to Del Taco” who she claimed, loudly, is swarming our southern border since her main man the treasonous golf greeter retreated in defeat to “the most luxurious place on Earth—Mar-a-Lago!” (Where, according to her, life is like being “on a cruise ship that’s permanently docked in the hottest part of Florida.”) Strong has always had Pirro’s bombastically bigoted schtick down, but it was really the prop work with that glass that topped off her triumphant portrayal here. After slapping Jost all over with the rapidly diminishing joy-juice from her oversized receptacle, Pirro demanded her backup wine, which emerged in a huge, luxurious, transparent rolling box, complete with a giant straw. (Pirro’s brand: “White Girl Wasted.” Ask for it by name.)
Launching into a defiant rendition of “My Way” despite Jost’s wine-sodden, barely-keeping-it-together laughter, Strong’s Pirro bravely submerged herself under the surface of the ruby red liquid, emerging only to refill her glass enough to whip the stuff a good six feet over her shoulder and right onto Jost. Several times. With Jost and co-anchor Michael Che joining the audience’s rapturous applause (for Strong’s aim and performance, if not Pirro’s history of hateful, racist nonsense), Strong’s Judge Jeanine was put to drunken sleep for the season, presumably mumbling something about immigrants.
32 Comments
A site that constantly uses phrases like “Maybe white men should just shut up, for a while,” and uses “humanize” as a verb meant to be a jab at those who do it calls someone a bigot.(A) Takes one to know one?(B) The opposite of a Bigot?
Hot take:The Weekend Update has been SNL’s life jacket since 1975
I don’t think that’s a hot take at all. I think it’s very true. If it weren’t successful, they would’ve stopped it at some point.
It’s the news-desk format. They can use it to crank out one-liners in rapid fire. Regular sketches show the biggest problem with doing sketch comedy with full sets, costumes and props as live TV; if something’s a dud they’re stuck with playing it out for upwards of 5 minutes.
It’s far far easier to do 6 minutes of topical humor in a simple set-up/punchline format than it is to write, cast, stage, rehearse, and perform 7-8 original sketches in 6 days.
That isn’t a hot take at all. There have been bits that have peaked way higher for sure, but it has always been the shows most consistently solid part. The format has been imitated so many times because it works.
It hasn’t always needed a life jacket but still, fair take. It’s had some weak seasons itself, though. I disliked it through most of the post-Dennis Miller 90s, except when Sandler would show up.
Cecily Strong, Kate McKinnon, Airy Bryant…who else is leaving? Probably Pete Davidson. Maybe Kenan?
Kenan’s show was renewed, but isn’t on the fall schedule. He did both this season, when it was only ten episodes, so he might leave if it gets a full-season order.I’m hoping Jost or Che takes off once they’ve broken the record for longest tenure.
I don’t know if any of those are confirmed. I think Cecily’s the most likely though.
Strong’s spot-on parody of Pirro is so good that you sometimes have to wonder who’s making fun of whom? I’m not saying you have to, but if you have a strong stomach go watch Pirro for a few minutes and you can see pretty much every mannerism Strong employs in her comedy bits except the fishbowl-sized wine glass.
Yea noshit!! it’s hard to parody someone who is already a goddam puppetfuck road kill…but DAMN if Cecily Strong doesn’t BRING IT!! give her some more wine and awards. Not often you see someone really bring down the house at SNL beyond polite applause— but what she did was Radner. That was a total GILDA!
She’s definitely one of the players who totally commits.
Totally committed to wine-based gags.
I like you. You express yourself so well.
you are a sweety. and u made my head swell. I don’t recommend that….lol
Isn’t Yea Noshit the Israeli Defense Minister?
you ass…you made me spit my dr brown’s cream soda.
Are you sure they don’t just crop out the wine glass? (I don’t have the stomach to watch her, admittedly.)
It’s probably like Hannity’s vape pen, she just hits it during commercial breaks.
Don’t people put vodka in coffee mugs anymore?
I worked for an old school alcoholic once who did it the old fashioned way—a shot of Jack in every cup of coffee he drank through the day. Afternoons were always a breeze because by the time he got back from lunch he pretty much didn’t care what we did.
Do you miss being a 911 operator?
Almost as bad. It was a neighborhood garage. Let’s just say customers were better off when they brought in their cars in the morning.
I like that attention is being drawn to the horrid state of affairs that Faux News represents.I’d love if misinformation-spewing on mass media scale was something that was more of something legally accountable, such as what needs to happen with Faux News and the inflation of the body count from COVID that is attributable to their “news”.
Fuckin’ beautiful. Good shit.
This was great, as usual when Strong does Pirro, but it also felt like a send off for Cecily Strong. They didn’t do anything special during the goodnights (Strong was actually sorta hiding in the back), but between this and the open, it sort of felt like goodbye for her (as well as Kate, Aidy, and possibly Kenan)
This entire bit is great but what did me in was that second wine toss at Jost.
I’m aware they do a pre-taping, and I’m curious if the wine splashing was just and ad-lib. Regardless, the entire bit is and continues to be hilarious.
she sounds like a bad person
Strong is brilliant in everything. Somehow still undervalued. Pirro is only one of her home runs.