Brad Pitt Plays Dr. Anthony Fauci in an At-Home Edition of ‘S.N.L.’ – The New York Times, Nytimes.com

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Two weeks ago, “Saturday Night Live” returned to television with its first new episode of the at-home era

: a collection of remotely produced sketches that were low on production value but high on spirit and innovation. It offered a window into what the show could do without most of its resources – and into the homes of its cast members, for those of us who always wondered what they looked like.

He also offered his commentary on “misinformation” regarding coronavirus and tried to clarify remarks made by President Trump. Following a video clip in which the president said that there might be vaccines “relatively soon,” Pitt said, “Relatively soon is an interesting phrase. Relative to the entire history of earth? Sure, the vaccine’s going to come real fast. But if you were to tell a friend, I’ll be over relatively soon, and then showed up a year and a half later, well, your friend may be relatively pissed off. ” After another clip in which President Trump said the coronavirus would disappear “like a miracle,” Pitt said, “A miracle would be great. Who doesn’t love miracles? But miracles shouldn’t be Plan A. Even Sully tried to land at the airport first. ”

A third clip showed the president stating that “anybody that needs a test gets a test,” and that the tests were “beautiful.” Pitt replied, “I don’t know if I would describe the test as beautiful. Unless your idea of ​​beauty is having a cotton swab tickle your brain. Also, when he said everyone can get a test what he meant was, almost no one. ”

Pitt then addressed rumors that President Trump planned to fire him, playing a clip of the president saying that he would not dismiss him, adding, “I think he’s a wonderful guy.”

“So yeah, I’m getting fired,” Pitt said. Finally, Pitt ended the segment by removing his wig and thanking the real Fauci “ for your calm and your clarity in this unnerving time, ”and also offering gratitude to medical workers and their families. He added, “Live, kinda, from all across America, it’s Saturday night.”‘SNL’ Throwback of the WeekUnder the limitations of sheltering-in-place orders, “What Up With That?” would seem to be the kind of recurring bit that should be avoided at all costs: It’s an overstuffed talk show with an indefatigable host (played by Kenan Thompson) and it is dependent on filling a stage with as many performers and celebrities as possible, most of them won’t get to say more than a few words.

But by the grace of Zoom, “SNL”. pulled it off, working in recurring characters like an enigmatic saxophonist played by Fred Armisen and an enthusiastic, track-suited dancer played by Jason Sudeikis. (Bill Hader, who usually plays Lindsey Buckingham, appeared only as a frozen screen graphic.)

Charles Barkley, playing himself, summed it all up: “I’m not going to lie – this is weird. ” (Music Video of the Week

Pete Davidson led off another of his musical segments by lamenting the tediousness of his home quarantine with his sister and his mother. (“Tired of sitting in the dark / Got nothing to watch, already did‘ Ozark ’”). Then, unexpectedly, he threw the song over to Adam Sandler, the “S.N.L.” alum who, after almost 33 years away from the show, is once again becoming a fixture there .

Sandler added a verse about his own monotony, singing, “wife tried to kiss me, I straight up denied her / miss the NBA and I miss Rob Schneider.” And sure enough, there was Schneider, another “S.N.L.” veteran, to deliver the catch phrase he’s been shouting at Sandler for more than a quarter -century. (Fake Commercial of the Week)

While it has been been charming to see the grass-roots “SNL” segments with homemade costumes and hand-drawn, taped-up posters on cast members’ walls, let’s also appreciate the more polished efforts on display in this advertisement featuring Aidy Bryant and Kate McKinnon.

They play two of the grocers at Bartenson’s, a store where staples like chicken, milk and bread are unfortunately out of stock, but where you can still find mint-flavored Pringles, fluoride bananas, Pepsi Crab and plenty of Dasani products. As McKinnon says, “We want to give you what you want, but first we need you to buy what we have.”

(‘Weekend Update’ Jokes of the Week)

This latest at-home edition of “Weekend Update” was a significant step up from its debut – gone were the weird audio inserts of people laughing at Colin Jost’s and Michael Che’s jokes, and the anchors now had the familiar world-map backdrop inserted behind them. (We did miss seeing Jost’s guitar, though.) The anchors riffed on Thursday’s coronavirus briefing at the White House , where President Trump floated dangerous and widely derided solutions for halting the virus’s spread.

Jost: You know things are going well when #DontDrinkBleach is trending nationally after a president’s speech . After a doctor said that coronavirus dies quickly in sunlight, President Trump asked if they could bring “the light inside the body.” Though I’m pretty sure “bring the light inside the body” is what they chanted at Jonestown before drinking poison. Then President Clean suggested injecting disinfectant into your body to cure the virus. Experts called the idea “a stroke of genius,” minus the “of genius” part. Che: Trump later backtracked and said he was just being sarcastic, which is just what you say when you know you’ve said something terrible. You know, Colin, speaking of terrible, you know how when a kid has really bad parents, somebody steps in and they have to go live with another family, right? [Jost: “Sure.”] Do you think it’s possible another country could come take custody of us, maybe? I mean, like, just until our government gets back on its feet. Somewhere stable, like Germany or Japan or Nigeria. Or even Iraq. I’ll take Iraq now. Don’t they owe us a favor anyway? Didn’t we, like, kill their dad when they were in trouble? I’m being sarcastic, obviously.   (Read More)