Tina Fey's 'forced' Sarah Palin reprisal
The bespectacled funny lady returned to Saturday Night Live this weekend... and, of course, jumped right back into her most famous impression. Is this joke getting old?
The video: A visibly pregnant Tina Fey hosted the Mother's Day eve edition of Saturday Night Live this weekend, and reprised her much-lauded Sarah Palin impersonation in a sketch focused on the "GOP 2012 Undeclared Candidates Debate." (Watch video below.) Appearing alongside other "candidates you wish you knew less about" — including Donald Trump, Mitt Romney, and Michele Bachmann — Fey's Palin threw in some zingers about the ex-Governor's rhetorical prowess, Fox News, and her glee that we "finally vanquished one of the world's great villains": Katie Couric.
The reaction: I had high hopes for Fey's SNL return, but her Palin impression "seemed forced, in a 'Tina's the host, so we have to do Palin' kind of way," says Mike Ryan at Movieline. "I bet Tina Fey hates playing Sarah Palin by this point." I disagree, says David Sims at The Onion's A.V. Club. If anything, there wasn't enough of Fey in the crowded but still-hilarious GOP debate sketch. The show's writers certainly "worked their hardest to make Sarah Palin once again look stupid," says Mitch Marconi at The Post Chronicle. But that will come back to haunt them: Taunting Palin is like "waving a red sheet at a bull," among the best ways to ensure that she'll run for president. See for yourself:
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
The government's growing concern over a potential US Steel takeover
In the Spotlight Japan's largest steelmaker, Nippon Steel, is attempting to buy the company
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Finger-prickin' good: Are simpler blood tests seeing new life years after Theranos' demise?
Today's Big Question One Texas company is working to bring these tests back into the mainstream
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Cop benched after NFL star handcuffed in traffic stop
Speed Read A Miami-Dade police officer detained Dolphins star Tyreek Hill before the game
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
A brief history of third parties in the US
In Depth Though none of America's third parties have won a presidential election, they have nonetheless had a large impact on the country's politics
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Supreme Court rejects challenge to CFPB
Speed Read The court rejected a conservative-backed challenge to the way the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is funded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published