SNL Does The Democratic Debate, With Larry David As Bernie Sanders

democratic-debate-2015

Saturday Night Live did an absolutely wonderful take on the first Democratic Debate, complete with Larry David (who else?) as Bernie Sanders:

FILED UNDER: 2016 Election, Entertainment, Humor, US Politics, , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. michael reynolds says:

    Larry David was good. The woman doing Hillary was not. And as usual, the writing was pathetic.

    SNL is the greatest act of comedy fraud perpetrated on the American people, with the possible exception of Adam Sandler’s entire oeuvre. It is almost never funny. Louis CK, or Amy Schumer, or Jim Jeffries, or Patton Oswalt or Sarah Silverman deliver more funny in any given five minutes at the Comedy Store or the Cellar than SNL delivers in a year.

  2. PJ says:

    @Doug Mataconis:

    Saturday Night Live did an absolutely wonderful take on the first Democratic Debate, complete with Larry David (who else?) as Bernie Sanders:

    Who else? James Adomian, of course. Here’s another youtube video of him doing his Sanders impression.

  3. Just 'nutha ig'rant cracker says:

    @michael reynolds: Hard to be funny with writing like that. SNL was funny for a few years, but it has become an institution–and no one has the courage to pull the plug. Rush Limbaugh was funny 25 or so years ago, too. Sometimes, he even said things that made some sense.

    Shtick gets old. We’re old now, too. But we want to imagine that SNL is still funny, fresh, and edgy. (sigh)

  4. Franklin says:

    @michael reynolds: Oh, c’mon, lighten up on Sandler. The Wedding Singer was kind of good. And, um, I’m sure there was something else.

  5. Roger Mgrdichian says:

    Sorry, but James Adomian is the master. Much better Sanders, ridiculous and exaggerated but with better basis for the satire. And better ad-libbed political satire than the dreck written for the SNL sketch. As Adomian has said, the media blacklist of his Sanders impression is almost as thorough as the media blacklist for the real Sanders.
    https://youtu.be/BGRAonpLeQg

  6. KM says:

    @michael reynolds:

    SNL is the greatest act of comedy fraud perpetrated on the American people,

    Thank you!!! I’ve told people this and am politely told I’m crazy and should leave the room. It’s not funny and hasn’t been in my lifetime (and to be honest, I’m not crazy about some of the “classic” sketches either). It’s a brand name way past its prime.

  7. michael reynolds says:

    @KM:

    SNL simulates comedy, so people who don’t actually have a sense of humor, but who have learned to read verbal cues well enough to know when to feign laughter, see what looks like comedy on SNL and laugh.

    Comedy is about precision. The precise word. The precise sequence of word and action. The precise timing. SNL is sloppy and haphazard, forcing writers to compete for air time, pushing hard for continuing characters whose only attribute might be that they are recognizable, allowing actors to blatantly read from cue cards so that no line is ever well-delivered. It is a false, hollow mockery of humor. It is Potemkin humor.

    The emperor Lorne has no clothes. Lots and lots of money, but no clothes.

  8. JWH says:

    Is it just me, or was a lot of Larry David’s impersonation simply generic old people jokes?