Recently, a couple media outlets have published stories pondering a mysterious thought: Are people getting tired of our 9-to-5 Trump bashing, and would they rather us tell jokes that aren’t just cheap shots at conservatives? Vice writer Harry Cheadle wondered the same thing when he published an article titled, “‘SNL’ Cold Opens Are Unfunny, Elitist Pieces of Liberal Propaganda.”
In effect, this is probably the closest thing to hell freezing over any conservative could think of. But then again, even progressive journalism platforms have to realize that shows like Saturday Night Live have been pushing the envelope, and have become unfunny. Addressing SNL, Cheadle wrote, “Your cold opens are terrible, cringe worthy pieces of self-satisfied liberal propaganda that are sometimes so bad that they seem like parodies of themselves.”
Wow. It couldn’t have been put any better.
Cheadle cited the cold open from two Saturdays ago, with good reason. That skit was an overlong, unfunny, celebrity-lined spectacle of Trump hate, that tried to gain liberal appeal with that “stunt casting” of Stormy Daniels. He wrote that all these sketches are just “tired references to current events that never build on one another. Instead they [jokes] are limply tossed out as obvious-applause lines to an anti-Trump crowd.”
The cheap, liberal jokes “aren’t helped along by performances,” either. Cheadle mentioned that Alec Baldwin’s Trump impersonation was utter garbage. Thank you for saying what everyone has been thinking for years. He does a terrible Trump impression.
Cheadle also quoted comedian and SNL alum, Rob Schneider, who has been vocal about the show’s heavy lean to the left. Schneider remarked to the New York Daily News that “the fun of ‘Saturday Night Live’ was always you never knew which way they leaned politically.”
“You kind of assumed that they would lean more left, but now the cat’s out of the bag they are completely against Trump, which I think makes it less interesting because you know the direction the piece is going.”
Hot Air! also argued that people on both sides are starting to realize that SNL is beating the dead horse. That they’ve “traded in their edge for an echo chamber” and have become unfunny. Conservative blogger Christian Toto remarked how, 20 years ago, Lorne Michaels and his troupe had no problem making fun of Bill Clinton’s “appetites … preferably his sexual hunger. It didn’t matter that Clinton was a democrat.”
However “Today, SNL won’t go near Democratic targets. When they do, it’s sparingly at best. Every comic gun they possess is aimed at President Donald Trump.”
So yes, it’s getting lame. Well, for conservatives, it’s been lame, but now anti-Trump comedians seem to be seeing the problems with their lack of restraint. Even die-hard Trump hater Jimmy Kimmel senses that the market for lengthy anti-Trump monologues is dwindling. In reference to an upcoming ABC studios routine, Kimmel told Deadline Hollywood that he might relax on the usual anti-conservative banter and just focus on jokes.
When asked about Trump material, Kimmel responded, “I don’t know how much focus there will be on that. I think people have had an ass-full of Donald Trump, and I feel like the upfront is a time to look within and make fun of ourselves.”
Kimmel might bring back actual jokes. This is all too sudden and very weird.
Anybody with an R after his name will always be a more tempting target for comics than politicians from their side. Take Trump out of the equation and compare the pointed political comedy aimed at the Bush administration to the reverent silence when the sainted Obama was in office. But as he has with the rest of the media, Trump brought out the worst in the comics. Partisan bile -- even if you’re inclined to agree with it -- is only funny for so long. Maybe SNL will figure that out, maybe not.
