Jim Carrey on Saturday Night Live Premiere

Episode 01 

October 03, 2020 

Jim Carrey Plays Joe Biden in ‘S.N.L.’ Season Premiere

It was perhaps the most anticipated “Saturday Night Live” season premiere in almost 20 years — the show’s first live broadcast in more than six months, hosted by Chris Rock, and its first to be produced under the new guidelines of the coronavirus era.

“S.N.L.” tends to generate its biggest audiences in presidential election years, and the series’s creator, Lorne Michaels, further stoked expectations by tapping Jim Carrey to play former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee.

Presidential Debate Parody of the Week

The segment opened with a voice-over promising a replay of the debate, “even though Tuesday feels like 100 days ago.” Onstage, Beck Bennett played the hapless moderator, Chris Wallace of Fox News, while Alec Baldwin returned to his recurring role as President Trump.

Bennett began to explain the rules. “Each candidate will have 2 minutes, uninterrupted,” he said, only to be immediately interrupted by Baldwin.

“Boring!” Baldwin declared. He said to Bennett, “Tell that to my Adderall, Chris, now let’s get this show on the road and off the rails.”

Asked if he had taken the test for coronavirus, Baldwin answered: “Absolutely. Scout’s honor.”

Playing Biden for the first time, Carrey strode onto the stage in aviator glasses while making finger guns at the audience. He produced a tape measure, sized up the distance between himself and Baldwin, then picked up his lectern and moved it further away.

Asked if he was ready to debate, Carrey answered: “Absolutely not. But I’ve got the beginning of 46 fantastic ideas I may or may not have access to. Now let’s do this. I’m holding my bladder.”

Throughout the segment, Carrey (as Biden) tried to exercise some restraint: “Don’t let your inner Whitey Bulger come out,” he told himself. “Flash that smile they taught you in anger management.”

Bennett, meanwhile, emphasized Wallace’s passivity. At one point he told Baldwin, “Mr. President, if you keep interrupting this debate, I’ll do absolutely nothing about it.”

Maya Rudolph appeared briefly in her recurring role as Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee. She told the two presidential candidates, “America needs a W.A.P.: woman as president. But for now, I’ll settle for H.V.P.I.C.: hot vice president in charge.”

After Baldwin (as Trump) demurred on the topic of white supremacy, Carrey produced a remote control and paused Baldwin in midsentence. “Sorry, but I think we all needed a break,” Carrey said. “Isn’t that satisfying?”

Speaking directly to the camera, Carrey added: “You can trust me. Because I believe in science and karma. Now, just imagine if science and karma could somehow team up to send us all a message about how dangerous this virus can be.”

He looked over his shoulder at Baldwin, then continued: “I’m not saying I want it to happen. Just imagine if it did.”

Before he, Baldwin and Rudolph ended the sketch, Carrey’s Biden introduced his own campaign slogan: “Make America Actively Not on Fire Again.”

CAPTURE