Watch Jim Carrey’s Take on Joe Biden Debut on “SNL”

Maya Rudolph's take on Kamala Harris also made an appearance in the sketch

SNL Debate
The latest "SNL" parodied the recent presidential debate.
NBCUniversal

On a night when two of its most beloved alumni made their returns to the show — that would be host Chris Rock and Maya Rudolph, who’ll be playing Kamala Harris this season — it was an alumnus of another storied sketch comedy show who emerged with a plum role. Jim Carrey, of course, got his start on In Living Color; like Harris, he’d been brought on to play a candidate in this year’s presidential election.

Carrey’s take on Joe Biden is far from his first time on Saturday Night Live; Carrey has made memorable appearances before, including as a lascivious R&B singer in “The Worst of Soul Train.”

Carrey’s take on Biden was joined by Alec Baldwin’s familiar Trump impression and Beck Bennett in the role of Chris Wallace. Bennett did a fine job of channeling Wallace’s exasperation in the actual debate — “Mr. President, if you keep interrupting this debate, I’ll do absolutely nothing about it!” — and having two comedic foils made this one of Baldwin’s better outings as Trump.

As for Carrey, it’s harder to say. At times, he played Biden as a man keeping his own anger in check — with apologies to one of the best sketch comedy takes on a president in recent memory, Carrey played Biden as a man who is also his own anger translator. And, surprising no one, the funniest bits came when Carrey’s penchant for physical comedy came to the foreground.

Throw in a Harry Styles cameo — no, really — and you have a wide-ranging start to Saturday Night Live‘s coverage of the home stretch of the current election.

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