After Melissa McCarthy’s Brilliant Impersonation Sean Spicer Says SNL Has ‘Crossed Over’ From Funny to ‘Mean’
‘Moose Lambs’
Melissa McCarthy impersonated Sean Spicer this past weekend on “Saturday Night Live” and she “killed it,” as the saying goes. The Emmy-award winning actress who successfully moves between TV (“Gilmore Girls”) and film (“Bridesmaids”) opted to play the very angry new White House Press Secretary and, as some are saying, set a new bar for SNL comedy. But Spicer wasn’t especially pleased.
“Ms. McCarthy isn’t funny as Mr. Spicer because she’s a woman,” The New York Times noted, “she’s funny as Mr. Spicer because she’s made a career of playing aggressive characters who are often angry for no reason. As Megan, in ‘Bridesmaids,’ she broke new ground as a tough, crude woman with bizarre ideas and no boundaries who nonetheless finds romantic fulfillment, and in subsequent films like ‘The Heat,’ she’s established herself as a powerful physical comedian whose best weapon is her snarl. On ‘S.N.L,’ as she lifts up her podium to attack the press corps, it’s clear she was born to play the mouthpiece of an administration already defined by outbursts of rage.”
Indeed.
But that’s not exactly as the White House Press Secretary sees it.
“Spicer told ‘Extra’ exclusively he felt the impression was a little exaggerated,” Extra reports. “His advice was that McCarthy ‘needs to slow down on the gum chewing; way too many pieces in there.'”
That actually may be untrue – Spicer reportedly eats (not just chews, but swallows) 35 sticks of Orbit cinnamon gum a day – before noon.
“Though he thought it was a really ‘funny’ show,” Extra notes, “he felt that McCarthy ‘could dial back’ a bit.”
And while Spicer didn’t seem to take offense with McCarthy’s portrayal of him, he did with Alec Baldwin’s “Donald Trump.”
“Saturday Night Live,” Spicer says, “used to be really funny. There’s a streak of meanness now that they’ve crossed over to mean.”
That could be a matter of opinion. Some are calling McCarthy’s portrayal of Spicer “brilliant”…
#SNLSpicer was brilliant. pic.twitter.com/gxxYvlQf8E
— Thomas Pluck (@thomaspluck) February 5, 2017
…and “the funniest thing I have ever seen!”
This is the funniest thing I have ever seen! All hail @melissamccarthy #SNLSpicer https://t.co/TYfZG3IZ17
— Sasha Alexander (@sashaalexander) February 5, 2017
While living under a Trump administration may feel horrible, it appears it’s great for SNL’s ratings.Â
In case you missed it, or need to watch it again, go for it.
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