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Dana Carvey knows his SNL bit Joker didn’t land and he wishes he’d made a big change now
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Dana Carvey knows his SNL bit Joker didn’t land and he wishes he’d made a big change now

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    Dana Carvey hilariously played his Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live, with Joaquin Phoenix looking ready to play the role of the Joker in Joker: Folie à Deux.     Dana Carvey hilariously played his Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live, with Joaquin Phoenix looking ready to play the role of the Joker in Joker: Folie à Deux.

Credits: SNL, NBC, Warner Bros. Pictures

It’s an election year, so that can only mean one thing: Saturday evening live crushes it with his political sketches. If you haven’t paid close attention to TV schedule 2024legendary SNL alum Dana Carvey returned to 30 Rock with his hilarious take on the sitting president. While the comedian crushes it like Joe Biden to the point that a clip of Carvey explaining how he impersonates has gone viral, even comedy veterans sometimes miss the mark. THE Wayne’s World The star recently reflected on one of those moments during an episode of her podcast, co-hosted with another SNL veteran David Spade. The famous impressionist says he knows his Joker kinda “didn’t land,” and he wishes he’d made a big change now that he thinks about it.

In a recent episode of his Flying on the Wall Podcast, THE Master of Disguise the star spoke about a recent SNL cold open where he reprized his impression of Biden alongside Maya Rudolph’s Kamala Harris. The sketch, which also featured the return of Alec Baldwin but this time, as Fox News reporter Bret Baier, parodied a pre-election interview between Baier and Harris. Baldwin’s character, Baier, sets up the game by playing a video of Biden, played by Carvey, as he digs into a vague explanation about the recent post. Joker 2. But the comment could be misinterpreted as talking about Harris. After some thought, Dana had this to say about this piece:

So I’m doing the Biden bit as part of Brett Baier’s interrogation with Maya (as) Kamala. And he’s a little confused. He starts talking about the Joker movie, but they don’t know it. So, I thought later, I asked myself, “Who is the Lady Ga Ga Ga?” You know, whatever. That’s what I did. I didn’t land. I thought later that I should have said, “And who is Whackin Phoenix?” Who the hell is he? Whackin Phoenix would have laughed.

The sketch–which you can watch below–in classic SNL style, was meant to be a satirical nod to Biden’s sometimes confusing rhetoric, suggesting he was criticizing Harris’ ascension to the presidency in 2024. However, Rudolph’s Harris makes it clear that the president is actually ramble on Joker: Folie à Deux. This setup led Carvey’s Biden to go off on a tangent, expressing confusion over Lady Gaga’s involvement in the suite and singing.

Gaga’s joke did not have the success the comedian hoped for, receiving only a slight reaction from the public. Thinking about it later, he felt that using Joaquin Phoenix’s name as “Whackin Phoenix” might have gotten more laughs. However, since many people haven’t even watched the controversial show Joker, and those who watched it mostly had a negative response followingone wonders if this alternative punchline would have worked better.

Dana Carvey’s reflection on the podcast also highlights the effort and precision that goes into creating a single sketch. On Fly on the wallhe and Spade often revisit their past SNL moments, breaking down both the successes and failures that defined their time on the show. The performer’s openness to criticism of his own work makes for a fun look into his process.

As SNL relies heavily on its election coverage, even bring back Kamala Harris from Maya RudolphThis raises an interesting question: If Vice President Harris wins the next election, will Rudolph continue to portray her on the show? Only time will tell. For now, fans can stream the latest season with a Peacock Subscription.