- 2 days ago
Ever wondered how SNL impressions stack up against the real deal? Join us as we compare iconic "SNL" performances with the people they're portraying! From Melissa Villaseñor's spot-on Dolly Parton to Tina Fey's legendary Sarah Palin, we're diving into the details. We'll explore Ego Nwodim as Dionne Warwick, Maya Rudolph's Kamala Harris, and more! See if the SNL cast nailed the voice, look, and mannerisms of the celebrities they impersonate, or if it's more of a parody!
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00:00Vanessa, Vanessa, what are you doing?
00:03What? Oh, what?
00:06Hi!
00:07Can you just, can you just drop that for a second?
00:11Yeah.
00:12Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we'll be comparing key SNL impressions and see how close they get to the real person.
00:19Do you mind your manners, hair gel?
00:21Let's just calm down, Nick. Let's do our self-esteem exercises where we pay each other compliments.
00:27Number 10, Dolly Parton.
00:30SNL alum Melissa Villasenor wowed audiences with a pitch-perfect, stunning impression of Lady Gaga, belting out the hit, Shallow.
00:38And in the bad times, I fear myself.
00:42In the sand.
00:45In the sand.
00:46In arguably even more impressive imitation is her Dolly Parton, showing up to Weekend Update dressed like the country star.
00:54I am being extremely upfront, okay? I almost had trouble walking out here.
00:59Villasenor's voice is even a pitch-perfect southern vibrato, launching into a rendition of a Holly Jolly Christmas and a Christmas-style parody of Jolene.
01:07Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells all the way. I'm begging of you, please don't take Jolene.
01:16Yeah, that's not how jingle bells goes.
01:21Parton even gave a monologue on SNL in 1989.
01:24These people have gone out of their way to make me feel like one of the family.
01:29Villasenor doesn't quite capture Parton's lively movements and energy, but the likeness is still quite close.
01:36If you close your eyes, you may find yourself guessing which voice is Villasenor's and which one is Parton's.
01:42Now that's talent.
01:489. Dionne Warwick
01:50A recurring skit, The Dionne Warwick Show, sees Egon Wodum as Warwick, playing the host to other celebrities in Warwick's signature style.
01:58And now, the weather report.
02:03Raindrops keep falling on my head
02:06But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turning red
02:13All right, yeah, thank you. All right.
02:16Warwick herself even made a cameo in the show.
02:19The similarities and differences between the two are fascinating.
02:23Wodum's voice is raspier than Warwick's, and the accent is a little different.
02:27Still, the two look like they could be sisters, and they both deliver some truly zesty zingers.
02:33Dionne, why are you perfect?
02:36My darling, I am not perfect. I'm just very, very good.
02:41Their voices in Burt Bacharach's What the World Needs Now blend together seamlessly.
02:47Warwick herself loved the homage and praised Modum's performance.
02:51How heartwarming.
02:52It's the only day that there's just too little love.
03:00All right, then, we look good. All right.
03:038. Kamala Harris
03:05Maya Rudolph had already done a hilarious parody of Oprah Winfrey in a skit about the celebrity's birthday.
03:12Her best work yet, however, may just be this recreation of the vice president in her contentious interview with Fox News.
03:19This is an election for president of the United States. It's not supposed to be easy.
03:24I know, but if it's as...
03:25It's not supposed to be... It is not supposed to be a cakewalk for anyone.
03:28So are they misguided, the 50%?
03:31Listen, I'm...
03:31Are they stupid? What is it?
03:32Oh, God, I would never say that about the American people.
03:35Rudolph's physical appearance is a dead ringer for Harris.
03:38Her voice, cadence, and mannerisms are on point.
03:42I have watched J'Biden from the Oval Office to the Situation Room.
03:48And J'Biden is J'Bright.
03:51He is J'Brilliant.
03:54But my presidency will J'Basically J'Be.
03:59J'Billion times J'Better.
04:01The skit itself is a bullseye parody that barely ventures too far from the actual interview,
04:07including Brett Baier's frequent interruptions almost word for word.
04:12You're trying real hard to make me say something bad.
04:14But they're at least fat, right? Some of them are very fat.
04:18Okay, Brett, let's move on.
04:19Okay, fine.
04:20If it weren't for the Breaking Bad references,
04:22we just might mistake Rudolph for the real person.
04:25Even Harris herself was impressed, which is indeed high praise.
04:29I have a plan.
04:30But what is it?
04:31Well, I'm trying to tell you.
04:32I'm trying to listen.
04:33Then stop talking.
04:34I don't know how.
04:35Number 7. Christopher Walken
04:37Wow!
04:41Wow!
04:42When's the last time I saw you, Stanley?
04:45It's my brother John's wedding 15 years ago.
04:49This actor is famous for his distinct, eccentric persona and performance.
04:54Walken is among the most imitated actors,
04:56which makes this SNL skit about a hypothetical Walken family reunion apropos.
05:01In this sketch, Bill Hader's Walken catches up with his other relatives,
05:06also other cast members doing their best Walken.
05:09Even Amy Poehler does an imitation, Cadence and all.
05:13Look how big you guys are getting.
05:15Maxine, what's your doll's name?
05:19My doll's name is Jenny.
05:21Haters' Walken accent and Cadence are only a touch exaggerated
05:24from the real actor's own emphatic speech patterns.
05:28Walken appeared on SNL for years,
05:30so this imitation was no less than a tribute to him.
05:33The Walkens are a tolerant tribe.
05:38Two snaps on that girlfriend.
05:41Number 6. Judge Judy
05:42It's an oldie but goodie.
05:45I'm Judge Judy and I'm tough.
05:46She's judicious.
05:48But I'm all woman.
05:49She's delicious.
05:50Sherry O'Terry made SNL history in this 90s imitation of the TV judge.
05:56In this courtroom sketch,
05:57O'Terry's Judge Judy has the voice, look, and accent of the judge.
06:01Speaking of which,
06:03here is the real Judge Judy coming to relieve O'Terry of her post.
06:06I've seen enough, Sherry.
06:08Get up.
06:08I bet I'm gonna...
06:10Listen, get your bony ass out of my chair.
06:13The resemblance is truly uncanny,
06:15so much so that it seems like O'Terry is Judy's doppelganger.
06:19Now I've come across a lot of numbnuts in my day,
06:22but Miss Gillian, you are right up there.
06:25She's a knuckleheader.
06:26Not now, Sherry. Not now.
06:27O'Terry went on to say Judge Judy called her
06:30and told her she, quote,
06:31almost got her.
06:33The reality TV star even set her son up with O'Terry,
06:37which goes to show the power of a good impression.
06:39Now, Sherry, let's go talk about those eyebrows.
06:42It wasn't my idea.
06:43It was their makeup.
06:43It wasn't my idea.
06:44Number 5. Hillary Clinton
06:46What a relatable laugh.
06:51There have been many parodies of this famous politician on SNL,
06:55with no less than nine actors taking a whack
06:58at portraying the first lady-turned-presidential candidate.
07:01The most recent ones include Amy Poehler
07:04doing her signature parks and recreation style of comic acting.
07:07I scratched and clawed through mud and barbed wire,
07:13and you just glided in on a dog sled.
07:17Vanessa Bayer also took a whack at the politician,
07:20countering her cadence better.
07:21Well, I'm surprised you had time to read the news
07:24between guest starring on Nashville and doing push-ups on Ellen.
07:28But, you know, I guess that's what first ladies do now.
07:30I don't know.
07:30But the most remarkable of these doppelgangers
07:34has to be Kate McKinnon's Hillary Clinton.
07:37In voice, cadence, and appearance,
07:39McKinnon plays Clinton to a T,
07:41albeit in a periodic key.
07:43I love you, girl.
07:44We need more women like you.
07:46But it's not your time.
07:49It's my time.
07:51As she addresses the scandal over her email server.
07:54What a performance.
07:56Number 4. Miley Cyrus
07:58Vanessa Bayer made waves
08:00with her spoof of Jennifer Aniston
08:02in the role of Rachel Green from Friends.
08:04Well, uh, uh, what?
08:05Oh, yeah, well, uh, yeah, well, what?
08:09Oh, you know, well, what?
08:11Her Miley Cyrus, though,
08:12may just be her closest parody yet.
08:15Bayer's Miley is more exaggeratedly hyper
08:18than her real-life counterpart,
08:20but the voice and look are on key,
08:22especially as Cyrus in her Hannah Montana role.
08:24Headin' up the Miley Cyrus band over here,
08:27where we got my dad, Billy Ray Cyrus.
08:31You are so special, baby girl.
08:36Thanks, Dad.
08:38Bayer even does hilariously inept impressions as the star.
08:42Cyrus herself also appeared in the skit,
08:44playing a credible Justin Bieber.
08:47All I have to say to that is, uh, wink.
08:49Chin.
08:50All's well that ends well,
08:53and Bayer and Cyrus even sing together.
08:55This performance was pretty cool.
08:57I got gas and a show
09:00and we're ready to go
09:02so I guess that's pretty cool.
09:06Number three, Donald Trump.
09:07I understand Elmo has now been apprehended by ICE.
09:11It's brought to you by the letter L for El Salvador.
09:15He's not coming back.
09:16We certainly do not lack parodies of this controversial businessman turned politician.
09:21You know, the word garbage is the hottest thing right now.
09:26Out there.
09:28The hottest thing out there.
09:29Sure, would you like to drive a garbage truck?
09:33SNL has had at least five actors portraying Trump all the way from the 80s,
09:38but by far the most lauded Trump spoofs
09:40have been Alec Baldwin's and James Austin Johnson's Trump, respectively.
09:44It's been a big week, folks.
09:46We're getting rid of everything Obama did.
09:49Healthcare, the Iran deal,
09:51and we're ripping out all the vegetables in Michelle Obama's garden
09:54and planting McNuggets.
09:55Baldwin nails the appearance, the gestures, and the voice inflections.
09:59His voice is a little deeper than the real Trump's thinner volume,
10:03but otherwise, it's a dead ringer.
10:05That's not what I'm here to talk about.
10:06As I said, I'm here to talk about the tax plan
10:09and only the tax plan because the numbers are amazing.
10:13Baldwin even won a Critics' Choice Award
10:15and a Primetime Emmy Award for his performance.
10:19James Austin Johnson is the present Trump
10:21and is perhaps even more chameleon-like,
10:24capturing the wax-like look of the real Trump's contemporary look.
10:27Sir, this order will outlaw ghosts.
10:30We're sick of the ghosts, right?
10:32We don't like them.
10:33You know, every Christmas Eve, I get visited by three ghosts.
10:36I don't know what the hell they're talking about.
10:39Number 2, Nicolas Cage.
10:41Capturing the quality of this eccentric and mercurial actor can be tricky.
10:46I'm looking at two identical Nick Cages.
10:52Well, Seth, I can explain if you just calm down!
10:55Jimmy Fallon was the first to do a parody of the actor on SNL,
10:59but Andy Samberg was the one who made it look all too easy.
11:04Samberg became well-known for his impression of Nicolas Cage
11:07in the Weekend Update portion of the show.
11:09While physically we are exactly the same,
11:12there are some slight differences personality-wise.
11:15Yes, for example, this Nick is calm and stealthy like a ninja warrior.
11:21Whereas this Nick is an exaggerated screaming psychopath.
11:25It just doesn't exist.
11:28Samberg even performs right beside the actor himself,
11:32making the similarities of appearance and mannerisms
11:35between the two downright uncanny.
11:37Samberg is pretty believable as Cage's reputed clone,
11:41albeit much younger and less broad-shouldered,
11:44capturing his idiosyncrasies to the very last detail.
11:47Nick, I love your charisma.
11:50Nick, I love your lion's heart.
11:53Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
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12:08When it comes to SNL impressions,
12:14the most critically acclaimed of them all
12:17has to be Tina Fey's performance as Sarah Palin.
12:20We've got to accompany tax reduction and tax relief for Americans
12:24also having a dollar-value meal at restaurants.
12:28Fey's Palin is uncannily alike in voice, accent, appearance, and mannerisms.
12:34But we are expected to govern with integrity and goodwill
12:39and clear convictions and a servant's heart.
12:43Her iconic line,
12:44I can see Russia from my house,
12:46was in fact written for the show by Mike Shoemaker,
12:50mistakenly attributed to the politician herself.
12:52You know, Hillary and I don't agree on everything.
12:56I believe that diplomacy should be the cornerstone of any foreign policy.
13:05And I can see Russia from my house.
13:08Palin herself admitted that,
13:09though she didn't hear a word Fey said,
13:12the appearance was spot on.
13:14Fey won the Primetime Emmy Award
13:16for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
13:18for her impersonation,
13:20and it was well-deserved.
13:22You become increasingly adorable.
13:24Is that fair to say?
13:26I don't know, is it?
13:29Which other SNL impression of a celebrity or politician
13:32did you feel was truly impressive?
13:34Let us know in the comments down below.
13:36And he has the nerve to call me a moron.
13:39Talk about the pot calling the kettle Mexican.
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