Scarlett Johansson delivered an outstanding performance on the latest episode of Saturday Night Live, where she portrayed Alabama’s junior senator, Katie Britt, during a comedic cold open featuring President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address and the Republican response.
In the sketch, an animated Biden, played by Mikey Day, energetically confronts the Republicans, including a sad House Speaker Mike Johnson and an obnoxious Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Biden then hands over to Britt (Johansson), who delivers a wildly exaggerated and violent monologue about a fabricated sex-trafficking incident.
Her speech, delivered from a “strange, empty kitchen,” showcases Johansson’s versatility as she shifts between an unconvincing theater enthusiast, a Home Shopping Network salesperson, a seductively odd character, and a cold villainess reminiscent of those from the movie Get Out.
Johansson’s portrayal was widely praised, with many considering it the best cold open of the season. Her performance was so engaging that some viewers wished it had lasted longer.
The episode, hosted by Josh Brolin for the third time, featured several other memorable moments. Brolin kicked things off with a monologue that included reading a “super creepy” poem to his Dune co-star Timothée Chalamet, followed by an even creepier poem dedicated to a visibly uncomfortable Kenan Thompson.
Brolin’s charm and charisma carried the sketch, even when he stripped down his underwear and took an ice bath on stage.
In the first sketch, Brolin and Heidi Gardner played a married couple with a kinky role-play fetish who inadvertently disrupted a bank robbery.
Despite the edgy premise and the actors’ enthusiastic performances, the sketch’s humor didn’t quite hit the mark.
Next was an R&B duet featuring Andrew Dismukes and Brolin as airplane passengers. Dismukes’ character, unable to access his Kindle or afford headphones, lives vicariously through Brolin’s character, who is trying to enjoy the sci-fi film Ad Astra.
Although the premise was puzzling, the sketch included some amusing moments, particularly a debate over the plot of the underrated Brad Pitt space thriller and the rules of Sudoku.
Scarlett Johansson’s standout performance as Katie Britt was the highlight of an otherwise mixed episode of Saturday Night Live.
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