20 Times "Saturday Night Live" Absolutely Destroyed The Fourth Wall

4 years ago 5
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These moments came in like a wrecking ball.

Though Saturday Night Live always breaks the fourth wall when they announce the start of the show, there have been special cases in which the show steps out of a sketch's boundaries.

Whenever SNL does this, it's so the show can make fun of itself, its cast, or just to defy the audience's expectations, all for the sake of laughs. In the spirit of good humor, let's take a crack at the list of 20 Times Saturday Night Live Broke Through the Fourth Wall.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

20. Friends

Matthew Perry as Joey and Colin Quinn as Chandler in a parody of "Friends" in "Saturday Night Live"

NBC / Via youtube.com

In this parody of Friends, host Matthew Perry stars as Joey, while Colin Quinn plays the former's signature character, Chandler. However, Perry is annoyed by Quinn's inaccurate portrayal of Chandler and completely breaks character. He then goes on to ridicule Chris Kattan's portrayal of Ross, telling him to continue just playing characters who don't speak, cleverly making fun of SNL's own cast as well as the characters on Friends.

19. What's Up With That

Kenan Thompson, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen as their character on "What's Up With That" in "Saturday Night Live"

NBC / Via youtube.com

When Jason Sudeikis returned to SNL in 2021, he starred in this fan-favorite as Vance, the guy in the red tracksuit. His character is known for dancing behind Kenan Thompson's character as he sings. At the end of this particular sketch, Kenan's character shouts, "Watch Ted Lasso," referencing Sudeikis's hit show and the fact that his iconic dance in this sketch was used in its very first episode.

18. Men's Room Sketch

Bowen Yang staring at the camera in a men's room in "Saturday Night Live"

NBC / Via youtube.com

In this recent sketch with Kieran Culkin, a bunch of the male cast stars as office workers on a bathroom break together. They all try to break the ice with some awkward comments, but after each one, the men speak to the camera to express their discomfort and to criticize what they just said. Eventually, one of them throws a curveball at the audience by confessing that he committed murder. Every guy has felt weird socializing in the bathroom together, and the way the characters dramatically address the audience gets that feeling across all too well.

17. Eric Trump Screws Up

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In a reenactment of an event laid out in the Robert Mueller Investigation, brothers Eric and Donald Trump Jr. meet with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to get dirt about Hillary Clinton. Of course, Alex Moffat's Eric ends up acting as oblivious and half-witted as ever. Even when the cast tries to announce the show, Eric messes up by saying "live" instead of "LIVE."

16. The Ingraham Angle

Kate McKinnon as Laura Ingraham on the "The Ingraham Angle" in "Saturday Night Live"

NBC / Via youtube.com

In this parody of Laura Ingraham's talk show, Kate McKinnon's impersonation of her spreads misinformation and right-wing conspiracy theories. At the end of one of these sketches, her character makes a report about Alec Baldwin sexually assaulting a Boy Scout, showing a picture of him and Adam Sandler in their controversial "Canteen Boy" sketch on SNL. It's a surprising and hilarious jab at Baldwin and the conservatives' beef with his over-the-top impression of Donald Trump on the show.

15. Linda Tripp

John Goodman as Linda Tripp scowling at the screen in "Saturday Night Live"

NBC / Via youtube.com

In this cold open, John Goodman portrays Linda Tripp and discusses her controversial role in the Clinton-Lewinsky investigation. Eventually, Tripp is questioned about Goodman's impression of her on SNL, with the in-character Goodman praising his acting and his role in The Big Lebowski. However, he begins to break character once his film, King Ralph, is criticized. Not even a member of the Five-Timers Club is safe from mockery.

14. NATO Cafeteria PSA

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Here, SNL humorously turns the NATO Conference cafeteria into a scene straight of a high-school drama. While Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Macron, and Boris Johnson are the "cool kids" the girls gush over, Donald Trump is one of the guys that this group bullies and banishes to the "losers table" with Latvia. At the end of this sketch, Melania Trump comes on stage and speaks to the camera, revealing it is actually a PSA for her anti-bullying "Be Best" campaign.

13. Church Lady Goes Long

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NBC / Via youtube.com

In this classic "Church Chat" sketch, Dana Carvey's Church Lady interviews NFL players Joe Montana and Walter Payton about football. Near the end of the sketch, the pious talk show host plays a little game with the football elite and tries to fake out Payton for a catch. Church Lady then runs into the studio audience and hides behind them before the ball is thrown at her.

12. Family Feud Oscars Edition

 Oscars Edition" in "Saturday Night Live"

NBC / Via youtube.com

In this spoof on the legendary game show, Kenan Thompson's Steve Harvey talks to Chris Redd's Jordan Peele, and the latter character says at some point, you have to move on from sketch comedy. Kenan quickly becomes concerned and questions Peele, as he's been on Saturday Night Live for almost two decades. This was a clever joke about Kenan's run on the show, and it's hilarious to see him break character and question the course of his life.

11. The First Thanksgiving

Will Ferrell dressed as Pocahontas's grandfather, smiling at the camera, in "Saturday Night Live"

NBC / Via youtube.com

In this historical parody, we see John Smith and Pocahontas arguing with the latter's prejudiced grandfather in a hilarious spoof on modern-day politics. At the end of the sketch, Will Ferrell breaks character and addresses the camera in PSA advocating for peace between people of different races and beliefs. He also calls out how in this sketch, he and other white actors are playing Native Americans.

10. Mozart Sketch

Justin Timberlake as Mozart in "Saturday Night Live"

NBC / Via youtube.com

In this sketch, Justin Timberlake plays the legendary composer when he decides to take a break from making music to pursue an acting career. From there, the cast makes jokes about Justin's film, Friends With Benefits, and how it is similar to No Strings Attached. They joke about how his performance in The Social Network and how he was overlooked by the Oscars and the Golden Globes. They also poke fun at his work with Andy Samberg, who plays Mozart's buddy, Salieri. And they even squeezed in a joke about Bieber for good measure.

9. Clinton Gets Cancelled

Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton sitting in the White House with Will Ferrell's Kenneth Star standing next to him in "Saturday Night Live"

NBC / Via youtube.com

In this cold open, Darrell Hammond's Bill Clinton sits in the Oval Office, talking to the American public about his love of the sexual details in the infamous Paula Jones deposition. The fake president goes as far as to sell copies of it as an erotic novel with its own romantic cover. This goes on until Will Ferrell walks into frame, issuing a subpoena to him for his impression of the U.S. president before taking over the show.

8. R. Kelly Interview

Kenan Thompson as R. Kelly sitting with Leslie Jones as Gayle King in "Saturday Night Live"

NBC / Via youtube.com

In this opening sketch, Kenan Thompson does a hilariously dim-witted impression of disgraced singer R. Kelly when he is interviewed by Gayle King. Kenan's character is so ridiculously idiotic, that he mispronounces King's first name and mistakes a potted plant for a camera. In the end, Kelly turns to the wall and begins to shout the show's opening catchphrase, only for King to point him the other way.

7. Immigrant Tale

Justin Timberlake as Cornelius Timberlake in "Saturday Night Live"

NBC / Via youtube.com

In another spoof on Justin Timberlake, the singer stars as his ancestor, Cornelius, as he first arrives on Ellis Island. There, he shares his dreams of what his descendant, Justin, will accomplish in his life, making fun of himself, his singing career, and his sense of fashion. While that joke about Britney might not have aged well, the sketch as a whole is a hilariously fun poke at Justin, with Andy Samberg's ancestor coming out and making fun of himself as well.

6. Jheri's Place

Dave Chappelle, Kenan Thompson, Aidy Bryant, Mikey Day, Leslie Jones, and Kyle Mooney sitting at a table with towels and microphones in "Saturday Night Live"

NBC / Via youtube.com

At first, this sketch seemed like it was going to be about a barbershop where the employees are interrogated about customer complaints. However, it quickly falls apart and the cast ends up speaking to the press in the style of an NFL post-game conference, towels and all. It's a hilarious pivot that leads to some laughable meta-commentary about the show, the cast, and their past mistakes.

5. Diner Lobster

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NBC / Via youtube.com

In this modern classic, Pete Davidson's character orders a lobster at a diner, and the audience is surprisingly treated to a crustacean production of Les Misérables. Chris Redd's character thus urges his friend not to eat the innocent lobster, only for Davidson to say he's "more of a Mean Girls guy." He then turns to the camera to advertise the movie's play by saying, "on Broadway now." This callout is pretty fitting for SNL, since Mean Girls was written by show alumni Tina Fey.

4. Sean Spicer

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NBC / Via youtube.com

When Melissa McCarthy played Sean Spicer on SNL, she gave a killer performance that forever associated the former White House Press Secretary with her. At the end of her first appearance, she screams, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night," only for a reporter saying that already happened before getting attacked by Spicer. Apparently, Spicey's forgetfulness extends beyond the fourth wall.

3. The McLaughlin Group

Dana Carney as John McLaughlin in "Saturday Night Live"

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A classic SNL sketch takes the form of a parody of The McLaughlin Group with Dana Carvey impersonating the show's host. At one point, Mike Myers's character says, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night," and the band starts to play the opening music. However, Carvey's character shouts his catchphrase, "wrong," to both Myers and the band and keeps the sketch going, encapsulating just how the comedian always steals the show.

2. Count Chocula

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The highlight of Dave Chappelle's latest episode came in the sketch about Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben's mascots being recalled. Eventually, we see Chappelle appear as "the Allstate guy," who brings out Pete Davidson's Count Chocula. After mistaking the cereal mascot for a Black man, Chappelle talks to the camera and tells America to look at "Pete Davidson's lips." This causes both Chappelle and Davidson to crack up laughing, with the latter accidentally spitting out his fake teeth.

1. Biden Brags

Jim Carrey as Joe Biden and Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris making the Ace Ventura loser sign in "Saturday Night Live"

NBC / Via YouTube

Following Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 election, Jim Carrey reprised his role as the 46th president to celebrate this win with Maya Rudolph's Kamala Harris. In the end, Carrey delivers Trump the mother of all burns by saying that in this election, there has to be a winner and a loser, calling Trump the latter as his iconic character, Ace Ventura.

Do you agree with this list? Were there any other great fourth-wall-breaking moments that were missed? Please let me know in the comments section below.

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