In the latest episode Saturday Night Liveactor Sarah Sherman stood out on the character's "Weekend Update" table, and then accountant Dawn Altman was the latest in her highly striking quirky track. In theory, Altman gave Colin Jost a co-host there, and that was some bad news about his tax return. Instead, she went on to accuse him of using cocaine, allowing his personal planes for ice deportation, adopting Jeffrey Epstein's financial services, and finally running some type of sex slavery ring behind the "update" suit. Jost has always endured the barrage by riding a bike in many painful, awkward reactions - shook his head, muttering to himself "Okay, OK" and finally put his head in his hand.
When Jost first served as co-host of “Weekend Update” in 2014, he was like a arrogant preparatory school kid who was destined to discover that the rest of the world didn’t share his high opinion of himself. Some armchair critics and social media users sigh certainly Lorne Michaels handed over the show’s most prestigious work to another “bland white man,” indicating that the most hidden in such an institution cannot adapt to a changing world. But in the end, Jost seems to find that he can win public goodwill by disdain. The inclination to his impossible makes Jost have a unique comedic energy, which is fun and makes him more likable.
The "default punch line" may not be where Jost will eventually appear after joining the satirical news show. When he first started using the "update" table, Jost tried to direct the energy of past anchors, an effort that didn't help him in anything. His co-host Michael Che (often playing the role of permanent boring, opposite to Jost's Straitaid Effect) has solid chemistry and has the potential to land a punch, but he has the quality of a "replacement level player" that he struggles to shake.
He also tends to put his feet into his mouth through jokes, or to look like a bastard normally, and even a little lazy in his joke writing. The roller coaster that only privileges can enjoy is like a roller coaster when he took a little time from the beginning of his tenure. "I just want me and my race and then it closes forever." Joster muses a blunt criticism, but full of smug criticism, which also makes him look like a guy who can hover over the misfortune of the country. That moment was a few weeks hosted by Donald Trump SNLwhich has attracted criticism that the show helped his politics rise by seeing him as a vaudeville show.
Among his critics, Joester's smug humor feels noticeably outdated when the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movement calls for deep inequality in society and the ostensibly liberal institutions to do better. Jost's central flaw as a comic is that he can be very frivolous. Sometimes he seems like a human embodiment of a newspaper column, telling you Calm down. He could joke about Trump's corruption or Hollywood's panic about Harvey Weinstein's revelation, but you never really feel that his treatment of these subjects is far from simple feed, although to be fair, his job is to tell jokes, jokes, jokes, and jokes he tends to be a little lazy.
Every great “weekend update” host ends up having to put their stamps on the table. Tina Fey conveys moral authority by chopping misogyny of the 2000s. Seth Meyers brings a painful humanism, while also standing out like the world's most angered MSNBC addict. Norm MacDonald crossed all possible lines and didn't seem to worry about it. Meanwhile, Jost seems to accept that many people desire to tell people like him, discovering his groove. He doesn’t completely get rid of his role, but his settlement is a role that releases pressure relief valves, a way for others to deal with cultural anxiety.
For example, Sherman joined the show in 2021 and was his biggest tormentor. I almost called her a quarrel companion, but that means Jost once got a message in Edgewise. From her earliest appearance, Sherman showed off Jost's talent for everything harmless to him, insisting for a moment that he kissed che and accused him of being a homosexual who rejected, and when he finally agreed, he accused him of now ridiculing the queer community of gayness. Her joke portrays him as a representative of an outdated mindset (his discomfort with the idea of him kissing a man), Sherman's open-minded peers are forever against it. But she also portrays Joester as a person who cannot win because he can’t keep up with the pace of humor, and the more she piles up, the more fun the communication becomes.
Part of the tension is the visual effect of instinct. jost clean and buttoned. Sherman is young and fashionable. Passed through SNL Historically, the show has had fun both institutionally and counterculturally. But in their working relationship, yes The agency - by doing it on the rhetorical chin, he and the show cleverly demonstrate an understanding of why a countercultural type like Sherman.
It wasn't just Sherman who participated in the whip. Che likes to insist that all of Jost's worst critics are completely valid in the assumption, for example, when he recently pointed out (as was said at the time) that if the next pope came from Africa, he would "have to travel over Colin's body." Bowen Yang instructed Jost to introduce him as an “Asian Cast Mextional” and then, when it really happened, was humbly angry when angry, then boasted with joy, “I lifted your ass.” Bill Murray Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special Jost was not included in his list of the best "updated" anchors.
In real life, Joest keeps his personal politics secret. But his actual belief, whatever they are, doesn't matter in this role. All the jabs boil down to the idea that he is a stand-in for the white man in power positions, and laughing at him is indeed a way to laugh at them. To his credit, this wouldn't have any effect without him being willing to stand there and use it as a punching bag. He found many ways to sigh and showed his painful awareness This is indeed what they think of mewhen every appearance of his telegram - counterintuitive tolerance made him even more sympathetic. (The title of his memoir, A very punchy facealso conveys this self-awareness. )
Jost is now the longest "weekend update" host in history, and there are rumors that he may be leaving work soon. If that's true, then I'll miss him. But, with all expectations, he achieved greatness by embracing his image. His legacy is safe.