Last season's Saturday Night Live demonstrated that at the heart of Jay Pharoah's impressions is nothing. He offers nothing to suggest a character. It's an act of, "Look how much I sound like ___, watch me gesture like ____." But there's nothing there which is why Pharoah did not stand out at all last year and he really needs others to write his skits because he lacks commentary skills and point of view leaving the celebrity impressions to seem like Mad TV rejects.
But possibly, the hollow artist may be just the right person to play the cold and hollow president?
Maybe not. Time will tell.
But someone better start writing better dialogue.
And better grasp that the families of politicians are off limits or they are not.
When Pharoah delivers a line about Barack having "two adorable daughters and not five creepy adult sons," the Saturday Night Live gang has crossed a line yet again.
Repeating, family members are off limits or they're not.
"Adorable" is in the eye of the beholder.
In addition, Weekend Update made a 'joke' about multiple wives, compared Mitt Romney to a special needs child and more. Futhermore, a really bad Mitt Romney impersonation found him talking about his horse at the Olympics -- this after he was raked over the coals by the media for not attending the Olympic event and noting it was his wife's horse. So there's not even the pretense of attempting to use real life as a premise for jokes.
None of it was funny.