They're the liveliest impressions on "SNL." Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our top picks for the most unhinged and over-the-top "SNL" people parodies that had us questioning if we should laugh or pinch ourselves to make sure it was actually happening.
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00:00I swear to God, I roll my face in it like chicken and flour. So what?
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most unhinged and over-the-top
00:10SNL people parodies that had us questioning if we should laugh or pinch ourselves to make
00:15sure it was actually happening.
00:16And Palm Springs up to Langey Bay.
00:22Number 10. Kristen Wiig as Kathy Lee Gifford.
00:25We wouldn't necessarily say that Wiig's mimicry of Gifford's voice and mannerisms are like
00:29seeing double, but she definitely gets the essence of her spirit pretty spot on.
00:33Come on, Yoda, what's the next scoop?
00:38In the Denver airport, they've installed a vending machine that serves hot pizza.
00:46This is the scoop.
00:47Come on, there's a reason she was one of the first faces we would see in the morning.
00:50If spending five minutes with Gifford feels like starting your day with a shot of espresso,
00:54Wiig's version is more like 10.
00:57Tell me, do you find it hard to find time to see him?
00:59Well, it can be, you know, I'm busy with the Today Show.
01:02Yeah, I mean, I mean, because he's imaginary.
01:04No.
01:05And if you thought Gifford was a bit much that early in the morning,
01:08her SNL counterpart is on another level.
01:10Everyone has a story. Everyone has a story.
01:17Kathy Lee needs to stop singing, the animals are freaking out and so are the black-eyed peas.
01:21Plus, did you know that she's into a drink or two?
01:23We've always loved the chaos of SNL's spin on Today, but Gifford would beg to differ.
01:28Can't she get another job and go off and do something else?
01:30Number nine, Kate McKinnon as Jeff Sessions.
01:33Kate McKinnon never shied away from letting her freak flag fly,
01:37no matter what character she played.
01:38Fortunately, that made her the perfect fit for some of the more
01:42colorful political figures dominating the headlines.
01:45When I say I do not, you say recall. I do not.
01:48Recall.
01:50I do not.
01:50Recall.
01:55Her Rudy Giuliani practically wrote itself,
01:58and her Kellyanne Conway only got more unhinged with each appearance.
02:01I'll give a crazy, crazy quote.
02:06Okay, so Puerto Rico actually was worse before Hurricane Maria,
02:10and the hurricane actually did blow some buildings back together,
02:13and I don't know why Elizabeth Warren won't tweet about that.
02:15However, few left us questioning reality more than her take on Jeff Sessions.
02:20It's a brilliant caricature that cranks up his Alabama roots.
02:23Deep-fried idiot.
02:26Two shrimp short of a gump.
02:28And messed up, baby.
02:30And I forgot where I was going with this, but I will fight for you, Alabama.
02:34Plus, someone on the writing team clearly took one look at the former attorney general and thought,
02:40hey, possum, if life's like a box of chocolates,
02:43this impression is that odd flavor you don't think should work, but somehow totally does.
02:48I got 800 messages on phone alerts saying I was a sneaky little liar.
02:54I didn't know what to do, so my lawyer said, run, Jeffy, run!
03:04The premise of this sketch already felt pretty trippy from the beginning.
03:07In it, Sarah Sherman plays a woman haunted by a dream demon who just happens to be
03:12Australian singer Troye Sivan.
03:14Except here, he's played by Timothee Chalamet with zero attempt at an Aussie accent.
03:24Bowen Yang's doctor has seen this before, so much that he even knows the exact
03:32choreography that torments his patients and comes prepared with his own tiny red undies.
03:36Chalamet may not be Sivan's twin,
03:38but his commitment makes us wonder if we're in a fever dream.
03:42Actually, that's true for the entire sketch.
03:53Even the real Sivan had some thoughts on it all.
03:56As more Troyes appear, we are left speechless.
04:12Before Lochte's scandal, he had already built quite a reputation for being,
04:16well, not the smoothest in interviews.
04:18Naturally, SNL took this to the next level,
04:20with Seth MacFarlane playing the Olympic swimmer as he stops by the
04:23weekend update desk to share his fall TV pics.
04:40MacFarlane hilariously nails Lochte's slow draw while dropping lines that raise way
04:45more questions than answers.
04:47Unsurprisingly, the real Lochte wasn't thrilled with the impression.
04:50Understandably, it's not the most flattering.
05:04But he did challenge MacFarlane to a swimming race,
05:06and if you ask us, he should totally take him up on it.
05:09Come on, the sketch is practically writing itself!
05:11Lochte vs. Lochte at the 2028 LA Olympics.
05:176. Daryl Hammond as Sean Connery
05:31Hammond's brash Sean Connery is an SNL classic.
05:34It's not just his crass humor or laid-back approach to the game,
05:38but also his incredible chemistry with Will Ferrell's Alex Trebek that makes
05:41these recurring sketches some of modern SNL's finest.
05:48When Hammond was first cast in the role,
05:56he initially aimed for what he called, quote,
05:58a really accurate impression of Connery.
06:01However, he quickly realized that his over-the-top reinterpretation was much funnier,
06:06not just for him but for audiences and even the writers.
06:09As he rightly points out, this is a comedy sketch show,
06:12and what the audience wants is a good laugh.
06:14And boy, does he deliver!
06:265. Kenan Thompson as David Ortiz, aka Big Papi
06:30Kenan brought unforgettable characters to the show,
06:33but he's not the only one.
06:34aka Big Papi
06:36Kenan brought unforgettable characters to the show,
06:38and his LeVar Ball is delightfully unhinged.
06:50Still, nothing beats David Ortiz and his...
06:54Whenever Big Papi swings by the update desk,
06:57you know it's gonna be a ball.
06:58Kenan perfectly caricatures the former baseball player,
07:01which opens the door for plenty of fun with the characterization.
07:04Batata frita!
07:06Yellow cake called salmon!
07:10I'm sorry, funneled cake with salmon?
07:11Yeah man, it make your dreams loco!
07:15Thompson's Ortiz knows how to big up a big lunch,
07:17and always has some wild sponsorships he loves to drop into the conversation.
07:30One of our favorite segments has to be his post-retirement plans.
07:34The real Ortiz may have hung up his bat,
07:36but we hope Kenan keeps this impression in the game for a long time.
07:514. Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer
07:54You know someone has really crushed an impression when you start thinking,
07:58what's SNL gonna do now that Sean Spicer is out?
08:00Melissa McCarthy went all out,
08:02skewering the former White House press secretary
08:05as a loud angry guy with a real grudge against the media.
08:07And of course, plenty of chewing gum.
08:25Her brilliant use of props and her physical comedy
08:28made her portrayal even more memorable.
08:30She nailed the witty lines, putting everything she had into it.
08:44The real Spicer apparently had mixed feelings about her impression.
08:48Reportedly, the then-president wasn't thrilled about
08:50his press secretary being played by a woman.
08:53If anything, that probably just pushed McCarthy to go even harder.
08:57If he's your friend,
08:58why does he make you come out here and humiliate yourself every day?
09:02He doesn't make me.
09:03I like it. I get off on it.
09:063. Dan Aykroyd as Julia Child
09:09Sometimes an SNL sketch can seem so out there
09:12that we can only imagine it was conceived during a late-night writing session
09:15once sleep-deprived delirium kicked in.
09:28This is definitely one of those.
09:30Dan Aykroyd puts on a dress, a wig,
09:32and an unnecessarily high-pitched voice to portray Chef Julia Child.
09:36As the sketch unfolds, Aykroyd's child experiences a cooking mishap
09:40but pushes through the mess, acting as if everything is totally normal.
09:44Place the chicken on its stomach and cut along the backbone
09:48to the Pope's nose like so.
09:53Now I've done it. I've cut the dickens out of my finger.
09:56Sure, it leans heavily on gross-out humor,
09:58but Aykroyd really sells it.
10:00It might not be the most flattering impression,
10:02but it gave the real Julia Child a good old chuckle.
10:05Or if you have a cat, a cat or a dog, they love liver.
10:09Save the liver. Don't throw it away.
10:11I hope I've made my point.
10:14Number 2. Cecily Strong as Jeanine Pirro
10:16Cecily Strong as former judge Jeanine Pirro
10:19is like a rich, intense wine that you just want to savor.
10:22I have vowed to enjoy a drink every time President Trump ignores a congressional subpoena.
10:30And let me tell you, Mama is a lizard.
10:33She's loud, crass, and almost always has a drink in her very animated hands,
10:39much to Colin Jost's delight.
10:41Strong amps up everything for this role.
10:43Her volume, her wild antics, and her outrageous claims.
10:47Her impression is basically like someone spilled a drink on their keyboard
10:50right after they hit caps lock and now it's just stuck there.
11:04And of course, she's at her best when she has a drink in hand.
11:08She couldn't have an easier time breaking Jost either.
11:10We live for the chaotic energy she brings to the update desk.
11:24Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
11:28Leslie Jones as Donald Trump
11:30Lorne Michaels might not see it, but we're bigly fans. Huge.
11:40Fucking shit, Rick!
11:43Kenan Thompson as Reba McEntire
11:45Oh, so this actually happened? It wasn't just some fever dream we had?
11:57Jimmy Fallon as Barry Gibb
11:59So over-the-top it breaks his scene mate.
12:01I grew up on the street that fed me.
12:04And no matter where I am, in the studio,
12:06I never move five seconds away from a girl.
12:09Alex Moffat as Eric Trump
12:11We never knew what he might come out with,
12:13but it was always laugh-out-loud hysterical.
12:15I drove the golf car!
12:19Sure did, Eric.
12:21I remember I told you this, pal, man. Remember?
12:23It's golf cart. Golf cart, not car, cart, with a T.
12:28There you go.
12:29Matt Damon as Brett Kavanaugh
12:31This Kavanaugh has a lot of feels,
12:33and they go from zero to a million at lightning speed.
12:36Let me tell you this. I'm gonna start at an 11.
12:41I'm gonna take it to about a 15 real quick.
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12:59Kristen Wiig as Liza Minnelli
13:02Few people can take something as simple as turning off a lamp
13:05and light up an audience with laughter like Wiig's Liza Minnelli.
13:08The premise is straightforward.
13:10Liza needs to turn off a lamp so she and her friend can head to the theater.
13:13Is there a little knob on here that you turn and everything goes black?
13:20I don't know, Liza. It's probably pretty simple.
13:22You tell that to Debbie Reynolds!
13:25But of course, she can't just flip the switch.
13:28She has to turn it into a full-on Fosse-esque extravaganza.
13:31Wiig always brings her A-game to every character,
13:34but even she can tell how absurd this whole scenario is.
13:37Once!
13:40Twice!
13:43Three!
13:45Will a Fosse neck do it?
13:48Honestly, we're amazed Jonah Hill managed to play his role so straight
13:51while everything around him is totally bonkers.
13:54This sketch makes zero sense,
13:56but that's exactly what makes it so brilliantly entertaining.
13:59What the heck, Mother Katz? Let's dance!
14:06This has been Liza Minnelli Tries to Turn Off a Lamp.
14:12Which SNL impression do you find most outrageous?
14:15Let us know in the comments.
14:16I cannot believe you're on Hotline.
14:19I feel you. I still can't tell if this is beneath me.
14:23Do you agree with our picks?
14:24Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
14:27And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
14:49you