Rosie O’Donnell Wasn’t Steve Bannon — And That’s a Good Thing
On the latest airing of Saturday Night Live, viewers were treated to a cast of characters who are becoming increasingly familiar. Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump, Melissa McCarthy’s Sean Spicer and even, perhaps, Beck Bennett’s shirtless Vladimir Putin may soon become late-night standbys. One name that did not make the cut, however, was Rosie O’Donnell, who despite feverish speculation did not assume the role of White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
While some Internet fans were likely disappointed. The move was a smart one. If O’Donnell ever does take up the role, it will likely be a flop.
At first blush, the idea seems to be a stroke of genius. O’Donnell and Trump have a famously long running feud. The 45th President of the United States even boasted in the first Republican debate by calling O’Donnell, “disgusting,” and a “fat pig.” In addition, a number of post-McCarthy leaks indicate that Trump has deep discomfort in having women impersonate his male colleagues. O’Donnell as Bannon would probably pinch a lot of the Donald’s nerves and bequeath a string of angry tweets for future generations to study.
O’Donnell herself has made no secret of her desire for the part, openly thirsting for the role on Twitter, and even going so far as to change her avatar to a frightening photoshop of her as the ex-Breitbart chairman.
exactly https://t.co/iQ46FneEHa
— ROSIE (@Rosie) February 10, 2017
The challenges, however, would be formidable.
It is no exaggeration to say that expectations are higher than ever for Saturday Night Live. In the Age of Trump, the comings and goings of official Washington have never offered richer material for professional jokersters. The reason Alec Baldwin’s Trump and Melissa McCarthy’s Spicer practically leap off the screen is because their performances hew closely to the actual figures they are lampooning.
A different era of SNL viewers will recall that the richest material for Tina Fey’s dead-on impression of Sarah Palin, came direct and unaltered from the former Alaska governor’s own mouth. Less naturally outrageous people are, by nature, harder to sell and explain, which is why performances like Kate McKinnon’s highly competent Hillary Clinton don’t connect as viscerally. As the administration progresses, McKinnon may ultimately come into her own not as Clinton, but as Trump’s chief television spin doctor Kellyanne Conway.
The problem with O’Donnell — or anybody — taking up the role Steve Bannon is that at this time, there really is not a role to take up. The White House strategist, aptly described by Stephen Colbert as “Robert Redford dredged from a river,” is a lock box. Despite being a looming presence at Trump’s side, he has so far given no on-camera interviews, and his official correspondence with the press has been minimal. A YouTube search adds little more than an old interview with Sean Hannity about Bannon’s 2011 movie, The Undefeated, and a smattering of other soundbites and official remarks.
If you had to describe Trump, or Spicer or Conway aside from their physical appearance, any number of specific adjectives might immediately come to mind. Try the same game with Bannon— it’s a heavier lift.
In Bannon’s most recent appearance on SNL, he was again played as a literal Grim Reaper and the secret power behind Donald Trump. The crutch worked well enough with the strength of Baldwin’s Trump powering the scene. Nobody, however, is going to sit and watch a Grim Reaper sketch all on its own. Gags about Bannon’s rumpled appearance or secret control of the U.S. government can only go so far without a tangible character for the audience to relate to.
Rosie O’Donnell is an incredibly talented performer, and in the daily carnival of outrage that is now our shared reality, there will be no shortage of roles she could pick up. Steve Bannon, however, is thin soup; it would be a waste of her prodigious skills to take on such a meager figure.
— —
This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.
