SNL Lets Billy Crystal Swing by Weekend Update
Vanessa Bayer’s Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy has been a regular character on SNL’s Weekend Update for quite some time now, so it was about time for us meet the family of everyone’s favorite awkward, overly prepared Jewish kid. Coinciding with the end of Passover, the show brought the great Billy Crystal onto the show as Jacob’s equally awkward father.
Since the character of Jacob has always been introduced as the Weekend Update’s hosts’ podiatrist’s son, the casting of Crystal in this role is a gag that’s literally been years in the making. Like his son (who Bayer has made reliably adorable and hilarious in every appearance), Crystal’s character is deeply uncomfortable to be in front of a crowd and refuses to engage in any actual conversation or banter with Michael Che. Instead, he will only directly read from his carefully prepared notes, where each page always culminates in a really, really bad joke.
The best recurring Weekend Update guests always reach that phase where they begin to develop their own “mythology.” Remember what ultimately went down with Bill Hader’s Stefon? We doubt that Jacob will ever get something that elaborate, but we appreciate the character enough that we are genuinely delighted to have met his father. The fact that he’s played by Billy Crystal is a just a bonus.