Jmunney's Blog

“Obama’s Anger Translator”

Like many classic comedy sketches, Obama’s Anger Translator germinated from a simple seed of an observation: Barack Obama practically never betrays a hint of heated anger, even though his job has given him plenty to get worked up over.  Jordan Peele’s virtuosic Obama impression and Keegan-Michael Key’s talent for portraying the unrepressed id were the perfect combination for illustrating this point.  One could argue that this was a partisan bit tailor-made for Obama supporters, but whenever your opinion of the President or the job he has done, it ought to be admitted that he has faced an intense amount of disagreement, enough that it would be understandable if he started nonsensically spouting out random Michael Jackson lyrics.

Season Analysis: Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, with their astute social and personal insights inspired by their biracial backgrounds, delivered the best new sketch comedy series since Chapelle’s Show.

“Episode 1”
Key & Peele’s first season included an impressive number of sketches that were instant classics or at least very amusing.  However, there was no episode among the first eight that was made up entirely of those sketches that fit those categories; on the other hand, there was also no episode in which it felt like Key and Peele had taken the week off.  Thus, we ended up with a collection of good-to-great episodes, in which none stood out much more than any other, except for the first episode, thanks to its novelty.  Their targets and routines were established quickly and decisively: the roles black/biracial people take on depending on the situation (two black men on their phones toughening up their demeanors as they walk by each other), gender politics (husbands going to great lengths to make sure their wives are out of earshot when they call them bitches), their friendship-based stand-up interstitials, the pop culture parodies for the hell of it (the parody reality cooking show Gideon’s Kitchen), and of course, their take on our first black – but actually, like them, half-black/half-white – president (Obama’s anger translator).  Key and Peele’s comedic voice is practically required listening for members of the American present day.