Adam Driver hosted Saturday Night Live’s season premiere this weekend but the headlines have so far been all about Kanye West, currently the world’s second most effective attention-whore, and Matt Damon in the cold open as Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, aka the f-ckboy judge. I laughed at the parts where he kept repeating how often he drank beers and went to the gym with PJ, and Donky Dong Doug, and of course Squi but otherwise, I’m still trying to decide whether or not an actual reenactment is comedy. As my friend GF said, “It was basically a documentary”. 

The minute those doors opened and Matt walked out, the reaction was …like… “yep, that’s it”, right? Of course it was Matt Damon. Because it’s not a stretch for anyone to imagine – or believe – that Matt Damon could be that guy. And while I’m sure some people appreciate the performance, still others, especially those who remember the Matt Damon who, not even a year ago, was pleading Louis CK’s case in an interview with Peter Travers for ABC, are wondering if this is a good look. It’s not just that he was defending Louis, it was that he was centering Louis CK, arguing that a price had been paid already, that Louis wouldn’t re-offend, making Louis the protagonist instead of the women he harassed whose careers he ruined. THAT is the f-cking problem. From Brock Turner to Brett Kavanaugh, history is all about what will happen to them, and never about what has been happening to everyone else. So to see Matt Damon playing one of “them” when he is in real life is one of “them”, or at least pretty f-cking close, is … I dunno, is it self-awareness? Or is it… smug? Can you decide for me? Because I’m on decision overload. 

Also, was it that funny? On the scale of celebrity cameos, is it as funny as, say, Melissa McCarthy’s Sean Spicer? Maybe SNL had no chance with this anyway, because Colin Jost and Michael Che are the show’s head writers and also because, a full 24 hours before SNL went to air, Josh and Benny Safdie, pretty much nailed it with this mashup which was viral all weekend: 


 
This does more in under a minute than what SNL tried to do in 13. 

Here’s Sam Jackson’s reaction:

We need a sequel now.