A Tribute To Beck Bennett, Saturday Night Live's Underappreciated Star

"I'm wearing this shirt, and YoU wOn'T eVeN lEt Me NuUuUuT?!?"

The announcement of the return of Saturday Night Live this coming weekend would have greatly excited me anyways-- who doesn't get amped for the return of one of their favorite shows? --but there was plenty of good news accompanying it. Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, and Pete Davidson all surprisingly returning! First-time hosts Owen Wilson, Rami Malek and the beloved Jason Sudeikis kicking off the season! A revamped writing staff including some of my favorite Twitter follows, and three new cast members with exciting bodies of work already!

But, in an instant, all-- okay, not all, but a good bit of --that excitement was sapped, with the announcement that Beck Bennett would be departing the show.

In his 8 years on the show, Bennett quickly became my favorite male cast member, and over the years, developed into that person that would just always make me laugh, regardless of what role he was performing. Perhaps it helps that there hasn't really been a consistently impactful male SNL cast member since the last decade, but still, Beck was certainly my favorite the show had since the great Bill Hader. Like Hader, as well as another SNL alum that has (recently) found some terrific post-show success and acclaim, Jason Sudeikis, he didn't necessarily come across as a star in the making, in the manner of an Andy Samberg, Jimmy Fallon or Will Ferrell. Rather, he exemplified comedic excellence by being remarkably versatile. Not only could he play any type of role, he could do it SO WELL; he never felt miscast and he never failed to deliver. That's an irreplaceable quality in a sketch comedy like Saturday Night Live, and I fear the show will miss him more than most fans and critics alike might realize.

I love Cecily Strong; I've been campaigning for her to get an Emmy since at least 2018. I love Kate McKinnon; I've been delighted by her two Emmy wins. I love Aidy Bryant, and am so happy she's finding some success outside of SNL as well in her own show Shrill. I like Pete Davidson a lot and am proud of his growth both as a person and as a versatile sketch comedian. But the fact of the matter is, those cast members leaving all made sense. I was emotionally prepared for it. Those women have all been on the cast for nearly a decade, and Davidson, who has never been a natural fit on the program anyway, has publicly flirted with leaving for years. I was not emotionally prepared for the departure of Beck Bennett, however, and to process it, I will walk through some of the best examples of "Beck sketches" by the various hats he wore during his 8 years on SNL.

"Baby" Beginnings

I actually recognized Bennett when he joined the cast, because he starred in those omnipresent AT&T commercials where he conducted roundtables with young kids. Interestingly enough, babies played a role in his first bona fide breakout sketch on the show, too. More specifically, it was his baby boss character, which used brilliant physical comedy to drive an always-welcome recurring sketch. (Note: the first-ever-- and funniest --incarnation of that sketch with Josh Hutcherson is inexplicably no longer on the internet, so unfortunately the only example I have is this one, with [cancelled].)

Partnership With Kyle Mooney

Beck joined the show at the same time as his good friend Kyle Mooney, with whom he had garnered a decently-sized YouTube following with their sketch videos, under the name Good Neighbor. (Here are a couple of their most beloved offerings.) These two teamed up especially often in their early years on the show, but their chemistry and collaboration was a thread that ran throughout the last 8 years. Here are some "Beck and Kyle" highlights, in chronological order:

"Beers" with Larry David, November 2017

"Brothers" with Liev Schreiber, November 2018

"Neighbors" from SNL At-Home, May 2020

Impressions

Bennett wasn't known as a spot-on impressionist a la Hader or even the more recent Taran Killam, but he turned in several terrific impressions during his tenure, including in his last sketch ever (listed below). His most well-known ones were the political ones; aren't they always? And to be fair, his Vice President Mike Pence, Vladimir Putin and Mitch McConnell were delightfully accurate. But in an era that was so jaded with political impressions, I was more partial to some of the random ones he perfected over this past season:

Mike Lindell

Bruce Springsteen

Vin Diesel

The Perfect Straight Man

Over time. Beck carved out a consistent role as the ideal 'straight man' in sketches. Even if he isn't the most memorable part of the skit-- he isn't providing much of the comedy himself, that is --he helps facilitate its hilarity through how earnest and straightforward he himself is. Here are some of my favorite "Beck as 'straight man'" sketches, in chronological order:

"David S. Pumpkins" with Tom Hanks, October 2016

"Pepsi Commercial", April 2017

"New Paint" with Kristen Stewart, November 2019

The.. Slightly-Off "Straight" Man

Increasingly, though, Bennett started to routinely play a different kind of character, and I think it was here where I realized 'Oh, this guy's the best.' He perfected the art of characters that seemed normal, but as the sketch progressed, you realized there was something very, very off with them. It was 'straight man' in demeanor, but not at all in content. Here are some of my favorite "Straight-but-off Man" sketches, in chronological order:

"Mr. Westerberg" with Reese Witherspoon, May 2015

"Undercover Office Potty" with Bill Hader, March 2018

"Del Taco Shoot" with Adam Driver, January 2020

"Take Me Back", November 2020

The Fully Wild Man

More consistently over time, Beck showed his willingness and ability to play his own absolutely unhinged solo characters, to delightful results. Here are some of the best "Beck Unhinged" sketches, in chronological order:

"Jules, Who Sees Things A Little Differently," December 2018

"First Impression" with Jason Momoa, December 2018

"Accent Coach" with Daniel Craig, March 2020

The Bum Dad

Finally, in addition to the off-straight man and the problematic white guy, though, there was another role Beck Bennett played both consistently and excellently, and I think it was my personal favorite of his arsenal: the Dad. These sketch dads ranged from well-intentioned but dopey, to alcoholic and distant, to older and snarky, but tonally, they were always played to perfection. Here are my favorite Daddy Beck sketches, in chronological order:

"Parents Call" with Halsey, February 2019

"Boop-It", February 2020

"December to Remember" with Timothee Chalamet, December 2020

"Picture With Dad" with Anya Taylor-Joy, May 2021

Farewell, Beck Bennett, you delightfully dopey comedic genius. We hardly deserved ye.