We’re rolling through every episode of Key and Peele on Pop Thruster. Here we go with “Obama College Years,” Season 2 Episode 1. Follow along on the journey!
Also: check out ALL 351 Key & Peele Sketches Ranked (In Painstakingly Funny Detail)!
Late For The Hit
Not so slick hit men.
The first sketch of the second season of Key & Peele contains no dialog, which if nothing else lets the fellas show off that they are incredibly gifted physical performers. We hear operatic music as the boys, done up in fancy suits and carrying pistols with silencers, are about to get into whacking mode… until a series of obstacles get in Peele’s way. It’s classic sketch comedy stuff: take a solid, simple premise and push it to its limit. We also get a read on how gifted this show is in terms of film production and direction… which, we will learn, turns out Jordan Peele knows how to do pretty, pretty well.
Obama College Years
“I’m totally stoked to the max about it.” – Barack Obama
Old school VCR footage dated March 15th, 1980 reveals a young Barack Obama (Peele) giving a talk to his fellow students. He tells them that the upcoming campus party might be the best the college has ever seen, and then takes a puff on a joint. “That’s some righteous bud,” he says. This one works on the power of its atmosphere, Peele riffing on college-y bro-out talk as a young Obama, and let’s face it, strong nostalgia for the Obama administration generally. Bonus: a follow-up segment gets even funnier.
Jesus the Not Pimp
“I’m not a pimp, I’m a carpenter.” – Jesus
Mary Magdalene is washing Jesus’ (Peele) feet, when he tells her, “Stand and be forgiven for your sins.” The sketch is played like a cheesy historical reenactment until… Mary’s pimp (Key) shows up, saying, “Where you at, bitch?” It turns out the pimp’s name is Gali-Leroy. It’s now a blaxploitation bit in biblical times, and Gali-Leroy mistakes Jesus as a pimp who stole Mary away from him. In the end, all is well, and Gali-Leroy joins Jesus for a (last) supper. Amen.
The Southern Way of Life
“So don’t stop your speachin’ on our account.” – Key
A Confederate General (played by Mark Moses of Mad Men fame!) is rallying his troops, imparting upon them the importance of preserving their way of life, the Southern way of life if you can dig, when two slaves (K&P) show up. Oh, and it’s a reenactment, and K&P’s outrageously (and hilariously) over-the-top performance of racial stereotypes, let us say, gums up the works rather nicely.
Who Thinks They Can Dance?
“Has he started yet?” – Panel member
I believe it was Steve Jobs who said regarding design: simple is hard. I’m reminded of that when the premise of this one nails that principle: a reality dance show called Who Thinks They Can Dance? allows us to see Joseph (Key), dressed up in a goofy “b boy” outfit, dancing before a panel of judges. Any sketch that gets the fellas dancing is good, but one in which they are dancing ridiculously is always instantly funny. Peele is one of the panel members, and for some reason he’s British and has a wig of wildly feathered hair. Joseph’s attempt to talk the panel into letting him advance on the show is less funny, but overall, it’s still fun.
Rhinos Win Championship
“You can swim the Atlantic. You can jump real high and touch the moon!” – Charlie Sanders
A local TV reporter is in the locker room with the jubilant basketball team, the Rhinos, who have just won the championship. Key is the reporter interviewing star player Charlie Sanders (Peele), who scored 33 points (pretty good!). Sanders is ecstatic, and therefore segues from the cliché of “if you put your mind to it, you can do anything,” to literally advocating that kids watching should jump off their roofs to fly into the night sky. They just have to believe in themselves, you see. Things escalate from there, and then we smash cut to the apologetic press conference. End scene.
Some stats and info about Key & Peele, “Obama College Years”
TV SHOW – Key and Peele
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 2, Episode 1
AIRED ON – September 26th, 2012
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – Comedy Central/Hulu
GENRE – Comedy, Sketch Comedy
CREATED BY – Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele