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SNL's "Calling Dad" Sketch Is Surprisingly Emotional
Bill Burr and Kenan Thompson play dads who struggle to open up to their sons in the sweet sketch from November 9.
A Saturday Night Live sketch from Bill Burr's November 9 episode played up a familiar trope for laughs: That many fathers notoriously avoid talking about their feelings, particularly with their sons. And while the sketch was funny, it was surprisingly emotional, too.
In SNL's "Calling Dad," cast members Andrew Dismukes and Devon Walker play two friends who decide to call their dads after finishing a game of pickleball.
RELATED: Watch Bill Burr's SNL Monologue and Sketches from November 9, 2024
Walker's character dials his dad (Kenan Thompson), who is taking a nap in his Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt. When his son says he's just calling to check in, Thompson responded with some updates not about himself, but about his favorite NFL team.
"Well, you know, the Eagles are six and two, so I'm doing all right," he answered.
"That's great. But, like, how are you doing?" Walker followed up, saying he knows his dad's team is good and all, "but I want to talk about you."
Caught off guard, his dad tears up, still struggling to talk about something persona. Instead, he shares more thoughts about the Eagles: "I think the quarterback really took a step up this year."
Then it's Dismukes' character's turn to call his own father, played by Burr.
"Hey, what's going on, buddy? Good to hear from you," Burr's character said as he answered his son's call.
When his son tells him he's just calling to check in, Dismukes' character is met with an abrupt, "Oh. That's nice. Well, I'll let you go," as his dad abruptly hangs up. He calls back and tries to have a genuine conversation with his dad, who instead wants to stick to talking about cars.
Going back to the phone call between Walker and Thompson, Walker presses his dad to open up.
"Well, I think the Eagles just... they've been around for a while, you know. And the Eagles are starting to feel like maybe the Eagles don't got much time left," Thompson's character admits. "It's just it's just the...Eagles have being going to a lot of funerals lately. You know, for other teams that the Eagles grew up with."
"Last week, the Eagles fell in the shower. Eagles was laying there, like, thinking this might be where the Eagles die," he continued, clearly not talking about the football team anymore.
Dismukes' dad becomes more vulnerable in their conversation too. "You know, I think that my car just wants to be closer to your car. Because my car's car died around the age your car is now," Burr's character confesses, adding how he would like to their cars "to Ireland together to see where our car's family is from" — also clearly no longer talking about automobiles.
His son gets the message loud and clear, telling him, "I think the Eagles still got some good seasons left, and no matter what, they'll always be my favorite team."
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Fathers and sons connected with SNL's emotional "Calling Dad" sketch
The sketch hit a chord with the audience, who thought it was funny, and also bittersweet.
"The older you get the more you will understand how real this is. Made me cry~my dad exactly!" wrote one viewer in the YouTube comments of the sketch.
"This made me CRY. And then laugh. And then cry. Make those calls. You truly will not know when they’re gone," wrote another, with someone else adding, "This sketch is oddly profound and sentimental."
