Us writer and director Jordan Peele says the film was inspired by a Twilight Zone episode, per Rolling Stone, but Saturday Night Live knows better. Discover Card definitely influenced the movie too.
The company frequently advertises “live customer service” using creepy doppelgängers in their commercials, and SNL took Discover’s message to another level, incorporating elements from Us.
“Honey, I just got an alert. There’s some weird charges on the Discover card,” SNL’s Ego Nwodim says to her sketch husband, played by Kenan Thompson.
Apparently, someone used Nwodim’s card to buy red jumpsuits, motorcycle gloves, hundreds of rabbits, and giant scissors. So, she calls the company to dispute the charges and, of course, her doppelgänger answers. The chopped-and-horror-screwed version of Luniz’s “I Got 5 On It” faintly starts playing in the background and viewers immediately know where this is going, though Nwodim’s character remains unaware.
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“That’s so random,” Red says in that same strained, Lupita Nyong’o voice after hearing about the fraudulent charges. “I say random all the time. Are you me?” Nwodim says in response.
Well actually, yes, and this would probably be a good time to hang up.
Instead Nwodim’s character listens as Red tells her how she sits in a cave while she goes on vacation. If you’ve seen the movie, you know exactly what Red means, so I won’t spoil it here, but things get even creepier in a funny sort of way from there.
Watch the full sketch below.