Between a fun skit about TMZ, in which one of the employees is an actual cockroach, and a silly parody of an informercial about how to discretely transport a tampon from your desk to the bathroom, there were two Inside Amy Schumer sketches that merit further discussion.
Madame President
It's President Schinton's first day in office. She's got 200 million new Twitter followers — and her period. The intent of this sketch is clearly to take down critics who say women are too emotional to be president. So we get scenarios in which Schinton's in an emergency meeting about Iran, only to interrupt the strategy discussion to ask for Advil. "I have cramps and my mind is like mush right now." In a meeting with a delegate from Israel, she complains that he ate the last piece of chocolate. Things only get worse. She's holding a hot compress to her uterus during an enemy attack, and when she complains about having to change her tampon, she distracts from the process and infuriates the men in the room. "Stop yelling at me!" she cries. "Why are you being so mean! You guys, I can't be president because I got my period!"
It's President Schinton's first day in office. She's got 200 million new Twitter followers — and her period. The intent of this sketch is clearly to take down critics who say women are too emotional to be president. So we get scenarios in which Schinton's in an emergency meeting about Iran, only to interrupt the strategy discussion to ask for Advil. "I have cramps and my mind is like mush right now." In a meeting with a delegate from Israel, she complains that he ate the last piece of chocolate. Things only get worse. She's holding a hot compress to her uterus during an enemy attack, and when she complains about having to change her tampon, she distracts from the process and infuriates the men in the room. "Stop yelling at me!" she cries. "Why are you being so mean! You guys, I can't be president because I got my period!"
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
One of the men wins back her affection by complimenting. The sketch ends with a newspaper headline: "Is President Schinton Plus-Size?"
I really don't know what to make of this sketch. On one hand, I understand that it's supposed to be a commentary on how women — and in this case, Hillary Clinton — aren't taken seriously as political leaders. But I honestly can't decide if Schumer accomplishes that mission here. It feels more like an exaggeration of real period side effects than pointed commentary about how ridiculous men are. And why the final beat about being plus-size? Which leads us to our next sketch...
Shopping Trip
Schumer sees a shirt she likes at a store and asks the clerk if they stock it in a size 12. Yes, in fact, they have just the right section for all her sartorial needs. It just so happens to be a pasture in which women deemed too large can wear oversized cloaks. Lena Dunham is there, wearing a see-through coat and explaining to Schumer that this is also where Mindy Kaling got her Golden Globes outfit — a quilt. The saleswoman offers Schumer a blue tarp, which she agrees to buy. Her purchase comes with a complimentary pretzel and cheese dip.
Schumer sees a shirt she likes at a store and asks the clerk if they stock it in a size 12. Yes, in fact, they have just the right section for all her sartorial needs. It just so happens to be a pasture in which women deemed too large can wear oversized cloaks. Lena Dunham is there, wearing a see-through coat and explaining to Schumer that this is also where Mindy Kaling got her Golden Globes outfit — a quilt. The saleswoman offers Schumer a blue tarp, which she agrees to buy. Her purchase comes with a complimentary pretzel and cheese dip.
I think the idea of this sketch works. It's funny, and every woman regardless of size can relate to how challenging it can be to feel good about yourself while clothes shopping. But there are two things that felt a bit hypocritical.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
1. Schumer recently expressed her disappointment about being included in Glamour's plus-size issue. "I think there's nothing wrong with being plus size," she wrote in an Instagram post. "Beautiful healthy women. Plus size is considered size 16 in America. I go between a size 6 and an 8. @glamourmag put me in their plus size only issue without asking or letting me know and it doesn't feel right to me." Okay, fine. But then why is she asking for a size 12 in this sketch when she made such a fuss about making sure we all knew her dress size isn't in the double digits? Why did she insist that she's a size 6, but then turn around and claim alliance with middle-sized woman? (I know Amy's point is more about the message Glamour was sending than her actual dress size, but still.)
2. If Schumer didn't feel right about being inadvertently placed in a plus-size category in a magazine, then why is it okay for her to place Kaling in this category in the sketch? It's possible that Schumer asked her fellow comedian for permission, but since Kaling doesn't have a role in the episode, it could be that this is the first she's hearing of it.
In general, it's unfair to pin the entire feminist movement on a single comedian or woman. And we cannot expect Schumer to constantly churn out perfect, body-positive, empowering content all the time. It's also incredibly easy for us, the viewer, to critique a sketch that likely took many hours to conceive. But that doesn't mean we can't discuss the themes at hand — arguably, sparking conversation is the whole point.
So, what do you think? Was last night a disappointing showing for Schumer? Or am I completely missing something?