by Douglas Messerli
Kent Sublette and Bryan Tucker (head writers), Don
Roy King (director) Marcus Comes to Dinner / 2018 [TV (SNL) episode]
In season 43, Episode 10 of Saturday Night Live, Tim is bringing home his
boyfriend, as his mother (Aidy Bryant) reminds her husband (Sam Rockwell),
warning him to make an effort to be open and accepting.
On the
porch of their home, Tim reassures his boyfriend, Marcus (Chris Redd) that it
will be just a short visit. Marcus asks if they know he is a porn star, and Tim
makes it clear he has told them no such thing and he musn’t discuss it.
Almost immediately upon seeing his new boyfriend,
however, Tim’s father can’t get over the feeling that he recognizes Marcus from
somewhere. “I feel like I see you all the time.”
Soon
after Rockwell’s character asks if he works “at that coffee shop on Second or
something?”
When he asks what Marcus does, Tim assures them
that Marcus is a dental hygienist. His nervousness is palpable, his mother
assuring him that there’s no need to be tense: “Your father and I are happy
that both of you are here.”
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The
mother tells her husband that these two boys have the same taste in everything
and that she has one of their favorites, snickerdoodle cookies, in the kitchen.
When Tim asks after his sister, however, his
mother complains that she is out of control, that she has two tattoos. “You don’t
have any tattoos, do you Tim?” No mom, he assures her. But when she asks
Marcus, he begins to suggest that he has a “couple,” Tim’s father interrupting
to say “a couple of guns right over your butt,” jumping out of his chair to
announce, “O, you’re a gay porn star. I feel so stupid. I’ve got one of the
top-tier porn stars in my house and we’re feeding him cookies.” The father goes
on to talk about numerous other porn stars such as Jason Thrust and the
Cockeyboys and how seeing one of the scenes made him even subscribe, “I wasn’t
waitin’ a whole
He stands
up goes to the coat rack and puts on a coat. “Anyhoo, I guess I’m gettin’ a
divorce, and now I’m probably stepping down as pastor. Goodbye family.” He
walks out the door.
“Well,
okay,” responds Tim’s mother. “That was a lot to take.”
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Suddenly, Tim’s father rushes back into the house to retrieve his
laptop.
“Okay,
sure, you’re gonna need your laptop.” She turns to Marcus, “So, ‘Pumpgood?’ is
that Irish or…”
“No, ma’am
that’s from porn.”
“I
know. It was just a joke. My marriage just fell apart. Will you let me have one
thing?”
Family
life takes another nosedive on Saturday Night Live.
Los Angeles, January 10, 2025
Reprinted from My Queer Cinema blog (January 2025).
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