Dude Is Sketchy: Fred Armisen's 10 Best Characters

As a political comedian who scours newspaper headlines looking for material, Armisen’s "Weekend Update" staple is a perfect parody: He’s crunchy like granola, and empty like so many hippie-types with "causes." That he also can’t finish a joke properly is one of the funniest jokes around.

Armisen hasn’t done Fericito very much lately, but he’s still a total classic. If you don’t use “I’m just keeding!” in regular conversations over the next three days, it just means you didn’t watch this clip. (Bonus: Colin Farrell’s awesome Bono impression.)

This is one of those SNL skits that relies on the breaking of one or two of the participants to make it truly funny. That said, what Armisen does with Garth—one-half of a terrible singing duo that comes up with songs on the spot—is some kind of brilliance. His wig isn’t bad either.

“New Jersey!” Armisen’s David Paterson is so funny, it almost makes New Yorkers wish David Paterson was still governor. Almost.

Here’s what makes Armisen’s Liberace impersonation so memorable: There isn’t a real impression here, but a vibe and attitude that is conveyed through wild, effeminate lisps and costume. Sometimes doing a dead-on impression isn’t as important as that.

The funniest part about Armisen’s Joy Behar impression? That he kinda looks like her. Who cares, though? Why are we even talking about this?

Euro Trip

Like Liberace, this one is more of an all-encompassing stereotype. Which is really what Paul Lynde was in the first place. For reference, Armisen nails this with the eyes.

It’s easy to hate on Armisen’s Obama—and newcomer Jay Pharoah might do a better impression of the president—but be reasonable: Armisen kinda looks like Obama, and, most important, acts like him. There’s an air of intellectual authority and minimal personality covering this impression, which is a lot like what the real president seems like.

Armisen played a special needs extra in a “scene” from Gigli opposite Ben Affleck. Considering that Affleck winds up calling him a variety of derogatory names for insulting his career, it isn’t all that surprising that the sketch isn’t online. But, seriously, this one is memorable. Just check out the sketch transcript if you don’t remember.