After nearly four years off the radar, SNL’s superhero team ‘The Ambiguously Gay Duo’ returned to the screen last weekend, this time in live-action form.
The duo, embodied by Jon Hamm of ‘Mad Men’ and SNL alum Jimmy Fallon, set out to save the world once again from the evil mastermind antics of Big Head (Steve Carrell) and Brain-o (Stephen Colbert) by driving them to distraction with ludicrous, homoerotic slapstick.
Originally created by Robert Smigel, the parody skit has been a recurring feature on SNL since 1996. Most skits starring the titular duo, Ace and Gary, have been animated shorts; but last weekend’s flesh and blood incarnation of the heroes provided a prime opportunity for celebrity cameos from the likes of Hamm, Colbert, Carrell, Fred Armisen and Ed Helms.
According to ComicsAlliance, each of the twelve ‘Ambiguously Gay Duo’ skits produced since 1996 has countered the innate silliness and endless innuendo of Ace and Gary’s so-called super powers with a surprisingly non-judgmental batch of super-villains. Far from critiquing the duo’s ambiguous relationship, they instead go so far out of their way to avoid staring at or commenting on homoerotic behavior (despite their intense curiosity) as to lose track of their master plans for world domination, time and time again.
