Remember when everybody liked Rudy Giuliani, and not just the right wing? Before the disastrous Presidential run? Before the headfirst dive into the far right machine, trying to appeal to the most extreme base of one party by making controversial statements at CPAC or on talk radio and Fox News? We can disagree if that reading is accurate or not, but that’s the idea behind SNL’s cold open from last night, which borrows the look and concept of the latest Best Picture winner, Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), to mock Giuliani for wasting the respect and gravitas he earned after 9/11 in hopes of political gain. The concept is unusually sharp for SNL’s recent political comedy, which has felt tame and perfunctory the last few seasons, and timely twice over, with Birdman just winning the Oscar and Giuliani causing a ruckus by saying he doesn’t believe that Obama “loves” America. Taran Killam really makes the sketch work, though, somehow pulling off an impression that simultaneously recalls both Giuliani and Michael Keaton’s performance from the film. Take a look for yourself and let us know what you think.