‘SNL’ and Bill Hader Spoof ‘Maze Runner,’ ‘Hunger Games’ and More in ‘The Group Hopper’
Although 'SNL' previously parodied all the movie adaptations of the most obscure young-adult novels, all past sketches have nothing on 'The Group Hopper.' It's one thing to dress the cast in 'Hunger Games' outfits and make fun of one of the biggest movie franchises in the world. It's another thing altogether to create a fake movie trailer for a fake new franchise and make it seem strangely plausible while eviscerating every movie of this kind out there.
Borrowing bits and pieces from 'The Hunger Games,' 'Divergent' and 'The Maze Runner,' this hilarious 'Group Hopper' trailer takes place in a post-apocalyptic world ruled by an evil political system that forces young men and women into various categories and groups against their wishes. There are prophecies, ancient weapons, forced romances, stupid exposition dumps, a bewildered Asian man and, of course, Bill Hader playing a pitch perfect parody of just about every YA villain out there. Only the more obvious gags keep this from actually looking like something that will soon be in a theater near you.
As is often the case with modern 'SNL,' the production quality on this fake trailer is excellent and it's almost impossible to believe that this was thrown together in only a few days. It's stuff like this that allows us to forgive the show for all of its rough patches.