Amber Ruffin Channels Ray Parker Jr. With Hilarious New Song

By Andrew Sanford | TV | April 19, 2021 |

By Andrew Sanford | TV | April 19, 2021 |

The Amber Ruffin Show is back! The Amber Ruffin Show is back! It was a hiatus that felt like forever, but we have made it through to the other side. Amber Ruffin and her pal Tarik are back and they fired out of the gate like ghosts escaping from a powered-down containment unit.

I’ve already made it clear that I love Ghostbusters. It is easily one of my favorite franchises. Needless to say, when Amber burst into a parody of the eponymous song by Ray Parker Jr., I was positively giddy.

To be clear, the song was about something very serious: Ghost Guns. Firearms that are, essentially, untraceable. But, as Mary Poppins would say, “a spoonful of sugar helps you be less afraid of the ongoing threat of gun violence in America.” Like the best comedies of past and present, The Amber Ruffin Show regularly succeeds at couching real-world issues in silly fun.

It’s not just that Amber was evoking Ghostbusters in this sketch, it was that she went the more specific route of emulating Ray Parker Jr. It’s decisions like these that take what could be a simple sketch and make it extraordinary. It is a weapon that is readily available in their arsenal. Another weapon readily available? Tarik Davis.

Tarik and Amber play off of each other so incredibly well it’s infectious. You want to hang out and laugh with them, and honestly, it feels like you are. Tarik plays the straight man to Amber’s expert silliness with great precision. His initial refusal to give in to what’s going on makes the sketch work that much better. Then, when he does give in and joins in the fun, it’s that much more rewarding.

The Amber Ruffin Show is back, y’all. Do the right thing and watch it.