VOD Catch-Up: "We Are Pat" is a Fun, Intelligent Ode to Queer Dissection
Monday, August 24, 2026 at 9:00AM by Joanna Sodeman-Taylor
I’m not sure when I first heard of Julia Sweeney’s breakout SNL sketch “It’s Pat!”. Joe Reid’s comprehensive article on SNL’s queer catalogue was what made me aware of it years ago. Then a young adult of less inquisitive sensitivities, I almost certainly brushed off the whole project as a reflex, the controversial legacy of Pat’s discomforted, gender-nonconformist schtick stinking as too problematic and outdated to bother engaging with. Watching it as a slightly older adult, I can’t say brushing this off was a bad move, even if my reasoning was flawed. There’s certainly a lot of material to seriously analyze - if I felt it was worth the effort. What exactly is the ultimate joke of this character? Are they worth rehabilitating under the progressive gaze of the gays, let alone any other group who feels represented by Pat, for better or worse?
Lucky for us, director Ro Haber saw plenty to discuss, and their 2025 documentary We Are Pat gives this character the intelligent, playful, communal autopsy they deserve . . . .