The 10 Funniest Tina Fey and Amy Poehler Team-Ups

Universal Studios
Universal Studios

Those of us who don’t know a Wookiee from an Ewok are still planning to go to the movies this weekend, because that's where Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will be: their latest team-up movie, Sisters, finds the comedy goddesses playing siblings who descend upon their childhood home to throw one last rager. While Fey and Poehler don't look much alike themselves, they've basically been joined at the hip ever since they met back at Chicago's ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s. Let's honor their years of offscreen sisterhood with a look at the funniest things they've ever done together.
 
 

Saturday Night Live, "Mom Jeans" (2003)

Fey rarely appeared in sketches during her stint as SNL head writer, but we’re forever grateful that she decided to break away from the "Weekend Update" desk to join Amy (as well as fellow female heavy-hitters Rachel Dratch and Maya Rudolph) in this ode to the magic of 9in zippers and casual front pleats.

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Paramount/YouTube

Mean Girls (2004)

Tina Fey’s hit teen comedy Mean Girls was full of timeless casting discoveries, from a pre-Notebook Rachel McAdams as queen bee Regina George to a pre-burnout Lindsay Lohan as impressionable mathlete Cady Heron. That said, nobody made such a big impression in such a small amount of time as Amy Poehler as Regina's Juicy Couture jumpsuit-wearing mother -- the ultimate role model for "cool moms" everywhere.
 
 

Saturday Night Live, "Weekend Update" co-anchors (2004-2006)

It was as co-anchors on Saturday Night Live's iconic fake news segment that the world first got a taste of the magic brew created when you put a dash of Tina with a pinch of Amy and mix 'em both together. Not only were they "Update"'s first female duo, they were simply one of "Update"'s greatest duos ever, with a natural chemistry and ease that spoke to their years of performing together.

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Upright Citizens Brigade/YouTube

Upright Citizens Brigade, ASSSSCAT (2005)

In this UCB special from 2005, Tina and Amy go back to their improv roots and perform some on-the-fly scenes together. While it obviously lacks the polish of their scripted work, there's a special excitement that comes from seeing the pair playing off each other at their most unfiltered. 
 

 

Saturday Night Live, "Bush Twins" (2005)

Sisters doesn't mark the first time Tina and Amy have played siblings. In a 2005 episode of SNL, the pair showed off their goofy onscreen chemistry as Jenna and Barbara Bush, who discuss whether or not their father is a good president using their secret twin language. Much as people accused Will Ferrell's impression of making George W. Bush too likable, Tina and Amy turn the Bush daughters into two giggly sorority girls we'd love to kick back and have a slumber party (or pound some shots of Captain Morgan) with.
 
 

Saturday Night Live, Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin impressions (2008)

The 2008 presidential election may have been a political shit show, but it was a great time for Tina and Amy fans. Their inspired toe-to-toe impressions of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin stole the show week after week.

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NBC/YouTube

30 Rock, "Live Show" (2010)

What’s closer than playing genetic relatives? Playing the same version of the same character -- which Tina and Amy did, much to the delight of fans, when Amy made a cameo as young Liz Lemon on 2010’s live episode of 30 Rock. Keep getting that night cheese, ladies.

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NBC/YouTube

The Golden Globes (2013-2015)

In their three consecutive years as Golden Globes hosts, Amy and Tina consistently crushed it, and treaded the fine line between offensive and hilarious with ball gown-clad artfulness. Case in point: their razor-sharp Bill Cosby riff from this year’s ceremony.

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Universal/YouTube

Sisters, "The Farce Awakens" trailer (2015)

Tina and Amy are aware that Star Wars will dominate them at the box office when Sisters rolls out on December 18th. That didn't stop them from taking on J.J. Abrams and the gang in the promotional-materials department, with this spoof trailer that pokes fun at their release-schedule rival and coins the clever hashtag #YouCanSeeThemBoth. Maya Rudolph is definitely the Han Solo of the group.

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Comedy Central/YouTube

"Sisters Helping Sisters," (2015)

The Sisters press tour is the gift that keeps on giving. Yesterday, Tina and Amy joined forces with fellow beloved duo Abbi and Ilana of Broad City for a splendid little crossover episode/promotional video/digital short/morsel of online joy called “Sisters Heping Sisters." In it, Abbi and Ilana play biological sisters, while Tina and Amy play nuns (aka sisters -- get it?) who come in to help them change their miscreant ways. Bong hits and references to anal beads ensue. Watch and delight.

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Anna Silman is a staff writer at Thrillist and an alum of Salon and Vulture. She doesn't know a Wookiee from an Ewok. Find her on Twitter: @annaesilman.