Gabourey Sidibe Hosts Saturday Night Live: Precious

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The most satisfying part of last year's endlessly endless Oscar season? Watching Precious star Gabourey Sidibe turn into "Gabby," the bubbly and energetic girl that killed on talk shows and made everyone -- but Howard Stern -- fall in love. So it should be no surprise that her appearance on Saturday Night Live followed suit. Sidibe charmed, delighted and elevated even the lamest skits to laugh-worthy heights -- see: the should-have-been-bad-but-was-really-funny Mrs. Johnson sketch -- and, unlike last week's host Ryan Phillippe, she seemed genuinely happy to be there. As a result, this turned out to be one of the best episodes of the season. Check out the Mrs. Johnson skit and more highlights -- including a bit from Will Forte that basically reinvents awesomeness -- after the jump.

Question: With the exception of Hall of Famers like Alec Baldwin and Christopher Walken, is that the first time Saturday Night Live has basically created a catchphrase-ready recurring character for a host? While you ponder that watch the best recurring character the show has created this season: Tina Tina and her custom made alarm clocks. "Welcome to Jurassic Clock. Beard."

And finally, the always-amazing Will Forte asks for Sidibe's "black hand in marriage." And yes, it goes downhill from there. Way downhill. This skit is bananas. No wonder Lorne Michaels stuck it at the very end of the show.

[Hulu]



Comments

  • PT says:

    Wha? "Sidibe charmed, delighted and elevated even the lamest skits to laugh-worthy heights." Were we watching the same show? Yes, she seemed happy to be there, so do most hosts, Phillippe included. And as much as I do find her charming and often delightful, it did not sustain the show. Poor kid, she blew her lines a few times and her timing was off. But for the most part the show was lame.

  • D says:

    She seems like a nice girl, and she had a natural charm, but she really didn't seem to be doing that well live. She definitely was reading from the cue cards.
    I would love to see her in a comedy movie, she just seemed a little overwhelmed by the live aspect.

  • cloey says:

    I thought she was HILARIOUS and a breathe of fresh air. I laughed my ass off throughout!!!!

  • John M says:

    That Hamilton sketch is awesome, I'll give you that.
    Awe. Some.

  • CiscoMan says:

    Gotta say I agree, the host enjoying herself goes a long way. And by the way, the entire cast reads from cue cards. Every week. This isn't a new thing.

  • E says:

    Let's face it folks, she was hired for the role of Precious b/c she fit the bill, not for her supreme acting ability. This girl needs some serious work with a whole slew of coaches. It would be nice to see someone have the balls to admit she is a horrible actress, without being attacked and called racist and/or a hater b/c of her size. Neither of which matter, the fact is she CANNOT act. Plain and simple!

  • bridget says:

    Yes she broke character, yes she flubbed lines, and yes she laughed mid sketch but i didn't care. She was far more watchable than Ryan Phillipe was last week. And didn't you see Bill Hader break character and he's been on the show for years(Horatio Sanz and Jimmy Fallon were notorious for that too)SNL is a tough gig for any guest host and i've seen far more experienced actors do the same thing. That's why certain guests who can pull it off are asked back frequently.
    Here's hoping John Mulaney's commentary was an audition for him to take over update and Seth Meyers is moving on. The show has been painful since he took over as head writer(and WHY is Jessi Klein being kept off camera????)

  • Jamie says:

    I was at an SNL after (after) party last week and Ryan Phillippe was extremely psyched about hosting. I never thought I'd see that dude acting bubbly and gracious, but he was telling one of the writers how much he loved SNL and would invite people over to watch. I never thought I'd defend Ryan Phillippe, but it was one of the coolest conversations I'd ever witnessed.
    As far as last night's show went, Gabby was into it and that does count for so, so much. This is, what, her third acting job ever? I thought it was awesome of her to do such a weird/wicked digital short. She was having a blast, and that alone was fun, fun, fun to watch.

  • Lucas says:

    Indeed. She is okay. Not great.
    And folks diss on Stern but in truth he has a point. She is the flavor of the month at the moment. But that schtick will get old. And if she doesn't face up to the fact that she is morbidly obese she might not actually live long enough to grow as an actress and establish that yes she has skill etc.
    And I"m not saying she has to look like Kate Hudson with no tits and bony hips. She can be plump without being a danger to herself. And that's really what Stern was saying. That Hollywood owes it to this young women who even he thinks as potential to stop casting her in roles based on her weight and to encourage her to get healthy first. On top of what it would do for her it would be a great role model for all the white and black girls out there on the road to the same issues. And there are many many of them.

  • jd says:

    watching this week's SNL was like being forced to watch the most recent J.Lo episode AND Michael Phelps' terribly bad episode at the same time.
    Mulaney was the exception, and Hamilton was funny as usual...but Gabby nearly ruined it, imo.
    Sure glad everyone noticed how much she seemed to enjoy being there, because chances are she'll never be there again.