Anne Hathaway did more than bring Saturday Night Live back to form last night -- she hosted the most consistent episode from start to finish this season. Hathaway, when she hosted two years ago, was surprisingly game for just about anything, and her second stint as host -- often a letdown for most hosts not names Jon Hamm -- proved to be a winner. To the Scorecard!
Even the sketches that made the "bad" column this week had some saving graces; most featured good concepts that just didn't come to fruition, as opposed to the "I really want to turn this off" quality seen last week. Well, except "Penelope" (hold that thought).
Sketch of the Night
"Black Friday" (Moynihan): As the coked up rooster told you, this Friday is Black Friday at Mega Mart. Which means you need to line up early for 12 minute madness -- iPads for $39.00, 3D televisions for $71. And there are only seven copies of the new secret Harry Potter and the Treacherous Crawl Space left for only $6 (and stay tuned for next week's live blog). Very reminiscent of last year's brilliant "Kick Spit Underground Festival," only Moynihan isn't playing Ass Dan this time (I think).
Score: 9.5
The Good
"Message From TSA" (Moynihan, Hader, Thompson, Wiig, Pedrad, Elliott): This one was the sketch of the night until "Black Friday" came along near the end of the show. Set up to look like a late-night, "I'm lonely and horny" call-in line, it turns out to be a special message from the TSA. "Do you want to feel contact in certain special places?" "Then why not go through security at an airport?"
Score: 9.0
"The Wizard of Oz Deleted Scenes" (Armisen, Ensemble): Armisen plays "New York actor" Lon Donson whose rooster weather vane character was cut from The Wizard of Oz. While the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion wanted a brain, heart and nerve -- the weather vane wanted his own apartment. Also, he wasn't a fan of Dorothy's singing. This is the kind of sketch that reminds me of why I like Armisen. (Please bring back Nicholas Fehn soon.)
Score: 7.5
"Herb Welch" (Hader, Sudeikis): Hader plays WXPD's aging news reporter Herb Welch -- who demands on-air to be referred to as "Mr. Welch." He also has a tendency to strike his interview subjects in the head with his microphone. A pretty one note sketch, but somehow it worked.
Score: 7.0
"Rachel Maddow Show Cold Open" (Armisen, Ensemble): Abby Elliott is a serviceable Maddow, but what's important is SNL went away from Armisen's tired Obama impression for a different slant on political humor. Last night's victims were Nancy Pelosi, John Boehner -- the American people have spoken; the American people were vague on the details -- and Charlie Rangel. There was something actually quite biting and fresh about this week's cold open that had been missing the last few weeks.
Score: 6.5
"Weekend Update" (Meyers, Moynihan, Sudeikis, Pharoah): My favorite moment of this week's "Update" was the Seth Meyers' new feature, "Come On, Dictionary"
I'm not a huge fan of Moynihan's Guy Fieri, considering it's almost impossible to parody someone who already is a parody. But, admittedly, Moynihan's manic laugh as Fieri gets me every time. Sudeikis played the founder of Four Loko who introduces his new product, Organ Blaster. Then there was Jay Pharoah borrowing a page from Adam Sandler with his "Thanksgiving Rap." They were fine -- none of them will be the next "Thanksgiving Song" -- but Pharoah loses a point for wearing a shirt that said "Jay Pharoah." He gains a point back for assuming that all white people sing the Golden Girls theme, "Thank You For Being a Friend," at every Thanksgiving.
Score: 6.5
"Anne Hathaway Monologue" (Hathaway, Ensemble): Hathaway surprised me the first time she hosted because she has an unexpected "Hey, I'm up for anything" attitude that is perfect for hosting SNL. This time around, she explains the reasoning for he nude scenes in Love and Other Drugs -- as the male cast members convince her that every upcoming sketch requires her to be nude. Nothing really special, but it doesn't work at all without Hathaway selling the hell out of it.
Score: 6.0
The Bad
"The Miley Cyrus Show" (Bayer, Sudeikis, Hathaway): Yeah, we all knew this one was coming back. I didn't enjoy it this time as much as the first time it aired. Hathaway, to her credit, does a dead on Katie Holmes impression. Also, it wasn't so much the clip of Cyrus in the next Batman movie that made me laugh, it's the fact the title of the movie was just Batman's Back. Indeed. I like that far better than The Dark Knight Rises.
Score: 5.0
"Visiting the Queen" (Hathaway, Samberg, Armisen, Hader): I know there are going to be a lot of people who liked this sketch. Chalk it up to personal preference. I mean, the concept is brilliant: Kate Middleton meets Queen Elizabeth and, behind closed doors, the Queen turns out to be a Cockney thug. Funny concept, but I didn't laugh for some reason. This would have been funny in person.
Score: 5.0
"Camel Tame" (Wiig, Pedrad): A commercial parody for a guard, of sorts, against camel toe. There's a funny idea in here but the execution seems off, though I openly admit that this parody may be funnier to the female audience. If any members of the opposite sex want to chime in on this one, please do.
Score: 5.0
"Horse Play" (Armisen, Wiig, Hathaway, Samberg, Sudeikis, Thompson): This was lazy. When it first started I thought we were in for a weird end of the episode treat about a new movie where horses play baseball. Which is what it was, but the sketch focused instead on what songs were on the soundtrack. In other words, this past Tuesday night, someone asked the cast, "Hey, what singer impressions can you guys do? Oh, Samberg, you can do Robert Smith? Anne, you can do Alanis Morissette? OK, yeah, that joke might be 15 years old -- sure, whatever, let's do it!"
Score: 3.5
The Ugly
"Penelope: Thanksgiving" (Wiig, Hathaway, Hader) I have a few things to say about the Penelope sketches. When they first started airing a couple of years ago I really liked them. I mean, who doesn't know a person who always has to top everyone else in the conversation? This used to be a good character. Somewhere along the line Penelope became supernatural. Take this sketch for example: Not only did she somehow place herself inside the television to catch a touchdown during an NFL game, she also shrunk herself so that she could be part of the stew. So not only is she annoying, she also has magical powers. It was funny when we assumed she was making everything up because she had low self esteem; her powers defeat the purpose of the sketch. Assuming Penelope does have magical powers -- and everything points to the fact that she does -- can't we assume that her stories of oneupmanship are probably true?
Score: 1.5
Average Score For This Show: 6.00
Weekly Host Scorecard:
· Amy Poehler 6.04
· Anne Hathaway 6.00
· Emma Stone 5.88
· Jon Hamm 5.86
· Bryan Cranston 5.79
· Jane Lynch 5.31
· Scarlett Johansson 4.69