The epitome of bitter, sarcastic, dry wit – Jane Lynch tackled hosting SNL with the dexterity of a seasoned castmember. In fact, I was wondering why Jane never became a castmember, having been a troupe member of The Second City who just couldn’t seem a catch a good acting gig afterward. But I guess we should be happy that Jane didn’t find a stable gig until recently because otherwise, we may have never seen the likes of Sue Sylvester on Glee, who apart from stealing scenes from most of the show’s episodes, has become a cultural phenomenon. Jane did not let the audience down during her inaugural hosting gig of SNL bringing genuine enthusiasm and no signs of inhibition in another strong episode of the season. I never thought I’d say this, but this season of SNL has brought us three solid episodes in a row – almost unheard of.
Cold Open – I’m going to ask again… why is Nasim Pedrad still a supporting castmember while Abby Elliot is promoted to a tenured castmember? Pedrad showed us her comedic abilities again as she played the tabloid-attorney we all love-to-hate, Gloria Allred. Allred calmly answered a series of biting questions that personally attacked her, including one that asked her whether she would be getting her own layer of hell once she got there. I guess that’s what you get when you represented all 100+ of Tiger Woods’ mistresses.
Monologue – First off, Jane Lynch, how’d you get so tall? Looking stunning in a black cocktail-type dress, Lynch appropriately performed her monologue in song. More specifically – in a faux-Glee theme song, song that became nothing more than a self-glorifying anthem to the God that is Sue Sylvester, and of course, we the audience, would want nothing more from Jane.
Damn it, My Mom’s on Facebook – Another hilarious commercial that tackled the question that’s on everyone’s mind: man, what’s my mom gonna think when she sees this picture of me having drunk sex on facebook? Filter it using this new product, which I’m sure many wish were available in real life.
Gilly on Glee – The obligatory Glee sketch. Sadly, it wasn’t strong and even a crossover from Kristen Wiig’s maniacal sociopathic character, Gilly, couldn’t save the sketch. The impressions of the Glee characters were weak (especially Abby Elliot’s impression of Lea Michele which didn’t get any reaction whatsoever from the audience) although crossdressing Kenan Thompson, this time as Mercedes from Glee, always remains a gag.
The New Boyfriend Talk Show – Zack (Andy Samberg) was the host of this new, simplistically hilarious talkshow in which he interviewed his mother’s (Jane Lynch) one-night stands, the morning after. The concept was gold and the implications of a mother having had sex with Gene Simmons, Verne Troyer and Magic Johnson were just too much for me not to at least chuckle.
Christine O’Donnell Mock Ad – Three words: new Sarah Palin. The easy-to-target Christine O’Donnell (Kristen Wiig) continued to persuade people that “I’m not a watch, I’m you.” Moral of the story: she’s still crazy and therefore, you shouldn’t vote for her. She may very seriously be a witch and if not, she’s still a tea-partier which is debatably even scarier.
Secret Word – Mindy Grayson is one of the few remaining Kristen Wiig characters that don’t annoy me whatsoever so I was happy to see her back on the mock game show. Lynch played a equally spazztic and hopeless celebrity partner for the contestants, constantly relating every word back to her supposedly tiny breasts. Hilarity and instability ensued.
Digital Short – Andy Samberg went to see a therapist (Jane Lynch) about his ensuing stress, which resulted to a Freudian dream in which a naked Jane Lynch sprawled beside him. I’m just as confused as you are.
Returns and Exchange – For whatever reason, Denzel Washington (Jay Pharaoh) was working at the returns and exchange counter at Macy’s, where he debated with an unlucky customer (Jane Lynch) about her return. This sketch was another showcase for Pharaoh’s spot-on impersonations, which skyrocket past the impression abilities of any current castmember.
Weekend Update – This was a surprisingly weak Update, which the jokes less-stinging as usual and the guests weak. Guests this week included Mark Zuckerberg (Andy Samberg) who revealed that “of course, creating Facebook was to get with the ladies” and Miguel Conjeros (Fred Armisen) who came to discuss the issues of the drug wars in Mexico. Overall, a yawn.
Suze Orman Show – Kristen Wiig reprised her hilarious impersonation of Suze Orman, the stingy and fabulously gay-and-proud-of-it financial consultant. I always appreciate her crazy head jerks and maniacally plastered smile. The Suze Orman Show was thrown for a twist this episode when she was reunited with her lesbian-but-now- “straight” companion played by Jane Lynch, who ultimately revealed that she is still in fact, a lesbian. Favorite quotes, “strike three, you’re gay!” and Lynch telling Wiig, “you look like a vagillion dollars!” Oh, vagina jokes, how you never cease to get a laugh out of the audience.
Sunday Night Football – You know the end of the episode is almost near the sketches become lazier and lazier, but at least in this one, we got to see Jane Lynch in a blond-wig singing a never-ending jingle to NBC’s Sunday Night Football.
Tax Masters – Oh hey, Jason Sudeikis… you have a 2nd head/half-formed twin brother on your scalp and you’re shooting that infamous Tax Masters commercial but the producer doesn’t want the world to your extra head. That was the joke.
Musical Guest – Bruno Mars looked like a classy 60′s soul singer as he performed “Just the Way You Are,” and a medley of “Nothin’ on You” and “Grenade,” but apart from looks, his performances were rather dull, compared to those of Katy Perry and Kanye West the past few weeks. But, I guess I’d be more excited if I were a prepubescent female who yearned for someone to croon to me about how beautiful I was.
Overall Episode – B+ … Again, it’s been incredibly uncharacteristic how good the first three episodes of the season have been.
Next Week… repeat of the season premiere, Amy Poehler / Katy Perry but the week afterward, rising star of Easy A, Emma Stone hosts with alt-rock crooners Kings of Leon as musical guests.
Original Author: Jonathan Yuan