Saturday Night Live Recap: Martin Short & Paul McCartney
I couldn’t have been more excited when it was announced that Martin Short would be hosting Saturday Night Live. I know I said last week that it’s dumb when I get excited that someone I really want to host ends up hosting because the opportunity is usually squandered, but I knew that Martin would get the job done. And, for the most part, I was right in thinking that because Short’s episode was one of the better ones of this lackluster season so far.
The Cold Open:
The show began with a children’s choir singing out of respect for the victims of the Newtown shooting. I thought this was unexpected but Lorne made a smart and touching decision to do this. It was beautiful.
The Opening Monologue:
I kind of loved it. Yes, every host except for Daniel Craig and Louis C.K. have performed a song during their monologue this season, but when it works I’m totally fine with it. Martin Short is not short on charisma and he Beyonce’d the hell out of Studio 8H. I’m a sucker for anything Christmas and/or nostalgic, so combining old SNL members (Kristen! Jimmy! Tina!) with a Christmas episode kept me very happy.
The Best Sketches:
I thought the sketch regarding the birth of William & Kate’s child was so silly and hilarious and completely worked; it’s a standout of this entire season so far (for me). This character only worked because of Martin who excels at this type of comedy, and of course, like with any sketch, it was given that extra boost by watching Bill Hader trying not to break. “Her Judi Dench. Her Alley. Her Downton Abbey!”
The other good sketch was You’re A Rat Bastard, Charlie Brown. I love the sketches that let the cast members do their best impersonations. Is it lazy? Sure, but it’s almost always fun. Martin Short’s Larry David impression was the best one and don’t try to tell me otherwise.
The Worst Sketches:
The second to last sketch with Martin & Fred acting as old friends in the Restoration Hardware sketch. I wish I could describe it to you better but I don’t know what it was about or what the point of it was. It was expectedly terrible.
Besides Sam Jackson letting out “fuck” and following it up with “bullshit”, (which was amazing and I need to know what Lorne said to him after. Why do I know more about the Teen Moms and nothing about what happens behind the scenes at SNL!?) the What Up With That? Sketch came back from the dead and, as expected, it was terrible. We all thought we had finally gotten rid of it, right? Nope. I do not find one thing funny, amusing or fun about it and it needs to go away for good.
Weekend Update:
As I said last week, Weekend Update works best when it’s not overdone and limits itself to only two guest characters. I loved Vanessa Bayer’s bar mitzvah boy, but, as always, The Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started A Conversation With At A Party sucked the life out of the episode. This outing was stronger than the ones before it, but still, the joke is in the title of the character and it never succeeds beyond the introduction.
Jennifer Lawrence is hosting the first episode of 2013 (with musical guest The Lumineers).