On last night’s Saturday Night Live, a very nervous Zooey Deschanel hosted a very spotty show, with a few high points and a few (if you can believe it this far into the season) new lows. Deschanel tried her best, and opened with a cute song, but after a while her constant half-ironic voice got a little old, and when the time came for the show to make fun of her, we were totally ready for it. Maybe that was the plan all along? Either way, she was still a much better host than she could have been, and didn’t even blink an eye when introducing what might be the most awkward musical guest in recent memory, for which we give her credit. Click through to watch the best and worst skits of the night, and let us know if you agree (or plead your case for your favorites) in the comments.
The Best:
Bein’ Quirky with Zooey Deschanel
Yes, making fun of the host time, and this is one of the best examples of it we’ve ever seen, mostly due to the strength of the impressions. This skit features Zooey Deschanel (played by Abby Elliott), Mary Kate Olsen, Björk and of course, Michael Cera, played to perfection by Taran Killam. There are pointless musical interludes, wide-eye-offs, and knitting (Björk’s octopus sweater has an extra hole for its dreams and ideas). Cute-dorable and mildly scathing all around.
Weekend Update: Get in the Cage
Samberg’s Nicholas Cage impression is always a winner in our book, so we were tickled to see the actual Nick Cage get his own digs in, not to mention a proposed three-way with the Declaration of Independence.
Les Jeunes de Paris
To be fair, this was our least favorite of the existing incarnations of this skit. But we still like it for all its weirdness, and a surprise cameo from Jean Dujardin certainly did not hurt matters one little bit.
The Worst:
Piers Morgan Tonight
While topical, this sketch was just too long, too boring, and too reliant on Andy Samberg flapping his fake legs. Plus, did anyone else notice that Kristen Wiig’s Madonna is almost identical to her Lana Del Rey?
Karmin
We don’t usually include the musical guest in these roundups, but oh… dear. First of all, we’re not sure how the SNL producers got it into their heads that it was appropriate/interesting/appealing to mine YouTube novelty acts to perform on their show. And they didn’t even perform the songs that they’re YouTube novelty famous for. Plus, we’re sorry, but her rapping is so, so painful, and even then it’s still not as bad as their matching theatre-kid-on-speed facial expressions.
Crab Blast 2012
This was just another one of those classic, drawn-out SNL sketches where you know exactly what’s going to happen and you just have to sit their checking your email while it does. Lazy writing, you guys, lazy writing.