When Lindsay Lohan was announced as this week’s SNL host, we were skeptical but excited. Could she pull herself back up by her bootstraps with a funny, self-deprecating show, or would she totally blow it? The answer is, well, neither really. Though some are already calling her out as the worst host of the year, we thought she had her moments. But most of the time she was visibly nervous, awkwardly reading the cue cards and lacking energy. We’re disappointed! We wanted her to do well. Maybe next time? On the plus side, Jack White’s TV solo debut, backed by an all-female band, was quite good: smooth whiskey rockabilly with a gospel side, and we enjoyed the evening’s cameos. Just imagine if Jon Hamm really fell for Snooki. Click through to see which skits we liked and which we hated, and let us know which ones made you giggle in the comments.
The Best:
The Real Housewives of Disney
We really didn’t want to fall for this one, but we just couldn’t help ourselves. After all, everyone loves a good Disney princess in-joke, and who can resist drunk Cinderella, Snow White’s epic burns, and a Jasmine who accidentally slept with Iago? “Here comes midnight, bitch!”
B108FM
“It’s 5:11 in the morning, still two hours until Denny’s opens!” In another show, this might not have been on the best list, and it verged on being too long, but Taran Killam and Bobby Moynihan’s relentless energy and chemistry got us through even the weak parts in the material. Even Lohan pulled her weight as “illiterate Lisa,” playing a rather convincing trashy hip-hop head with braids. Mad props to gloves, yo.
2012 Psychic Awards
This was a fun, easy-to-like post-Oscars skit where the nominees (being psychics and all) already know whether they’re going to win or not. More fun was the spoof of traditional Oscars memorial of industry folks who died that year, except at the Psychic awards, they predict the deaths of their comrades. Lots of faces by the SNL cast. It may be childish, but we like it when the make the faces.
The Worst:
Scared Straight
Poor Lindsay Lohan. The only one on stage who looks the least bit scared in this skit is her, her reliance on the cue cards and her increasing nervous becoming excruciatingly obvious. Though this skit clearly was meant to show her willingness to make fun of herself (and as a way to address all the Lohan gossip rag buzz), she seemed unhinged and a little embarrassed. Kenan Thompson, on the other hand, was great as usual.
Big Afros
This is what the digital shorts have been relegated to? Digital shorts are what put SNL back on the map, but they’ve been deteriorating quickly, and this is the most dumbed-down version we’ve seen yet. The music was good, though.
Housesitting
This sketch was just completely weird, and not in that Steve-Buscemi-at-Christmas way. More like in a why-is-Wiig-being-wasted-on-this way.