We had high hopes for this episode of Saturday Night Live — Joseph Gordon-Levitt! — and hey, we weren’t disappointed. Though there weren’t any sketches that completely blew us away, there weren’t any we hated either — and hardly any that we didn’t like at least a little bit. All around, it was a solid episode, resting on Gordon-Levitt’s goofy acting chops and some particularly clever writing. Click through to watch the sketches that we loved, and a few that we didn’t like as much, and let us know whether you agree with our assessments (and what you thought of the show as a whole) in the comments section.
The Best:
Opening Monologue
Yes, the Magic Mike joke is almost entirely random. But we legitimately laughed out loud, which is unusual for us during the traditionally rather stilted opening monologue. And, well, it’s kind of funny to see the studiously twee/serious Gordon-Levitt embracing his sex appeal and letting his freak flag fly. NBC hasn’t released the clip yet, so watch it here.
Tres Equis Part 2
We liked the first installment Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the incredibly douchey son of the guy from the Dos Equis commercials, but the second version, which trotted out Jason Sudeikis as the actual guy from the Dos Equis commercials, was even better, not least because of everyone’s commitment level. Just one swim meet, dad! God!
The Hypnotist
SNL is on a roll, you guys. This one was kind of dumb, but man, did Taran Killam sell it with the physical comedy. If you don’t laugh while watching him climb over Kenan Thompson in his underwear while the former keeps saying “no, no,” well, you might be slightly more mature than we are. Also: twist ending!
Weekend Update
This might just have been the longest Weekend Update in SNL history, so it was a little up and down. Kicking off with a (dare we say it) Jon Stewart-level critique of the state of the Presidential campaign (comparing Romney’s campaign to the sixth season of Lost — genius), then drooped with the tired “childhood friends of a dictator” bit. But then Kate McKinnon appeared in an inspired impression of Ann Romney, and we were sold again.
The Worst:
My Daughter Evelyn
As great as JGL looks in that sundress, and as funny as some of the lyrics are, this sketch fell a little flat. It’s too much based on that skin-crawlingly awkward humor — but it’s actually not as awkward as it could have been, so we’re sort of left in the middle space.
Real Estate Agents
Meh. This throwaway last-minute sketch rests on saying the word “penis” a lot, which never fails to bore us in comedy. We did like JGL’s hair, though.