Like most Americans, I tend to think of Saturday Night Live as a show that ebbs and flows. There are points where the show is wickedly clever (example: leading up to the 2008 election), but other times it’s just ho-hum. (And then there are the times they invite horrendous musical guests to perform which put a huge damper on things, like Lana Del Rey’s couldn’t-be-more-boring appearance in January. Luckily, Kristen Wiig saved the day with a spot-on impression of LDR making a “Weekend Update” appearance/apology.)
But I digress.
Lately, I’ve been impressed with the show. Kevin and I spent some quality time on Netflix last week watching some recent SNL episodes, and it’s been great! I wanted to pass along some of my favorite SNL skits of late in case you haven’t seen these yet:
First up — Kristen Wiig as Paula Deen. Kristen is hilarious in just about any situation, and this is some of her best work. (The stick of butter…the accent…pure joy for the Paula Deen hater that I am.):
Next on the list is Maya Rudolph as Beyoncé, alongside Jay Pharoah as Jay-Z. The couple is entertaining a slew of guests who come to visit Baby Blue Ivy*. (The highlight is Justin Timberlake’s Bon Iver impression, closely followed by Kristen Wiig as the overwhelmed Taylor Swift.)
(*Side note: Was anyone else a little disturbed to learn that a mere four weeks after their baby’s birth Beyoncé and Jay-Z trademarked the infant’s name in order to use it for a future line of baby gear?)
But back to the funny:
An episode that I unexpectedly enjoyed was the one Lindsay Lohan hosted. I know, I know: Lindsay Lohan is terrible! And some of her skits did indeed suffer from her lack of ability to remember her lines. However, there were a couple of gems, including this one:
To wrap things up, I wanted to include a Kevin pick. This clip, featuring Jonah Hill, chronicles American college students whose love of Japanese culture has blossomed into a noteworthy TV show:
Good stuff, SNL! Keep it up.
