So it turns out Saturday Night Live was saving most of its Kanye West-Taylor Swift jokes not for Swift, but for this week’s show hosted by her boyfriend Taylor Lautner. And they were just as lame as you’d expect.
The only thing worse would have been if SNL made a lot of obvious jokes about Tiger Woods — and that’s just what happened: it seemed as though half of the show last night consisted of Tiger material.
Woods was the subject of the mirthless cold-open. And then Jason Sudeikis played a PGA commissioner made nervous about Woods’ announced “indefinite break” from the tour in no fewer than three unfunny promotions for the PGA tour. As an incentive to keep people watching the golf tournament, he promised that “if you hit a slice, you get hit by Kimbo Slice” and that whoever gets the “worst score has to appear on an episode of Jersey Shore.” Judging from the applause for the mere mention of that MTV phenomenon, SNL should have done a Jersey Shore parody this week. Even when the writers make the right reference, they’re doing the wrong sketch for it.
But wait, there was more: Three Tiger jokes on “Weekend Update,” including a character-moment for Nasid Pedrad as “mistress number 15.” Pedrad’s performance was good; it was the punchlines that failed her.
The first time I laughed was when Fred Armisen wheeled out his “Native American comedian Billy Smith” during “Update.” I can’t help it: I love Armisen’s inventive varieties of bad comics (“These jokes kill on the reservation”).
To those of you who’ve noted how little most of the female cast members are given to do, it’s worth noting that Abby Elliott put in more screen-time than she probably has all season, and that Kristen Wiig limited herself to just one big screech-out moment, as nervous “Aunt Sue.”
Oh, right: host Lautner. He danced at every opportunity, such as a show-choir skit, but there was certainly no glee to be found here:
Lautner also gamely played a girl who was on “Team Edward” debating a “Team Jacob” fan portrayed by Jenny Slate. There was also a school sketch that made so little sense, there was a weird moment when students played by Andy Samberg and Pedrad questioned the teacher (Bill Hader) as to why we were all listening to “this nonsense.” They were, in effect, surrogates for the audience, in the studio and at home. The sketch dribbled to an embarrassingly studio-silent conclusion.
Biggest laugh of the night: Ricky Gervais, not on SNL, but in a real commercial for the Golden Globes (he’s hosting on NBC Jan. 17).
Just before Lautner said good night, there was a moment of silence for Heino Ripp, who was a technical director for SNL from 1975 to 1983 and whose history in television extended all the way back to Sid Ceasar’s classic sketch series Your Show of Shows in the 1950s.
Music guest Bon Jovi made a lot of anthemic rock. That Jon Bon Jovi seems like a nice guy.
Here’s an open plea to next-week host James Franco: It’s up to you to redeem the month of December for SNL, pal. Please leave General Hospital immediately and start rehearsing.
Did you watch? Did you laugh at/with Taylor Lautner more than I did?
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Terrible terrible writing. Cringe-worthy. However i was pleasantly surprised at Lautner. He was funny.
I agree, as usual the writing is just so awful, but Taylor surprised me..his opening monologue was impressive but far from funny, yet in the few skits he was in, he managed to redeem himself and make me laugh. He did a very good job, he would have been an excellent host had the writing been more than just a few jokes about Twilight, Tiger Woods, and his mistresses. C’mon, SNL, where’d the originality go?
Impressive opening? Are you kidding? Did you see his lame attempt to round house kick the Kanye head twice and failed, then he had to punch it to save the bit – that was probably the funniest part of the night. Kirsten Wiig did her usual bit which is getting BORING. The PGA bits were okay, but that twilight bit were no one in the audience laughed seems to indicate there was no reason for this guy to host. His ONE claim to fame is ONE movie geared to pre-teen girls and its not like it was critically acclaimed or spent weeks as the #1 film. I hope this puts an end to Disney-demographic hosts.
heh. I thought the bo-staff thingy was impressive,forgive me for not having the same opinion as you. But like I said, it was far from funny..even if he had missed like 20 times..then again, that might have made me crack a smile.
How many people can do a round house kick
I thought the twilight skit was the funniest one. He did good with the material he was given. Also, I liked how in the opening monologue he winked and blew a kiss, just like Taylor Swift. The Tiger Woods stuff was just more than I could take though.
The video showing Lautner hanging back and not defending his lady love against the wrath that is Kanye’s big mouth was actually funny – wish they would have done something creative with it.
The first part was impressive, not as funny though. But I thought Taylor did really good, it’s the first time I laughed at anything on SNL in a really long time. I actually thought he was really funny, and I bet the writer of this article just may have a little hate for Twilight, or something to that effect, because the way he wrote this, Taylor did horrible. And I thought he actually did really good for it being his first time, he didn’t even crack a smile, he was a good actor. And the Twilight fan part WAS hilarious…:D I have a feeling it was silent at the end because they didn’t know if it was over yet, like I didn’t know it was over till they showed the school…haha and the Indian comedian part was really funny
The whole show was terrible except for the Edward/Jacob skit.
I agree. The whole show was quite blah with the exception of the Team Jacob/Team Edward skit. I did find myself laughing at all of the “fake abs” conversation
Actually, I thought the doorbell skit was really funny. Finally, they gave Jenny Slate something to do.
I thought Lautner was really good, and I am team Edward.
Not Taylor’s fault, but I still called it: This was by far the WORST episode all season. Even worse than January Jones… which is REALLY saying something.
Not a single laugh all night. Had to FF through a lot of skits when it was obvious there was nothing funny happening.
Horrible writers! No creativity and cringe-worthy materials. There were so many cool ways they could have used Lautner. He was obviously game to do it. What a waste of a good opportunity. I am going back to not watching SNL again. Let me know when they get new writers.
What is the point of recapping this terrible show every week? I’m asking this as a serious question. What is the point? Are there still such hardcore fans of SNL that EW needs to recap each new episode? Surely there is something better to do on a Saturday night, and DVRing this atrocity makes no sense.
What’s next? A recap of Jewelry Hour on QVC?
I have been wondering this same thing
I wanted to know if he was a good host, and if it was worth pulling up online–now I know…
Thanks alot – your aneswr solved all my problems after several days struggling
I agree with Ash. The writing absolutely sucked. I don’t think any actor could have improved on that pile of garbage they gave Taylor. I know it’s easy to hate him if you hate Twilight, but he really is a decent actor.
I’m sorry to say it, but SNL’s glory days are over. This cat has used up its nine lives.
Looking forward to the Christmas special…schweaty balls, anyone?
“I’m sorry to say it, but SNL’s glory days are over.”
If I had a penny…
Ah, poor Taylor, I can hate (ok be bored by) Twilight and not hate him. He was after all “famous” for the kiddies before Twilight (mom of a 12 year old!)
The writing is atrocious. Below the ability of a room full of pre-teens.
KEN TUCKER, when are you going to retract the B- that you gave this travesty? You’re only encouraging them!
It would’ve been funnier if they did the Kanye skit when the VMA incident was still fresh. Now three months later, most people are over it by now. Even the “I’mma let you finish” jokes are getting dry. I didn’t watch last night’s show, and obviously I missed out on nothing, but I’m watching next week’s episode for only ONE reason: Muse. They’ll be the musical guests.
Please, Taylor Lautner wasn’t anywhere near funny. He seemed to think being hyper and overly-animated and aping the actually talented Gordon Lewitt who hosted a few weeks prior would be a recipe for comedic success. He was severely mistaken and came off looking liked a spastic Abercrombie model who was trying too hard to convince us there was something actually to him beside his one-note Twilight performance. As we all saw last night, there’s obviously not the slightest semblance of an entertaining or charismatic individual beneath that cookie-cutter, steroid-enhanced facade. The only thing I’m thankful for what was the worst SNL episode of the season is now knowing that Taylor Lauter will have no career beyond this passing Twilight fad and that is something we should all be celebrating. Mediocrity is way too championed in our current media culture and any sign that it’s days are numbered is fine by me.
Geez, He is only 17
Angry much? Don’t take it out on the SNL host cuz you hate your dad for not going to your little league games or whatever. Save that vitriol for relevant, issues in the world, not what becomes of the Twilight cast. Yikes.
You have some SERIOUS issues. If you can get on here and rip someone apart for some light, fun-hearted acting he did on a show that is more goofy than anything else is concerning. Don’t count on him making any disappearing acts post-Twilight…and don’t worry, he’ll have more success in these few years than you will in a lifetime with an attitude like that.
Gordon Levitt talented? His show was awful, even worse than this one. If you’re judging talent based on hosting SNL, no one who has hosted this year except Taylor Swift is even moderately talented. I’m another who was pleasantly surprised by Lautner’s ability to make me like him even when the sketch wasn’t all that funny.
I have to disagree that this was the worst show of the season. The football player sketch made me laugh, even though it was just some goofy faces. The “Love in the Yogurt Store” bit was cute, too. I don’t think I cracked a smile during the January Jones show, which combined a wooden, unappealing host with the substandard writing we’ve seen all season. This was not the worst show, by far.
Oh my goodness, he is just a kid and I thought he did a great job. Anyone who gets all worked up about him being terrible is obviously just jealous and seriously troubled. And again, hes just a kid so youre actually quite pathetic. I was impressed with him. I cant imagine being 17 and in front of a live audience whose expecting you to be a comedian. Give him some credit, whens the last time any of you people bashing him did anything worth talking about….?
I agree with you. Taylor Lautner was entertaining, but the material was awful. SNL needs to hire new writers!!!
I thought Lautner did a great job hosting, and I did laugh at some of the skits. I am not a Twilight fan, but I was impressed by him in this episode!
I think this episode was a bright spot after taylor swifts attempt at comedy. Lautner definetely has talent and he showed v ery different styles throughout the show. I think the battle between team jacob and edward was quite funny and a clever jab at twilight fans everywhere. The awkward love sketch in the ice cream store was hilarious with lautner portraying an awkward teen conversing with a girl, it worked well for me. Overall a very good episode and I hope to see Lautner doing more and more comedy
Not their best. Last week was the first time I watched in a while, and I laughed through the whole thing. This week, I bearly got past 12 before I shut it off. Here’s to hoping James Franco will be funnier
I’m hoping for a good episode too next week. There’s gotta be soap opera skit in there somewhere.
You know, slightly off subject, but I watched about 5 minutes of Franco on GH and came to the conclusion that he can’t act! When you can’t hold your own in a scene with soap actors, it sort of becomes obvious that the movie star has no clothes.
Thank You! I’m a GH fan and while the writing on GH hasn’t been all that great in a long time. I thought Franco would liven things up…but he has been soooo cheesy! I thought for an Oscar calibre guy he’d be alot better than what he is. Maybe it’s the writing…IDK?
As a Twilight fan, I guess my expectations were WAYYYY up there for Taylor – and honestly, he really didn’t deliver. The opening monologue was OK, but the rest was surprisingly bland.
You are only as good as the writers make you. It was not his fault. I thought he did as well as he could given the lame writing. That opening monologue was written by the SNL writer. Lautner should have followed his GF’s example and written his own.
You think just because Taylor Swift sang her monologue, she actually wrote it as well? Please.
Taylor Swift did write her monologue. Lorne Michaels practically bragged about it.
Thank you m. Yes, Taylor Swift wrote her own monologue.
I hate just about everything to do with Twilight, and I thought Taylor did as good as it was possible to do with the terrible material he had. It was clearly not his fault.
Actually I did laugh. Althought I recognise that some sketchs were just not good enough, I thought that Lautner was a good sport and knows how to make fun of himself. He did a good job.
I totally agree! He was a great sport – I enjoyed almost every one of his skits, even if the rest of the show was dribble… The Edward/Jacob skit was very funny, and I actually thought the middle school choir one was as well!
I got about 20 minutes in and then called it quits–or did I fall asleep? The Aunt Sue sketch was just MISERABLE.
It was wretched. I’m not sure why they haven’t revisited Will Forte as the unwanted holiday guest, as they did for Halloween and Thanksgiving last year. That was comic gold, and (judging by its lack of presence on the NBC website) neither the studio nor the SNL folks seem to recognize this.
Also, I really wish they would’ve nixed the anemic PGA spots in favor of a parody about rebranding the PGA (WWE-style) to be more X-TREME.
I actually think Aunt Sue is hilarious
You’re wrong, Steve. You’re wrong.
I thought it was funny too. I normally fast forward through any sketch Kristen is in, but I actually laughed out loud when she went up the fire place and smashed through the living room window.
It was funny when Josh Brolin hosted.
Unfortunately, the “Aunt Sue” skit was funny the first time and though some recurrent skits are funny, this one gets boring quick. I think Jason Sudeikis is great–can we get him some good writing please?? And, Taylor was OK as host, he can at least get through a skit without looking like he’s reading a cue card. Plus, it helps if you drink before and during SNL.
@Steve, how many times have you seen their constant regurgitation of the one-joke Aunt Sue premise? Because it was funny ONCE. And that was MANY Aunt Sue sketches ago.
But at least it’s not another “Gilly”.
I thought parts of it were hilarious and other parts tried too hard. It was the second best part of the night. The first: Taylor Lautner. The rest: just awful.
You mean that train wreck is a REGULAR CHARACTER??? Holy crap. No wonder I don’t usually watch this show. That was one of the most pointless, aimless, unfunny skits I’ve ever witnesses. Why exactly does she freak out? As there was no explanation, it came off as idiotic…or possibly as a psychotic break. Neither choice is funny.
Poor Taylor Lautner. He tried, but the writers (and I use the term loosely) let him down.
I thought Taylor did a good job, though the writers were horrible.
LAME. Easily the WORST SHOW OF THE SEASON. So bad. Took me about 12 minutes to FF through it this morning. Kristen Wiig is unwatchable. The Tiger Woods stuff seemed already dated. And that Seth sure does think that Weekend Update is funny, doesn’t he now?!?
What a pathetic shell of what used to be a great show.
SNL always goes in waves. It’ll be stellar for a few years with a good cast, then they seem to have rebuilding years where pretty much everything falls flat. I suspect it’ll rebound sometime in the future and be hilarious again; until then, I’ll just wait for the cast switch up. This bunch is pretty stale (Samberg as a possible exception, although he really only has the one successful schtick too).
It definitely runs in cycles, and it’s been in a really deepening hole since Tina Fey left several years ago. I don’t like most of the cast either, but 90% of what is so awful about the show is the writing. It’s just abysmal.
I truly believe that you could get better writing from junior high students. Seriously. The only question is how the show’s writers got/keep their jobs. There can’t be that many people with naked pictures of Lorne Michaels or his family members.
Yeah, can we stop with the Kristin Wiig love? She’s just. not. funny.
It’s the same weird voiced nervous-twitting weird clothes wearing character over and over again.
Wiig can be hilarious in small doses, but the vast majority of her trademark material is very squirmy and unsettling, and thus after a few quick laughs gets either boring or just flat-out grotesque.
Walknig in the presence of giants here. Cool thinking all around!
I agree, Kristen Wiig is obnoxious. Watching any of her skits is like nails on a chalkboard!!
That’s really thinking out of the box. Tanhks!
I actually enjoyed last night’s episode, and the “Team Jacob” sketch made sense to anyone familiar with Twilight (which I imagine was a fair number of the audience). But then again, I was drunk for much of the episode.
haha i thought the team sketch was amusing only because i work with younger girls and have actually witnessed similar, ridiculous debates, complete with a comment about fake abs.
I, too, have seen the teens have this debate. Real life is far funnier than this poor sketch…which seemed to suffer because the writers didn’t understand the basis for the teen girls’ debates. (Although they got the general opinion of Bella right LOL)
NBC would actually be better off putting together a “Best Of Leno” show from the week and putting it on Satuday night. About the same level and cheaper!
ok “Best of Leno” replace SNL? What would they do with the other 80 minutes of time?
Please, please, please! Next week, for the love of all that is good and pure, start the show with a cold open that does not feature a desk or a podium.
It was a total trainwreck last night, not funny at all.
Every week is a trainwreck. I’m just wondering how long til the NTSB shuts them down permanantly. With the amount of waste they spill each week, surely some of it is a biohazard.
I actually liked it, except for Lautner who seemed to not have a ton to do, anyways (the monologue was just stupid). I actually loved the Sue sketch, especially when she climbed the chimney and then came bursting through the window,and I thought Jason Sudeikis’s PGA commissioner guy was priceless, especially the whole bit with the sponsors. Sure, a few of the sketches and bits fell flat (I hated the Indian comic guy, and the Glee club thing was stupid and poorly plotted), but you have to expect that from SNL.
You are kidding! The PGA thing was a snooze fest. I couldn’t understand why they wanted to torture us over and over and over with that skit. SNL writers often seem to think that repeating an unfunny joke over and over seems to be funny. It is NOT! Please stop.
The writting was bad, but Lautner was a good surprise, Let me wondering what he would be able to do if the writtting had been good.
excruciating, that’s all i got to say. but props to taylor. he brought his a-game and did the best with what he got. the writers on the other hand, shameful.
If that was Taylor’s “A-Game”…I fear for his acting future.
He’s not even at the level of a Mr. Robby Benson. Boy needs to bank everything he makes.
The Tiger Woods jokes are old already.
At the end of the Team Edward/Team Jacob school sketch, it seemed like something went wrong at the end. Bill Hader looked to someone off camera and asked “Is that it? You sure?” I think they stopped the sketch early because something went wrong. That’s why the ending was so awkward.
Yes! That ending was super awkward. I kept thinking, that was a horrible way to end that sketch. If it was written that way on purpose: horrible. If not, I wonder what went wrong.
After viewing this show, I am convinced of the rumors that Taylor actually belongs to “Team Liza”.
Thank you. I kept watching because each sketch seemed to push/pull him further out of the closet. From the opening monolog to the choir where he actually says he’s gay to the last sketch where he’s having that painfully awkward conversation.
Also, I think the shows are only as good as the host and what they bring. example Taylor Swift, great show.