Miley Cyrus hosted “Saturday Night Live” this weekend, and here you can see her as Justin Bieber talking to Vanessa Bayer as Miley Cyrus (wait, what? video below). Overall, I’d say Miley did a pretty good job for someone who should be in high school, which is the same palliative I tell my girlfriend. But the show itself was its usual uneven production: a few good concepts that went on too long, a couple solid laughs, and of course the handful of stillborn sketches that sap your will to live and blur any memories of laughter you might have.
Before we get to the videos, a special snore goes out to musical guest the Strokes, who are probably the least entertaining band this side of Interpol to watch live. What a bunch of absolute dullards. I can honestly say I would have rather watched Miley Cyrus as the musical guest. At least she’s not too disaffected to try. Also, I happen to like “Party in the USA.”
Miley Cyrus Show:
https://www.hulu.com/embed/NbJYluJ_uHGvkzypdbua8w
Duh! Winning! Cold Open:
https://www.hulu.com/embed/s9ikpJxHDoIURxjKbC59SA
Pros: It’s a cold open that isn’t about politics, I like the guests, and Cyrus does well as Lindsay Lohan (KAKOW!). Cons: it’s too long, and Bill Hader’s Charlie Sheen isn’t half as good as Jimmy Fallon’s. Couldn’t they have gotten Fallon to appear in the first sketch? (Yes, I just lobbied for Jimmy Fallon to do something on “SNL” instead of Bill Hader. What dimension is this?)
CBS Gurney Month Promo:
https://www.hulu.com/embed/6VCrRcLTsYrxZE3xHvkpYg
Joke for joke, I thought this was the best sketch of the night. It’s also the shortest. I wish “SNL” would pick up on that correlation.
Our Time with Taboo and apl.de.ap:
https://www.hulu.com/embed/hDmBu-R4cf8NgLACMAi-xw
I like the concept of this sketch, but I felt like it should have been a lot funnier. I also had no idea that the other black guy in Black Eyed Peas was called apl.de.ap. I didn’t think you could have a dumber stage name than Will.I.Am, but apparently I was wrong.
Beastly Spoof:
https://www.hulu.com/embed/XcAe1nO-aJ82FzEJ67XkKA
I enjoyed this up until the punchline was Andy Samberg as a nerd. But again, even if you DON’T like a sketch, it’s harder to hate one that only wastes 90 seconds of your time instead of six minutes.
The Devil on Weekend Update:
https://www.hulu.com/embed/7KUBfM3WfEB2QZ_IAuHHHg
There’s really solid writing in this Jason Sudeikis piece. His three minutes are dense with jokes — none of the goofing off or mugging for the camera that often finds its way into Weekend Update spots. Pretty much the opposite of this:
https://www.hulu.com/embed/byMc21iTWluF-5SBXUYdBA
Don’t watch that. Trust me on this one.
