Finally — an episode of Saturday Night Live that we genuinely liked as a whole! Of course, Jason Segel is one of our favorite actors right now, so we we pre-disposed to like the show this week, but even objectively, we think it was one of the best of the season. Segel’s lovably genuine silliness fit in well with the cast, but for our money he also pulled off angry prostitute pretty well. And while some sketches were less than stellar, there were none that were unbearably terrible, which is fairly unusual, at least for this season. Click through to watch our picks for the best and worst sketches of the night, and let us know if you agree or completely disagree with our assessments in the comments!
The Best:
Jason Segel’s Opening Monologue
We’re not sure if this was a 100% full-on publicity stunt to support the new Muppet movie, or if it was Segel’s nerdy idea, but his epic dorkiness, joyful song, and clear love for the Muppets is totally charming. If nothing else, we often feel like these monologues go on too long, but Segel’s was about three times longer than normal, and we never got bored. Muppet face!
Regis Philbin Auditions
We were a little slow to warm to this sketch, but the minute Bill Hader’s Garrison Keillor grumbled, “Because why should owls have all the fun?” we were on board. This is one of the things SNL is best at — ensemble pieces that show off the best of each cast member’s abilities: Jay Pharaoh’s hilarious Denzel Washington and Taran Killam’s stupid but spot-on Ashton Kutcher were standouts for us. The punchline was weak, but what can you do? As evidenced by this sketch, nobody’s perfect.
Weekend Update: Gov. Jon Huntsman
This sketch did exactly what it was supposed to — make us like Jon Huntsman.
Really? With Seth and Kermit
This segment is one of our favorites, and sorely underused. Plus, Kermit was probably the best partner for Seth to talk about school lunches with, and almost rivaled Amy Poehler as a second for his over-the-top reactions alone.
André the Giant Chooses an Ice Cream Flavor
As we already know, Segel’s André the Giant is totally charming and dead-on, and this is one of the few SNL sketches (ever) that we actually wish was longer.
The Worst:
Thanksgiving with the Vogelchecks
We really hate this recurring sketch, but just because it’s disgusting, not because it isn’t conceptually sound. We actually hated it way less than usual due to the really exciting cameo and subsequent makeout session right at the end. We won’t ruin it for you, but we bet you can guess.
Retirement Party
This skit wasn’t even that bad; it was just boring. The only funny part was the reaction shots, which were just a repeat of the terrible soap opera reactions skit from earlier in the season. So, snooze.
The Blue Jean Committee
Again, there was nothing so terrible about this sketch, it was just a little lackluster. There wasn’t even much of a point besides the original conceit, and the cast relied too much on their all-denim outfits to make whatever they did funnier. They did make it funnier, but not funnier enough.