This episode of Saturday Night Live was actually much better than we expected, relatively solid all the way through. Sporting a new blond bob that we think makes her look kind of like Emily Blunt, host Katy Perry never let us forget her pop-star status, finding some way to incorporate her singing voice into almost every skit. Kristin Wiig was on top of her game last night, managing to avoid all of her painfully obnoxious characters for a set of fresh, funny ones, and the show was bolstered by a number of charming guest appearances, including Alec Baldwin and Matt Damon. Click through to watch the sketches we thought were the best and those that made us cringe, and let us know your own thoughts in the comments!
The Best:
J-Pop America Fun Time Now!
Man, this skit kills us, even on the second go-around. Katy Perry was well-suited for the nervous, dorky Hello Kitty enthusiast (if not quite as perfect as Anna Faris in a Sailor Moon costume) and we appreciated the obvious-but-satisfying joke of “You’re white people!” Yes, very much so.
The Apocalypse
Spoofing horrible-looking movie Valentine’s Day, this short was fun, despite the fact that many of the impressions were complete throw-aways. Not Wiig’s Drew Barrymore, though. That was spot-on.
Weekend Update: Captain Steve Rogers
The pilot that kicked Alec Baldwin off the American Airlines plane this week joins Seth to talk about the incident. So meta.
Weekend Update: Stefon
We hate to put two Weekend Update segments on the ‘Best’ list (actually, not really), but as die-hard Stefon fans, we just couldn’t resist. Even though this week’s bit doesn’t quite live up to the Stefon skits of the past, the more Stefon we see, the more interested we are in the relationship between him and Seth, and the less interested we are in the new clubs, and the skit seems to be evolving accordingly, so no complaints here.
The Worst:
The Doggie Duty Soundtrack
Katy Perry’s excellent Florence Welch impression aside, this was probably at least as terrible to watch as the fake movie they were advertising would have been.
Pippa Visits the Queen
Though we did like the Gandalf zinger, this one was fairly predictable and, like the first version, mostly based on how funny it is to watch a man dressed as the Queen being gross. So, not that funny, actually.
Politics Nation
This skit was mostly just boring, not particularly enlivened by Al Sharpton being dumb. Plus, Katy Perry as a political pundit? Why?