Jeff Bridges, Weezy F, and Eminem performed live from New York last night, and the results were solid. We’ve seen many of last night’s sketches throughout the season — Bill Hader’s Julian Assange, Vanessa Bayer’s “Miley Cyrus Show” — but we’re not sick of ‘em yet. Jeff Bridges, for his part, didn’t seem to get too much airtime on his own, and when he did, the results erred a bit toward wackiness. Meanwhile, Lil Wayne looked great on NBC! Other people liked the episode, for the most part: Jezebel seemed to laugh a little bit, noting “Is Bridges high? Or is that his usual state?” Entertainment Weekly found the episode decent if not innovative: “Most of the time, Saturday Night Live seemed to start its holiday vacation early, with a show that consisted of fitful charm, familiar characters and targets, and a series of sketches whose punchlines were telegraphed by their titles.” HitFix called it “typically uneven,” but admitted Andy Samberg’s digital short “will probably end up referenced on ‘Texts from Last Night’ within the next week.” Meanwhile, Movieline wondered if it was the best episode of the season, noting “Not the laugh-out-loud funniest show of the season, but, from top to bottom, there wasn’t a whole lot of ‘bad.’ I mean, it was so good. Bridges did an admirable job as host but, more importantly, did an admirable job of not getting in the way of a cast that was obviously on a mission before they took a break for the holidays.” So maybe this season is finally finding itself! Check out the hand-picked highlights, below.
Most Plausible Account of What Actually Happened After Miley Cyrus’s Bong Hit
This seemed like a good week to bring back Vanessa Bayer’s Miley Cyrus and address Cyrus’s recent Salvia scandal. Bayer’s depiction of Cyrus only seems to be getting more accurate, and here was her account of the bong hit: “I got really high, and I was like, ‘Hey where’s my body?’” Cyrus’s hypothetical PSA and mug shot were also awesome.
Most “Why Not Throw in the Kardashians?”
But, really, why not throw in the Kardashians? Some of the jokes are a little easy, but the Abby Elliott, Nasim Pedrad, and Vanessa Bayer trio is still pretty funny.
Most Samberg-Centric
What may appear to be a goofy Andy Samberg digital short also doubles as a fairly accurate take on Akon’s whole genre of catchy, cute songs about sex. (Auto-Tune, twee lyrics about kinky sex, etc.) Plus, Blake Lively and Jessica Alba agreed to partake in this!
Most Consistently Funny Character
That would be Bill Hader’s Julian Assange, especially saying “I’m a Samantha, but if the Swedish police ask, I’m a Charlotte.” Samberg’s Zuckerberg is equally enjoyable: “That’s an algorithm for fun!”
Most Questionable Use of Jeff Bridges
Well …
Most Edited Yet Enjoyable
Eminem was expletive-free, but still solid:
What did you think of last night’s episode?
