Sometimes, "Saturday Night Live" has no idea what to do with Serious Actors (ahem, Daniel Craig). But on a few occasions, like with this week's host Christoph Waltz, everything just comes together to produce a seriously funny evening.
While there were a few flat sketches, Waltz's episode featured some of the funniest moments of the whole season. It was a strong outing for everyone involved, from the writers to the cast members.
Definitely makes the case for bringing on fewer A-list stars, and more gems like Waltz. So instead of listing the best and worst of the week, here are the top 7 sketches:
1. "Djesus Uncrossed"
"SNL" has done a lot of pre-filmed movie spoofs this season, like the neverending "Hobbit sequels," but this one sending up Quentin Tarantinos "Django Unchained," which starred Waltz, was the funniest by far. We did a spit take when one Roman soldier cries, "Jesus H. Christ," and Waltz's Jesus shoots him a steely glare and says, "The H is silent."
2. "What Have You Become?"
The "weird game show" sketch has become an "SNL" staple, and usually, we groan a little if we see that set-up. But Waltz was perfect as the condescending host who has a realization when he asks himself the show's title question. And his little dance at the end was awesomesauce.
3. Papal Securities
"In this economic landscape, no one is infallible, even popes." Maybe the writers need to do more pre-filmed bits, because this one about the pope's retirement plan also perfectly used Waltz.
4. "Cold Open - Stranded Carnival Cruise"
Wow, "SNL" finally did a current event-based cold open that made us laugh! Jason Sudeikis (the MVP cast member this week) and Cecily Strong were appropriately desperate/fake cheerful as Carnival Triumph directors who try to inject some entertainment into a terrible, poop-ridden situation.
5: "Weekend Update: Marco Rubio"
The whole Marco Rubio "(Bottled) Watergate" thing has been hashed out plenty this week, but Taran Killam's take on it was perfect -- over the top and very silly.
6. "Jamarcus Brothers"
Waltz played the white brother to Kenan Thompson and Jay Pharaoh, though "If you close your eyes, you can hardly tell which one is the adopted white virgin." The song titles alone make this sketch great: "Let's Take a Shower, I'll Go First and Then You Can Go."
7. "Fox and Friends"
This might've been the cold open if the writers hadn't had the Carnival cruise stranding to chew on. Again, the little details of the corrections ("There are no Americans in the Bible", "Zero Dark Thirty is not a diet soda") were just genius.
