Guest host Daniel Radcliffe used his theater background to great effect on "Saturday Night Live," elevating some mediocre material and excelling in a couple of sketches that actually made use of his talent. Sadly, though, it was another middling effort from the late night comedy show. While it wasn't the worst show ever, it didn't do much to distinguish itself, and didn't give the clearly capable "Harry Potter" actor enough to work with.
Best of the Night
Strange as it sounds, Radcliffe's best moment came when he was dressed up as a dog guest on Weekend Update. Playing Casey Anthony's new Yorkshire terrier, the "Saturday Night Live" host never cracked a smile as he delivered scathing, dry, macabre wit in a posh accent, in hilariously furry but well-groomed make-up. It was bizarre and so wrong, but very, very funny.
Like the recent "Saturday Night Live" sketch that lashed out against anonymous commenters on the Web, the "You Can Do Anything!" talk show took the opportunity to lambaste those other Internet villains--the self-proclaimed "stars" of the online world. Vanessa Bayer was particularly effective with her wide, fake smile as she congratulated guests on their total lack of talent "that's totally acceptable now!" While guests included the usual non-juggler-juggling and bad songwriter, Radcliffe was the stand-out who managed to combine his "two passions, Irish dancing and calligraphy!" Once again our favorite Hogwarts student embraced the absurd and danced a proper jig while swirling an ornate letter on a canvas. Definitely worth 1000 YouTube views!
Kristen Wiig brought out her crazy, excitable Target Lady character again, and while the sketch didn't blow the doors off the show, it was definitely worth a few good laughs. Radcliffe gamely played along as a long-haired white trash employee with (great abs!) the hots for the Target lady. Maybe I find this funny because I have had Target employees say inappropriately familiar things, and ask me in shock where I found a particular item--though they haven't yet run off to go get it while I'm still in line. Best moment was the Target Lady noting that customer Taran Killam's license photo looked angry--upon seeing his sullen in-person expression, she shouted enthusiastically, "It's a match!"
Worst of the Night
There wasn't really anything that stood out in the rest of "Saturday Night Live" as the absolute worst, because it was just a sea of mediocrity. Good premises with bad execution, hit or miss jokes, odd ideas, and a lot of sketches-without-a-point. One of the strangest sketches of the night was "The Jay Pharoah Show," which had Radcliffe playing himself as a guest, and Jay playing himself as a talk show host who does nothing but jokeless impressions of famous actors. It was seemingly a big inside ha-ha on his real life role on "Saturday Night Live," but rather than funny, it came off as desperately sad.
Then there was the play set in 2012, acted in front of an audience of the future. The silver-attired crowed laughed uproariously at lines about having to hook up to the Internet before being able to use it, the insanity of multiple layers of clothing, and the days when we thought vegetables were actually good for us. This seemed like a funny premise, much like the way we giggle over old etiquette and entertaining books, but somehow it mostly ended up as a bunch of people laughing over jokes that weren't funny yet.
The Mitt Romney cold open sketch at the start of "Saturday Night Live" was too long and only had one joke. Wiig's "Glenda Okones" political ads, which had her attacking herself before anyone else could do it, inspired a few chuckles but also wore out its welcome. Jason Sudeikis did win some laughs with a Ricky Gervais impression, taking his cruel jokes from The Golden Globes to dog shows to BET--where he got shot at for his less-than-PC remarks.
Radcliffe played the loser Harry Potter, still hanging around the school years after he apparently eliminated all evil from the world--without thinking how that would effect his future endeavors or coolness factor. Bill Hader pulled off a perfectly creepy Snape impression, and there were plenty of giggles for the odd pairing of Hagrid and Luna for marriage: "He's huge!" Luna exclaimed, by way of explanation."Harry Potter" fans everywhere instantly got the heebie jeebies.
The former wizard totally went for it with a "Spin the Bottle" sketch that had him kissing disgusting hobos instead of cute girls, but it was another "Saturday Night Live" sketch that played on grossing us out and nothing much more than that.
"Saturday Night Live" musical guest Lana Del Ray performed "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans." A minute into her first number, I decided I couldn't tell if she was really strangely awesome, or completely freakishly awful. As her voice careened from the rafters to the basement, with vibrato and "little girl" voice and husky sultry siren tones shaping each note differently, I was mesmerized and fascinated. It was clear she had vocal talent, but the Tori Amos-like "I-just-made-this-up-on-the-spot" style of songs made the two pieces nearly impossible to perform live without hitting a few sour notes here and there. I'm guessing the recorded versions have a haunting, unique charm...though I could be wrong.
What did you think, "Harry Potter" fans? Did Radcliffe score a win on "Saturday Night Live," despite the weak sketches? Which were your favorites? Was Lana Del Ray weirdly awesome or weirdly awful?
More From This Contributor:
Katy Perry Plays to Her Strengths on 'Saturday Night Live'
'Saturday Night Live,' Russell Brand and the World's Longest Monologue
Emma Stone and Chris Martin Make Old 'Saturday Night Live' New Again
Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Join the Yahoo! Contributor Network here to start publishing your own articles.
2 comments