Did "Saturday Night Live" turn us into Beliebers? Not quite, but Justin Bieber did a very respectable job as host and musical guest. And he was more than willing to make fun of himself, including his recent marijuana controversy.
In the "Miley Cyrus Show" sketch, Bieber played a member of her fan club and mentioned the photos that emerged in January showing his drug use. "I also heard he got busted smoking weed, and people make mistakes and he's really sorry about it and he's never going to do it again," he said.
While the writers gave him very similar characters to play, Bieber still acquitted himself nicely -- no blatant cue card reading, like Adam Levine. After dreading this week's "SNL," we found ourselves laughing out loud quite a few times.
His hosting started off on a good note, with a monologue mixing Valentine's Day and Black History Month. As he handed out roses to female fans, he also gave them some facts about famous African Americans. Except he doesn't quite get them right.
Bieber showed off just how game he could be in "Justin Bieber at Madison Square Garden" (video not available online). The sketch mercilessly skewered his image, from the winking and "Swaggy!" to the high-pitched voice.
Bieber might not be at Justin Timberlake's level yet, but after a little time, he could get there.
BEST: "The Miley Cyrus Show"
Aside from Bieber addressing his pot smoking, we were glad to see Vanessa Bayer bring back her hilarious impersonation.
HONORABLE MENTION: Principal Frye
"Don't go pokin' until 'I do' is spoken," Bieber warns, as one half of an abstinent couple at a high school dance. This was his personal best sketch of the night, and a nice surprise at the end of the show.
WORST: "The Californians"
Nooooo! For the love of comedy, please retire this sketch! We mostly felt sorry for Bieber having to be in this at all.
FUNNIEST MOMENT: Bieber breaking in "Protective Brother"
Taran Killam is an excellent shouter. He does angry so well and so hilariously that Bieber can’t help cracking up during the sketch.
DISAPPOINTING: Cold Open -- "Super Bowl Blackout"
Again, "SNL" proved it lacks wit when it comes to current events. Watching the CBS announcers try to improvise during last Sunday's blackout wasn't painfully funny … it was just painful.
BEST CHARACTER: Corey the One Black Guy in Every Commercial, from "Weekend Update"
Kenan Thompson was very sharp in this drop-in, as the one black guy featured in every Super Bowl commercial who high-fives a white guy every 12 seconds to survive. This was clearly Seth Myers's favorite bit of the evening.
JUST WEIRD: "Valentine's Message From Justin Bieber"
Bieber again played on his image as the object of female interest, even taking a picture of his crotch and saying "Check your email, Hillary Clinton." But Bobby Moynihan's Taco character was just weird, and not in a funny way. He was supposed to throw cold water on Bieber's sexy vibe, but instead, he just threw cold water on the whole sketch.
Check out Twitter reactions to Bieber's "SNL" episode, then sound off in the comments below!
I'm actually really impressed with how well @justinbieber did on #snl! He barely looked at the cue cards! Great job bro!
— Ricky Thomas (@RadioRicky) February 10, 2013
I'm not a fan of Justin Bieber by any means, but I gain mad respect for someone who can make fun of themselves in front of national TV. #SNL
— Jason A. Grier (@JasonAGrier) February 10, 2013
I'd love to be at the SNL meetings where they decide "Sure, let's run 'The Californians' again" #SNL
— Matthew Ballen (@matthewballen) February 10, 2013
