Lohan on SNL

They meant well, I’m sure they did. I bet that Lorne Michaels only wanted to help Lindsay by inviting her to host this past Saturday Night Live. And the whole cast was probably behind her, cheering her on.  Even Jimmy Fallon stopped by to support her.  I was even kinda excited.  But, sadly, it just didn’t work and the whole show was just sorta sad.

I love Jason Sudekis and I think he’s doing fine as Mitt Romney, getting down his bizarre robotic cadences and lack of human emotion, but it’s getting a little old. So many cold opens have been about Romney, his gobs of money, and his lack of connection with the common man. We get it.  Though Bill Hader can play Shep Smith all he wants, Psycho references and all.

Lindsay got a warm reception before her monologue and you could tell she was definitely nervous.  The monologue was cute – everyone was checking her for drugs or booze or stolen items.  But of course the monologue was most important because it marked the first appearance of the one and only Mr. Jon Hamm.

He's Dreamy. Credit: Parade

He’s dreamy. AND extremely funny. In fact he’s one of the better hosts SNL has had over the past few years.  Jon Hamm’s John Ham and Hamm and Buble are some of the funniest sketches the show has done in years.  With Mad Men starting again on March 25…why wasn’t HE hosting? Back-up host just didn’t cut it.

The Real Housewives of Disney was pretty entertaining.  I refuse to watch ANY of those shows, but they are in the ether enough that I could guess it was a pretty spot on spoof. Taran Killam is becoming my favorite cast member and his Prince Charming was exactly how (flamboyantly gay) I’ve pictured him. Also, those were some spot on costumes, especially the hair for Jasmine.

After that though, the sketches sort of just ran together. The Psychic Awards was cute, some funny bits with the early “In Memoriam” sequence.  The Delinquent Teen Girls bit just went on for too long.  I can watch Fred Armisen in a dress and wig being hit by a car as much as the next person, but it needed to much sooner than it did.  The radio station sketch was saved by the interaction between Killam and Moynihan’s shock jocks and Vanessa Bayer’s straight laced newswoman.  The time updates also added a bit of humor.  But what did all of these sketches have in common? Very little Lohan. She was mostly a prop, making a comment every so often, but not really adding anything.  Not really utlizing the host.

The two sketches that did use the host were the worst of the evening.  Keenan Thompson’s Scared Straight is always good for a few laughs and the one intentional laugh we got last night was when Lindsay was essentially playing herself.  But again, it just dragged, she was reading the cue cards too obviously, and overall it was just boring. Not good for an SNL sketch. The other was the Housesitter sketch with Lohan and Kristen Wiig. I don’t really know what to say about that other than both of them looked unhappy and as much as Wiig tried to save it with her weird voices and facial tics, it never gelled.

There were a few bright moments during the show.  Weekend Update’s interview with Snooki was delightful. Moynihan could have been a bit more orange, but his delivery on “God help us all” sold it.  Plus Jon Hamm popping up at the end made the whole bit that much better.  Also the two micro sketches with Jason Sudekis as a man sitting in front of a fire, reminiscing about the music from the 70’s was just odd enough to work.

Apparently the show got good rating, I suppose everyone was watching to see how she’d handle it and how the show would handle her.  She didn’t embarrass herself and she didn’t embarrass the show — it just wasn’t great.

And when you think back to her Debbie Downer at Disneyworld sketch, you know she is capable of doing more and inspiring more.