SNL 39.6 Review - Lady Gaga

You know when Lady Gaga is involved with something, it is going to be interesting to say the least.  Make her host of SNL, and who knows what is going to happen.  Gaga got the second double duty gig of the season after Miley Cyrus who produced the best episode of the season so far.  In Gaga's first time hosting, she produced a top notch episode that hits on almost every cylinder.

Cold Opening

To start the episode, SNL goes after the latest "You can't make this stuff up" story of the week in the person of Rob Ford, mayor of Toronto.  His completely outlandish behavior was something SNL just couldn't pass up, especially when Bobby Moynihan can be a dead ringer for the guy.  It's something they had to comment on, which they did a decent job at, but there was no way they could make something up here that would be better than the premise itself.

Monologue

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One of the show's favorite things to do with the monologue is bust out a song.  When you have a host like Gaga, again, SNL can't resist.  They took one of her hit songs and gave it a twist, giving up one of the best tricks in show business.  It is slightly ironic though, Gaga singing about living for cheap applause when that seems to be the last thing she wants.

Weekend Update

This week's edition of Weekend Update brought about a first in SNL history.  Taran Killam cracked.  It's never happened before, and man have they tried!  I mean, he played a corpse that Bill Hader basically played the drums on and he didn't even budge.  But this time, he lost it.  He was playing Jebidiah Atkinson, speech critic that dissed the Gettysburg Address.  He was going through a bunch of speeches in history he hated when he completely screwed up his line.  Then came the first honest smile he has cracked on the show.  However, he once again showed why he is the star of this season.  He recovered so well, it probably turned out better than the original sketch.

Best Sketch

This was hard to figure out because, honestly, Gaga rocked.  She was perfect in almost every sketch she appeared in, either making fun of herself (like saying "Born This Way" ripped off Madonna) or just being a quirky character (like an Apple Genius Bar employee or the person Marisa Tomei's character was based on in My Cousin Vinny).  However, her best by far was what I claimed to be the best sketch.  The Spotlightz Acting Camp for Serious Child Actors is a place where children learn the method and reenact scenes from movies like Training Day and Forrest Gump.  Enter Lady Gaga who stole the show.  Enjoy.

Worst Sketch

This category was just as hard to determine because of how good this episode was.  All sketches in this episode worked on some level.  However, our worst sketch of the night once again addressed something SNL couldn't help but mention: the death of Blockbuster.  The last stores in America are set to close, and SNL decided to give their requiem to rental stores.  Again, something they had to do, but the execution wasn't as good as the premise.

Dark Horse Sketch

Another perfect example of why Lady Gaga is a perfect host is this sketch.  It also gave one of the first opportunities for John Milhiser to shine outside of being the back half of a centaur.  The two play the parents of a little girl in a talent show who act out every move of her routine from the front row.  The two make a perfect pair as they make complete fools of themselves.

Grade

Like I said, Gaga is the perfect host.  She is a performer to the max and is definitely not afraid of doing anything.  She will host again very soon, and if it is anywhere near as good as this episode was, she will continue to host for years to come.  As it is, this was a great first effort.

***B+***

Watch the full episode here: