This past Saturday evening, NBC’s long-running sketch comedy program broadcast an all-new episode hosted by Daniel Radcliffe; who best known for starring as “Harry Potter” in the film franchise of the same name. Throughout the episode, Radcliffe performed well; as he provided good acting, a good amount of humor, and plenty of enthusiasm during each sketch. In addition, a majority of the cast did very well; as their performances were quite good—thus making most of the evening’s sketches fun. However, as we have seen throughout the season and the past couple years the show’s writers once again supplied the program with lazily-scribed segments that contained very little substance or originality. Despite this, because of the performances turned in by Radcliffe as well as most of the show’s cast, the show wasn’t a complete failure. Thus, I can say with sincerity:
The Performances of Daniel Radcliffe and the “Saturday Night Live” Cast Made This Past Weekend’s Episode worth Watching
The episode’s cold open featured Castmember Jason Sudeikis playing Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivering a message at a diner in South Carolina. Sudeikis’ portrayal of Romney is always good; and I liked the idea how he went on to say that his life and family are very normal. While Sudeikis’ overly-modest representation of Romney is always funny, I’m getting tired of the show opening with a political figure talking to the camera when addressing the nation. We had a similar opening last weekend when Andy Samberg played Rick Santorum; who was addressing the nation about his campaign. In other words, while it was funny and Sudeikis performed well, this open wasn’t anything special.
For his monologue, Daniel Radcliffe explained that every in the audience best knows him for playing “Harry Potter” in the film series based on the well-known book series. Because of this, however, Radcliffe explained to the audience that, as they’ve done it plenty of times in the past, he didn’t want to partake in a parody of “Harry Potter.” He then mentioned some cheap spoofs “Saturday Night Live” could pull off; such as “Harry Potthead and The Jersey Shore.” This was followed by Featured Player Paul Brittain dressing up as the aforementioned character and castmember Bobby Moynihan came out as “Jersey Shore” personality Snooki and fellow castmember Bill Hader came out dressed as fellow “Jersey Shore” personality The Situation. While it was funny to see Hader and Moynihan portray their reoccurring impressions once again; it was the same thing as always. The monologue concluded with Radcliffe admitting that there possibly will be a “Harry Potter” sketch; seeing as the show will most likely do it anyway. Radcliffe’s enthusiasm made the monologue better than it could have been; and I was ready to watch the rest of the show.
The monologue was followed by an advertisement-spoof that stated that Ricky Gervais, played hilariously by Jason Sudeikis, was all ready to host the Golden Globes after his controversial performance from the year before. The ad went on by saying that Gervais would continue to push the envelope when emceeing other award shows; like the Kids’ Choice Awards and the Westminster Dog Show. Jason Sudeikis’ impression of Ricky Gervais was very hilarious; as he did a good job spoofing the British comedian’s mannerisms. The entire commercial parody was a clever idea; and its airing was very timely—seeing as the Golden Globes would air the following night.
The first official sketch of the night was the return of Kristen Wiig’s Target clerk; who would always befuddle customers due to her erratic behavior. Wiig once again gave a good performance as her character; though the writing of the sketch wasn’t very funny. Daniel Radcliffe played a new employee that has a crush on Wiig’s character; and throughout the sketch, he gave a decent performance—though he wasn’t given anything special to do.
The next sketch to air took the form of a talk show entitled “You Can Do Anything.” Bill Hader and Featured Player Vanessa Bayer played the hosts of the program; who would welcome people that appeared in videos broadcast on Youtube. Among the guests was a singer, played by Jason Sudeikis, who enthusiastically performed a hastily-put-together song; as well as a dancer, played by Daniel Radcliffe, who performed a mini-recital while painting some lines on an easel. The performances by everyone were very good; but, unfortunately, the writing dragged at points. Hader and Bayer were good as the hosts and I liked their over-enthusiastic repeating of saying the show’s title. Seeing them repeat the phrase “You Can Do Anything!” was humorous and the over-eager expressions on their faces were quite funny. Unfortunately, the joke got a tad old by the end. All in all, it was just another example of how the performances of the cast and host could improve the overall quality of the sketch.
A filmed piece followed; but, unfortunately, it wasn’t very funny. The pre-recorded segment depicted a boy at a party desperately trying to spin a bottle in hopes that it would get him to kiss a girl; played by Castmember Abby Elliot. However, the bottle always kept landing in the direction of hobos; played by Castmembers Fred Armisen, Bobby Moynihan, and Kenan Thompson. This resulted in Radcliffe having to kiss them on the face. This short completely represented one of my biggest problems with “Saturday Night Live;” which is using the concept of male-on-male kissing as crutch for getting laughs. The concept has been used many times in the past few seasons; and now it’s just insulting to the viewer. I DESPERATELY wish that “Saturday Night Live” would stop employing this concept to get the audience to laugh; but, unfortunately it looks like the joke will keep getting repeated. Not even the twist ending with Featured Player Jay Pharaoh could save this short.
The proceeding bit was another pre-filmed segment that was meant to be an advertisement for the new Broadway show “Delaware Fellas.” The musical was meant to be a tribute to “Jersey Boys;” considering that it featured a quartet of performers-- played by Kenan Thompson, Daniel Radcliffe, Kristen Wiig, and Taran Killam- singing songs parodying the musical numbers of the Tony Award-Winning show. The performances were all good; and I liked seeing the performers speak in mock-Italian. However, the segment went on a bit too long. The appearance of Jason Sudeikis’ impression of Vice President Joe Biden was funny; but, ultimately, he felt out of place in the segment. All in all, the bit was funny; unfortunately, it could have been shortened.
After the commercial break, we got to view the expected “Harry Potter”-parody of the night. In the year 2020, Harry Potter is still hanging around his old school in a desperate attempt to still live out his glory days of being a student. It was great seeing Daniel Radcliffe poke fun at the character that made him a star; and he was funny throughout the sketch—particularly whenever his boy wizard would brag excessively about his accomplishments; such as killing Lord Voldemort. The idea of Harry still living in the past while everyone else had moved on with their lives was funny and all the performances were good; especially Bill Hader’s; who performed a dead-on impression of Alan Rickman’s Professor Snape. The sketch was fun to watch; as it was written and performed well.
The evening’s installment of “Weekend Update,” unfortunately, was very weak. All of Seth Meyers’ jokes were either very corny or not funny at all. Though his delivery was somewhat funny, Meyers just seems to be getting stuck telling jokes that just don’t measure up to past Weekend Update Anchors.’ Fred Armisen and Vanessa Bayer portrayed Kim Jong Un’s Two Best Friends; who would openly praise the dictator; only to quietly complain about everything he does. The segment wasn’t funny at all; and both Armisen and Bayer were basic playing the same characters who originally Best Friends with Gadaffi. But, now that Gadaffi is dead, they as well as the writers just recycled the characters in an attempt to keep the gag relevant. Unfortunately, the routine wasn't funny and the whole was just another insult to the viewers and long-time fans of “Saturday Night Live.” Later on, Daniel Radcliffe appeared dressed, as what was meant to be, Casey Anthony’s Dog. Radcliffe’s character was talking about living with Casey Anthony; and he gave a good performance. Though I have to say that the subject matter was very delicate; and the writing wasn’t very memorable. Nevertheless, Radcliffe and Meyers interacted well together and it is always nice to see the show’s host appear on “Weekend Update.” Unfortunately, Radcliffe’s good performance couldn’t save this week’s installment; as it felt like one of the weakest to air this season.
Following “Weekend Update,” a creative sketch was set in the future was presented; in which an audience viewed a play depicting life in 2012. A group of performers- played by Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, Daniel Radcliffe and Nasim Pedrad—played a family living in our time. They made references to the fact that life in 2012 was much more complicated than life in the future. The performers’ play contained references to life and pop culture in the 2000s; such as the Internet and music trends. The audience in the playhouse was dressed in futuristic attire while the performers playing the members of the family were dressed in present-day attire. While the performances were all good, I didn’t find the sketch to be very funny and a joke aimed at Taylor Swift wasn’t at all humorous. All in all, it was an intriguing sketch; but, unfortunately, it wasn’t very hilarious.
Next, another talk-show sketch was presented in the form of “The Jay Pharaoh Show;” in which Featured Player Jay Pharaoh awkwardly interviewed Daniel Radcliffe about his career. The entire sketch felt reminiscent of “The Chris Farley Show” from the early 90’s; in which Farley would interview celebrities like Jeff Daniels and Paul McCartney by timidly asking them overly-simple questions. All through this segment, Pharaoh basically tried to make small-talk with Radcliffe; only his attempts to do so made him look awkward and impractical. The only parts of the segment that I found funny were when Pharaoh performed some dead-on impressions of celebrities like Will Smith and Tracy Morgan in a desperate attempt to fill time. Radcliffe handled himself very well throughout the sketch; though unfortunately, the segment didn’t really go anywhere.
The final sketch of the night was a very nice and straightforward sketch. Kristen Wigg played an excited researcher that bombarded a constituent, played by Radcliffe, with increasingly-ridiculous questions after he voted in the New Hampshire Primary. The interplay between Radcliffe and Wiig was very engaging; and it was nice to see a political-yet-offbeat sketch close out the show. The questions Wiig’s character asked Radcliffe’s voter were hilarious, and his reactions were very good. I liked this segment; as it was simple and it relied on humor that wasn’t at all over-the top.
And that’s the show. Though the writing wasn’t entirely great, I have to say that Daniel Radcliffe gave a very good performance as the evening’s host. He did the best he could with the material he was given; and I would REALLY like to see him host again.
It should also be said that Lana Del Ray, who served as the evening’s musical guest, was DEFINITELY not good at her at all. The first song she performed, entitled “Video Games,” was COMPLETELY devoid of energy; while her voice sounded very dull and lacking a unique sound. Her second song, entitled “Blue Jeans,” was a tad better; but it wasn’t great. I have no idea who booked Lana Del Ray for the show; but whoever did made a huge mistake.
All in all, while this wasn’t a great show, it’s definitely not the season’s worst—that honor belongs to Katy Perry—who turned in a very awkward performance as the show’s host. I look forward to live-blogging the next live show; which will air on February 4 and will feature Channing Tatum as the show’s host. While I’m not entirely familiar with his work, other than seeing him in “The Dilemma.” Until then, I look forward to posting my next big writing.
E-mail me at thatsnatertainment@gmx.com
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