Synopsis:

Anna Faris took the Saturday Night Live stage this week (Sept 27) as host. Her opening sequence showed how the rest of the show would be- funny, but not falling off the couch in laughter. This week’s skits on SNL included: “Sarah Palin Interview”, “New Friends,” “The First Presidential Debate,” “Rowboat Date,” “Weekend Update,” “Scores,” “Deep House Dish,” “Googie Rene’s Slightly Stained Wedding Dress Basement” and “Superior Ex-Boyfriend.”  Anna Faris went on to star in six of these skits, bringing something to each set. Musical artist, Duffy, performed two of her hit songs, “Mercy” and “Standing Stone”, before the night was over. 

Thoughts:

Anna Faris has always been a hilarious actress. Most may recognize her from the “Scary Movie” series, but Anna brought her peppy personality to the SNL screen for a day. Her opening skit was about being a dumb blonde and I found it to be quite entertaining. She would talk as if she loved life and was always having a good time, but then she would mention how she never knows what people are talking about or doesn’t remember what she was going to say a second earlier. She appeared in six other skits that night, each with a different style, and hair color. The first skit she showed her face in was “New Friends.” This scene displayed two couples who had just gone out to dinner. The one couple is trying to figure out why the other couple couldn’t stand them. They go on to mention all the things they did that night, each act being unacceptable, but they didn’t feel that way. I found myself laughing at each new mistake they mentioned, but the ending was pretty lame. The couple suddenly drove off a cliff out of stupidity. Why did they randomly get into a car crash? Sometimes we just can’t get into the minds of those writers. 

The “Rowboat Date” skit was another one that grabbed my attention. Keenan Thompson always does a marvelous job in his skits. Anna Faris plays the lonely girl who is danger when her ex-boyfriend is killed for a couple of computer discs, which he leaves in her possession. Faris and Thompson’s collaboration definitely made the scene happen. If it had been any other pair, I’m not so sure it would have been as funny.  The scene consists of the two on a date on a rowboat in the middle of the lake. They each then take turns singing about what they are thinking about this first date. Anna’s character is love struck on this man that she “safely found on Facebook”, while Keenan’s character is a hit man, getting ready to kill her for these infamous computer discs. The woman finally suspects what’s happening when she realizes “the boat was chained up and he shot the lock off.” 

One other scene that stood out was the “Weekend Update”. The Bill Clinton interview was best part of the episode for me. Bill Clinton was being asked all these politic questions, but his responses continued to be about women and/or clueless to what was going on in the election. He made comments such as “I belong in the Democratic Party. Barack Obama is also in the Democratic Party. I’m not a party-wrecker. I love parties,” and “We need change. Come January, we need a new president.” His words seem idiotic, considering there HAS to be a new president in office by January and no matter who wins the election, it will be a change. Seth Meyers owned the skit against Amy Poehler. He brought so much more to the scene then she did, and his updates actually deserved a roar of laughter. The “Weekend Update” was definitely my favorite skit of the night. 

Duffy performed mid-show and towards the end. She started off with her single “Mercy.” The performance sounded good and her vocals were right on. The whole vibe of the performance was quite dull though. She didn’t move around the stage at all during the whole the song. She just stood there moving her hands around, which got boring to watch for a four whole minutes. Her next song, “Standing Stone”, was of a very mellow style, so she was obligated to be duller. 

Overall, the skits in this week’s episode were mediocre, but worth a couple giggles. It was an episode for the books and one I wouldn’t mind watching again. Anna Faris did a fine job as host. She might not be the new Justin Timberlake of SNL, but it’s possible she’ll be asked to host again! Anne Hathaway will host next week. 

Grade: B