Free | 23/6
Posted: 2/12/2012
Zooey Deschanel's efforts as the host of 'Saturday Night Live' were, kind of surprisingly, quite great. Though, when a news story as big as Whitney Houston's death breaks mere hours before the live show, it does put 'SNL' in the weird position of being a 'topical' live show, but not really. (The same thing happened last year on the day of the Gabrielle Giffords shooting in Arizona.) An image of Whitney Houston alongside Molly Shannon was appropriate (but perhaps a little too late in the show for someone who was a two-time musical guest.) Regardless, after a run of mediocre episodes, last night's 'SNL' gave us the best show of 2012.Sketch of the Night'Les Jeunes de Paris' (Taran Killam, Zooey Deschanel, Jean Dujardin, Kristen Wiig, Bobby Moynihan, Nasim Pedrad, Andy Samberg) I've been a fan of the last three incarnations of 'Les Jeunes de Paris.' I'm a fan of 'The Artist.' So, smash those two entities together and you get this little nugget of joy. First, I love any 'SNL' sketch in which it's so obvious how much work went into the choreography. Second, I really hope Jean Dujardin becomes a huge star in the United States. Between this and his Funny or Die video, boy, that guy just gives it his everything. (Also, for a split second, I thought Kristen Wiig was actually Berenice Bejo.)Score: 9.5The Good 'Clint Eastwood Chrysler Ad' (Bill Hader) Separated into three parts throughout the show, Clint Eastwood -- with his pants getting ever higher and higher -- scolds us for misinterpreting his Super Bowl ad. Also, he calls Rick Santorum a 'pussy' before the whole thing becomes an ad for 'The Dark Knight Rises.' I would have no problem with Hader's Clint Eastwood being a part of every show for the rest of the season. Score 8.5'Bein' Quirky With Zooey Deschanel' (Abby Elliott, Zooey Deschanel, Taran Killam, Kristen Wii