SNL Recap

James Franco returned to host ‘SNL’ for the third time (though, it seems like more) and for the first time since 2009 (which doesn’t seem quite right either). A lot has happened in the two weeks that ‘SNL’ has been gone and the show certainly didn’t ignore what has happened, but did they do enough? It’s a tough call. This is a comedy show after all and has never been an all-encompassing current events show like, say, ‘The Daily Show.’ Even though he was the host, Franco kind of felt like a non-factor. On one hand, he blended in with the cast, which is always welcome, but musical guest Nicki Minaj seemed to have more of a presence. Anyway, off we go to this week’s Scorecard…

Cameron Diaz has almost sneakily hosted 'SNl" enough times that, after last night, she’s only one away from the vaulted Five-Timers Club. Diaz first hosted back in 1998, a show that featured one of the funniest sketches of all time, ‘Jingleheimer Junction.’ This is all to say that it shouldn’t be too surprising that last night’s ‘SNL’ came off so, let’s say, professional with one sketch that even rivals ‘Jingleheimer Junction.’ On to the Scorecard we go...

Chris Rock’s hosted ‘SNL’ was, well, a bit of a mess. Which all seemed even more surprising after the obviously fired up Rock’s monologue – there just seemed to be so much energy! And then there wasn’t. ‘SNL’ has been really great so far this season, so of course after the first what can be called a misfire of the season, there were all the naysayers on Twitter, lamenting how ‘SNL’ isn’t funny anymore. Oh, puh-leeze. The reason ‘SNL’ is like nothing else is that it can go wrong; it’s what makes the show interesting.