‘Saturday Night Live’ re-watch: Are Paul Rudd, One Direction, Jebidiah Atkinson, Kristen Wiig still funny?
Whenever there is a rerun of “Saturday Night Live” airing for the first time, we like to be there to offer a little bit more insight as to whether or not there are any classic sketches. The best “SNL” hits are ones that are timeless, and aren’t just reliant on shock value to deliver great entertainment.
Unfortunately, the problem with doing this with the Paul Rudd-hosted version of the show is that this was a pretty weak outing the first time we saw it. Despite getting a ton of celebrities to stop by, most of its Christmas sketches fail even more now that we have seen the excellent episode hosted by Jimmy Fallon just a week ago.
Still a hit – Jebidiah Atkinson. Both this and another sketch, in Cecily Strong’s character remembering past loves good and bad, were the best of this episode the first time, and they remain that way now. What makes Jebidiah a great “Weekend Update” character is that not only does it finally give Taran Killam a great presence alongside the host, but it’s really only an angrier version of his Andy Cohen with a little less narcissism. (In other news, we really wish there were more “Watch What Happens Live!” spoofs.)
From hit to miss – “The Sound of Music Live” opening. The whole premise of this sketch was built around the surprise appearance of Kristen Wiig as Dooneese, and the first time around, the shock of it was enough to have us entertained. Unfortunately, though, we actually hate this character and find her particularly annoying and weird. She’s even a step below Gilly on the list of Wiig characters beaten into the ground on this show. Not even another cameo from Fred Armisen can save it.
From miss to hit – One Direction fan Dan Charles. While it is still not that hilarious, we really did not give Rudd enough credit the first time for committing to this role of shaming One Direction fans with his crazy knowledge of the boy band. Also, the guys played along well with what had to be the sort of thing that they have probably run into while out on tour.