What if Justin Timberlake married Alec Baldwin?s daughter and they had a child and that child grew up and hosted Saturday Night Live. That might well be the day the world explodes in comedic glory. (Sorry Jessica Biel, but it will be an amicable split and you\’ll be just fine on your own.) Melissa McCarthy will be the child?s godmother.
Last weekend, Justin hosted SNL for the fifth time and he crushed it. Most of his skits were strong (all but one, really), and a few were great. He pulled off being both the host and the musical guest without seeming ready to collapse. And he managed to take a well-timed swing at that angry asshole Kanye West in the process.
Justin?s opening monologue featured his induction into the Five-Timers Club, which is similar to the Mile-High Club minus the airplane and the sex, but including other five-time hosts, such as Alec Baldwin, Candice Bergen, Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Paul Simon. (Former cast members Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase were also there, unfortunately … they are both awful.)
A few of those special guests overstayed their welcome, popping up later in the show to ruin?perfectly good?sketches. One very welcome guest was Andy Samberg, who, along with JT, reprised his Dick in the Box character. Between them they had a few great lines, particularly their explanation for why summer is their favorite season:
“Ladies can't get pregnant in the summertime. ? = Science.?
Unfortunately, however, Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd were also a part of that skit, playing the “Wild and Crazy Guys” characters that were not funny a hundred years ago when they first developed them and are intolerably annoying now ? and effectively sucked the joy out of seeing the Dickie Boys again.
The part of the show that’s getting the most attention is the slick jab Justin took at Kanye West in response to the shot Kanye took at Justin?s new music a few weeks ago. At a show in London, Kanye said:
?Remind me again who's the original superfly? I got love for Hov but I ain't fucking with that ?Suit & Tie.'”
(In case you live under a rock, Hov is Jay-Z and “Suit & Tie” is one of Justin’s new singles.) In retaliation, Justin switched the lyrics in the second verse of ?Suit & Tie? during his?SNL performance?from “Shit so sick got a hit and picked up a habit” to “My hit’s so sick got rappers acting dramatic.” The naughty S-word?from the original had to be cleaned up for censors anyway, but it was a clever, if too kind, switch-up, giving the finger to?Kanye.
In an unusual twist,?the episode ended better than it began, with a pre-recorded movie trailer for the rom-com ?She's Got a Dick? (starring Justin as the hunky leading man who falls into a complicated love affair with the unexpectedly endowed Nasim Pedrad), followed by the final live skit of?the show, an advertisement for?Mo?t & Chandon (“Moe-Wee Sham-Ben”) champagne starring Vanessa Bayer, Cecily Strong, and a fantastic JT as porn star Ricky V.I.Penis.
This?episode of SNL got the best rating since Charles Barkley hosted in January 2012, thereby proving, without a reasonable doubt, that Justin Timberlake is the reigning king of the modern world. His music is corny … that’s an understatement, it’s horrible?… but he?himself is adorable, has perfect comedic timing, and doesn’t mind making an ass of himself. All Hail.
Kim says
Why are you saying his music is corny and horrible?? THere is an audience that appreciates music that goes back to the basics and is romantic and suggestive instead of being raunchy, pedestrian, and offensive. Justin’s music embodies those qualities, and I for one, appreciate the maturity and musicality of his songs. That’s not corny; it’s sexy.