Writers, Not Timberlake Let Down SNL

Rarely am I excited to see an episode of Saturday Night Live. It gets TiVoed, but it’s one of the shows that I watch when most other options have been exhausted.  But with Justin Timberlake as the host, SNL gets promoted to my gotta-see-it list.

Quite honestly, before his first appearance on the show, Justin Timberlake didn’t seem notable. He seemed to be a better-than-average performer of sub-par music–which is like being a decent fantasy novel front cover artist. And he dated someone who was famous and they supposedly didn’t have intercourse. I may have also thought he was Justin Guarini.

But his appearance on SNL completely changed my perception of him. Certainly, the surprise that this guy was genuinely funny added an element of magic to the episode. But the truth is that Justin Timberlake made the show his own with talented performances and charm. I suddenly had no choice but to like him–he seemed so sincere and personable.

The second hosting appearance, of course, is the one that prompted fans to ask, "Is he the best host ever?" Not an unreasonable question as this episode had Dick-In-A-Box which became a cultural phenomenon in itself. He also delivered my favorite line from that episode, "I hope a third thing doesn’t happen to them." (You had to be there.)

Afterward, a few cameo appearances deservedly cemented his popularity.

And then came this weekend’s episode. 

No, it wasn’t bad nor was it unfunny. But the magic or pizazz just wasn’t happening. He was certainly "on" and as charming and affable as always. So I doubt the problem was with Justin Timberlake.

The problem is that they used the same darned sketches from the previous two episodes. Yes, going back to a recurring character is a good idea with some hosts. I give you Alec Baldwin’s Schwetty Balls or Christopher Walken’s The Continental. But they did this wholesale for nearly every sketch.

The only "new" sketch I can recall is the immigrants on the boat coming to America where they spoke of the dreams for their descendents. Justin Timberlake had a laugh at himself playing his own great grandfather. Some genuinely funny moments.

But this iteration of Bring It On Down to BlahBlahVille was lifeless. And the Target Lady sketch, which is usually mediocre, was… mediocre. 

The key to this, however, is the audience’s reaction to Jimmy Fallon’s cameo reprising his role as Barry Gibb on The Barry Gibb Talk Show. When Timberlake hosted the second time, the audience went wild at Fallon’s appearance. He had already left the show, but the first time they did Barry and Robin Gibb was so great that he came back to do the sketch. (Also, the theme song is very catchy.)

This time the response seemed forced. Not by some producer of the show or something like that, but forced by the audience’s internal hopefulness. The audience wanted this to be funny because, hey, Jimmy Fallon’s there. Sadly, it just ended up being okay.

MotherLover plainly did not work.

There’s a fine line between a returning character and a retread. With Baldwin and Walken, the writers would repeat some material, but also create new stuff for them. Saddling Timberlake with all this old material misses the opportunity for sketches like I Need More Cowbell.

I’m still excited to seem him host for a fourth time. Let’s just hope the writers are up for it.

Yr fthfl bddy,
Mike