In an unusual twist this week, the Saturday Night Live host was singer Katy Perry, but she wasn’t the musical guest as well. Swedish recording artist Robyn filled that spot. And while the show wasn’t up to last week’s comedic standards, it did have some very humorous moments and more than a few surprise guests. Here’s a quick rundown of the night’s sketches, and we’ll have the videos as soon as they’re available.
Cold Open: On the Record with Greta van Susteren — I love Kristin Wiig’s spoof of van Susteren, and when we thought we’d be getting an interview with Gingrich and Santorum, it turned out to be all about Donald Trump … with a surprise appearance from Darrell Hammond!
Monologue: Katy Perry — Katy, who is now blonde (or was that another wig?) instead of pink, wore a dress trimmed with Christmas balls and was very upset that the tree outside was wearing the same outfit. She also gave us a peek into where she got the ideas for some of the odd costumes in her music videos … they came from people she actually knew, and “they” were all there. Kristin Wiig in the “California Girls” outfit was pretty good.
J-Pop America Fun Time Now — a reprise of the skecth we first saw when Anna Faris hosted back in October, and nothing much has changed. This time, the Japanese-influenced students welcome the president of some Hello Kitty fan club to the show (Perry), and they sing some incomprehensible song while the faculty advisor does everything he can to distance himself from the travesty. Still amusing, but not as surprisingly funny as the first time (although Fred Armisen in drag is always good for a laugh).
The Apocalypse — I keep saying that these all-star movies like the current New Year’s Eve and last year’s Valentine’s Day need one thing … a disaster. Well, the good folks at SNL answered my prayers with this spoof trailer featuring “literally thousands of stars.” Best star appearances: Kristin Wiig doing a spot on Drew Barrymore, Fred Armisen (in drag again) as Penny Marshall, and Katy Perry and some ginormous boobs as Christina Aguilara. This is a movie I’d pay to see!
Kalle — A bizarre Finnish talk show with special guest Katy Perry, who talks about her music, her career, her private life … and they have a clip for everything. Really, everything! Even from the future. The clips made the sketch work.
SNL Digital Short: Friendship — Andy Samberg and Katy Perry are two friends singing about eating cornish hens, then they add a third to the group, a scary homeless man (Matt Damon), then a fourth and fifth, a mad scientist (Val Kilmer!) and some freaky Muppet, but it gets weird for Katy so she leaves, only to be replaced by Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, and more courtesy of a malfunctioning time machine.
Doggie Duty Soundtrack — Before you see the movie about dogs in court, get the soundtrack featuring such tunes as “Theme from Doggie Duty” by Randy Newman (a perfect Armisen), “Dogs in a Jury” by Gwen Stefani (Wiig), “A Tail of Justice” by Meatloaf (Sudeikis), “Two Pooches” by the guy from The Spin Doctors (Samberg), “Clint’s Theme” by soundtrack legend Clint Eastwood (Hader and some amazing pants), and “The Dog Trial is Over” by Florence + the Machine (Perry doing an amazing impression of Florence).
Musical Guest: Robyn — First thought: What is she wearing? Second thought: Those are some cute pop ditties. Third thought: Her haircut and music remind me of the 80s/90s, with some Human League influence. And that’s a good thing! I liked her … but those outfits!
Weekend Update — In the news: Rick Perry will get plenty of Trump on the next Celebrity Apprentice, Rhode Island Holiday Tree controversy, a pay freeze for Queen Elizabeth (she gets paid?), flirting expert Rebecca Larue tries to teach Seth how to find romance during the holidays (turns out she’s just a slut), and Captain Steve Rogers (Alec Baldwin) makes an appearance to apologize to the fine, upstanding and smart Alec Baldwin for getting thrown off of the plane he was piloting. The segment capped off with Stefon again giving families visiting New York some interesting tips on places to go during the holidays. I love watching Bill Hader crack up (he has no idea what’s on the cue cards), and the one that got him going this time was Menorah the Explorer.
Inside Buckingham Palace — Fred Armisen as the queen (his third time in drag this week) shows her hooligan side once again as she threatens and cajoles daughter-in-law Kate into popping out a baby sooner rather than later. Sister Pippa Middleton (Perry) brings out her hooligan side to put the queen in her place, then they all get together to record the queen’s rockin’ ska-flavored Christmas message. I love Armisen’s Cockney accent as the queen, but Pippa comparing her to Gandalf in drag was hilarious.
Politics Nation with Al Sharpton — Yes, this is a real show on MSNBC. You really have to have seen at least one episode to have gotten this skecth. I got it and they were pretty dead-on with the real Sharpton’s less than eloquent delivery and awkwardness on camera. It may not have seemed funny, but if you’ve seen his show, the sketch was hilarious.
Soul Mates — Perry is a down-on-her-luck young woman who meets a guy that likes everything she likes. The only problem is that he is bad news, with bad luck following him around, but they’re perfect together so she’ll deal with it. Or maybe not. This was a cute sketch to end the night on, and Perry did a pretty good job for the most part. Was anyone expecting a Russell Brand appearance?
So what were your favorite sketches this week? Take the poll below. You can choose two.
Clacked by Chuck Duncan 
on Dec 11, 2011 @ 03:23 EST5EDT
This week’s product placements: Lion King, Depend
Loved the J Pop America FunTime Now Skit. Man Vanessa Bayer is so darn cute sometimes ^^;
Oh by the way, did you know that “Bayer” means “Bavarian”? You know… Bavaria is “Bayern” in German and someone from Bavaria… ah well. Aspirin is produced by the company Bayer so maybe her family is not kinda from Germany. Who knows. Good episode :-)
As someone who was in an all-male acapella group at Michigan State, I found the first 10 seconds of the J-Pop sketch hilarious.