Caryn James

Seth and Stefon's Big SNL Wedding, and Iran's Reply to Argo (Video)

  • By Caryn James
  • |
  • May 19, 2013 11:35 AM
  • |
  • 0 Comments
Stefon -- the guide to New York's hottest, most twisted clubs - was never my favorite Bill Hader character, but he grew on me. And since last night's SNL was Hader's last, it was inevitable that Stefon would pop up on Weekend Update. But who could have  guessed that, tired of his unrequited love for Seth Meyers, Stefon would leave to marry another man, only to have Meyers run after him like Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate? Take a look at Stefon's big wedding, with Amy Poehler and Anderson Cooper.

Watch Ben Affleck and Bill Hader's SNL Promo

  • By Caryn James
  • |
  • May 15, 2013 1:10 PM
  • |
  • 1 Comment
Before Ben Affleck became Mr. Big-Time-Oscar-Winning-Director ... oh, never mind, that is so not his persona even now. Here he is in a promo for the season finale of SNL, proving he still has his comic timing. And here's Bill Hader (who will not be returning to the show next season) asking Affleck if he made up that country Iran in Argo.

Melissa McCarthy Gives Physical Comedy a Good Name On SNL (Video)

  • By Caryn James
  • |
  • April 7, 2013 11:12 AM
  • |
  • 0 Comments
Even if you're not a fan of physical comedy - and I'm usually not - the brilliant Melissa McCarthy makes it hilarious and sophisticated. She began her latest SNL hosting gig by entering on sky-high, red-sequined platform heels, stumbling her way on stage in a routine that was also a goof on the absurdity of actress' shoes today.

Justin Timberlake's All-Star, All-Good SNL (Video)

  • By Caryn James
  • |
  • March 10, 2013 12:13 PM
  • |
  • 0 Comments
Justin Timberlake was totally aware of the high expectations for his hosting gig on SNL  - "Thank you, Internet," he said during the monologue - but there was no need to worry. He was so on, he even gave just the right sly, I-know-it's-hokey reading to the line "Five Timers Club" when announcing his membership as a five-time host.

Watch Justin Timberlake's 'SNL' Promo

  • By Caryn James
  • |
  • March 6, 2013 11:05 AM
  • |
  • 1 Comment
I don't believe in jinxes, so I'll flat-out say that nothing is a safer bet for fantastic television than Justin Timberlake hosting 'Saturday Night Live'. He's back this week, and even his promos are better than SNL's usually are (better than some of the sketches lately.)

Justin Bieber Hosts SNL; Watch the Unaired Non-Bieber Sketch Instead

  • By Caryn James
  • |
  • February 10, 2013 10:53 AM
  • |
  • 0 Comments
Last night’s 'SNL' host was Justin .. . oh, how I wish I could say Timberlake, but No. It was Bieber, set loose among squealing audience members and a flood of predictable Bieber jokes. He wasn’t much as a comic, but he did go along wih a lot of Bieber-Playing-A-Dumb-Guy sketches. None of them mentioned the unfortunate Instagram he had posted the day before of himself with SNL's all-powerful Lorne Michaels, which Bieber spelled Lauren. (Some generous people on Twitter blamed Autocorrect; maybe.)

SNL's Preview of The Next 18 Hobbit Movies (Video)

  • By Caryn James
  • |
  • January 20, 2013 11:26 AM
  • |
  • 0 Comments
Some people (and I‘ll never be one of them) can’t get enough of Perter Jackson’s Hobbit movies. SNL offers a preview of how Jackson plans to take advantage of that – split the next Hobbit installments into 18 different films: in one, Frodo forgets something back at the shire and has to turn around, in another the whole crew (including Jennifer Lawrence as the Elf Queen) splits a complicated dinner bill. There's "Apple Maps: An Unexpected Detour," and the dwarves assembling an Ikea dresser. 

Pants On Fire: SNL Cold Open Takes on Lance Armstrong, Manil Te'o, Jodie Foster (Video)

  • By Caryn James
  • |
  • January 20, 2013 10:40 AM
  • |
  • 0 Comments
Jennifer Lawrence was a likable host on SNL, pretending to trash-talk  her Oscar contenders, but the writers didn’t give her their sharpest material. There was a commercial for Silver Linings Playbook during the show, but no sketch about it – what a lost opportunity (although Jason Sudeikis did wear Bradley Cooper’s trash bag workout clothes in a promo). Instead, the cold open gave us SNL at its topical best, with Piers Morgan welcoming a pants-on-fire lineup of guests.

Touching Kids' Chorus, F-Bombing Sam Jackson, McCartney And A Llama: SNL's Great Christmas

  • By Caryn James
  • |
  • December 16, 2012 8:36 AM
  • |
  • 0 Comments
Just as it did when the show returned after 9-11, Saturday Night Live found a way to eloquently acknowledge a tragedy and move on to comedy. In the eerie but appropriate cold open, the New York City Children’s Chorus sang “Silent Night,” with the line “sleep in heavenly peace” a piercing tribute to the children lost in the Newtown shooting. But after a brief black screen, followed by the kids saying, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night,” the show’s Christmas episode turned out to be one of the best – if most retro -- of the season, with Martin Short as host and Paul McCartney as musical guest.

The Real Brad Pitt Chanel Ad Vs. SNL's: Can You Tell the Difference?

  • By Caryn James
  • |
  • October 21, 2012 10:00 AM
  • |
  • 1 Comment
Just try to tell them apart. Brad Pitt’s recently unveiled commercial for Chanel No. 5 is so loaded with high-flown, nonsensical language that it out-parodies itself without any help from satirists. But SNL’s Taram Killam offers a very funny take on the commercial anyway, which includes Pitt saying to the off-screen director: “You want me to sound less coherent? Really?” Now that would explain a lot.

Follow Caryn James

Email Updates

Most "Liked"

  • 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist': Mira ...
  • Two Other Gatsbys, Two Better Nicks
  • Good and Bad Surprises in Baz Luhrmann's ...