The first time Emma Stone hosted Saturday Night Live, the politician everyone was talking about was Jimmy "The Rent Is Too Damn High" McMillan. The second time, it was Rick Perry. And now we've got someone who combines McMillan's showmanship instincts with Perry's razor sharp intellect. Anyway, the La La Land star did a terrific job hosting the show for a third time, committing to every sketch with a twinkle in her eye.
In the ten-to-one sketch, Stone was the perfect Virgin Mary, who gets increasingly aggravated by the visitors (some of whom you might also recognize from the Bible) barging in, uninvited, just after she's given birth in a barn. She also played a mother in a commercial for a Fisher-Price toy for, well, for boys who are more sensitive than the usual ones.
During the monologue, Stone likened SNL to "high school," revisiting interactions with the cast (Vanessa Bayer is a great mean girl). In the recurring, "Theatre Showcase" segment, Stone, Aidy Bryant (Stone's actual high school classmate) and the rest of the well-meaning but clueless drama club kids take on today's issues, promising that all proceeds from the show will go towards Standing Rock to help get "Native Americans the pipeline that they want." Pete Davidson continued his stretch of playing high school students, this time by playing a kid whose posters—including Stone as a ditzy pinup with a love of hot dogs—come to life to explain how important math and staying in high school are.
Michael Che sounded off on the federal ban on smoking in public housing—Che grew up in projects on the Lower East Side—in Weeknd Update while Leslie Jones gave her thoughts on relationships and Bayer reprised her "Rachel" from Friends, with the real Jennifer Aniston making an appearance.
Click through for the sketches, including an office cleaning crew with insight into Santa Claus and a commercial for that holiday staple, the Christmas Candle. Next week's host is John Cena with musical guest Maren Morris; December 17 sees Casey Affleck and Chance the Rapper. Chance, btw, is asking for help on what he should perform.
