Everyone always loved Betty White before, but would they still love her after more than an hour of muffin and lesbian jokes? The answer is a resounding yes, as Saturday Night Live had what was likely their best episode of the season with Betty as host. Betty didn’t do it alone though – many of the best female cast members came back for sketches, including Molly Shannon, Ana Gasteyer, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Rachel Dratch. Entertainment Weekly points out that “many of the sketches simply played off the idea of an old woman saying something naughty… over and over and over.” Eh. She was still one of the most deft comediennes to ever serve as an SNL host, and I think it was a great testament to Betty’s comedic skills and energy that she was featured in so many sketches.
In her opening monologue, Betty cracked several jokes about the Facebook movement to make her SNL host. Betty quipped: “Now that I know what [Facebook] is, it sounds like a huge waste of time. I would never say that the people on it are losers, but that’s only because I’m polite.”
This was one of the best sketches, featuring Gasteyer and Shannon in their old NPR skit. Betty White talking about “Dusty Muffins” was hilarious:
And here’s the “Gingy is a lesbian” sketch, one of the few where they let Betty sit down. I was worried about her having to stand and dance around so much in the other sketches.
And SNL is fully committed to selling their new film McGruber, so they had THREE McGruber sketches, with Betty playing Grandma McGruber. Here are all three combined in one video:
All in all, I really do think Betty was one of the best hosts SNL has ever had, and she’s certainly the best of the season. Throughout the show, however, I was constantly reminded of how many talented women worked on SNL at various times, and how the show is so much better when they return – what the hell is Ana Gasteyer doing these days? She should come back to SNL!
For the full Betty White episode, go here.
Betty White’s SNL photos, courtesy of SNL online.
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