Betty White rocks Saturday Night Live

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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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42 Responses to “Betty White rocks Saturday Night Live”

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  1. Bee says:

    I think the reason so many people,myself included, love Betty White is because she reminds us of a day when people became successful because they were actually talented. Unlike today, when all you have to do is release a sex tape or star in a reality show to become a celebrity.

  2. Layla says:

    MacGruber is SO NOT FUNNY. I can’t believe they made a whole movie out of that crap.

  3. Me says:

    Betty White is a bad ass. She did a great job, loved her monologue.

  4. M says:

    I actually didn’t think it was that funny. It doesn’t matter what host SNL gets…their writing still sucks.

  5. Paul E. Stanley says:

    @Bee: I agree whole heartily. Back then you earned your status as a celebrity. Not anymore.

  6. Cruisin Through says:

    I thought she was great. There is something so innately likable about her. Who doesn’t love Betty White?

  7. Chris J says:

    I love Betty White! Not just because she is such a fantastic comedienne, but because she looks totally like my grandma. 🙂

  8. skibunny says:

    Betty White was amazing. Best Saturday Night all year. It was really funny.

  9. Heather says:

    Her monologue was great. Some of the other stuff… Can’t overcome bad writing sometimes.

    So why did the Whitney Houston skit from Weekend Update get cut from Hulu?

  10. womanfromthenorth says:

    She Rocked IT! Best show in a long while.

    Although JZ sounds really angry in the first song…. wtf does he have to be mad about? He’s a RICH man married to a RICH woman. I really don’t care for his rap style I guess. I like rappers that can Sing.

  11. bellaluna says:

    Love. Her.

  12. Dobben says:

    I just watched Lake Placid last night — it’s hilarious, by the way — and Betty White is great in it. She has a small but pivotal role and her scenes are fantastic! Love her.

  13. LolaBella says:

    I thought Betty was awesome.

    It’s the first time in years that I laughed during EVERY SINGLE sketch on SNL (yes, even the silly McGruber ones).

    One thing that this episode showed is the true talent that is no longer on SNL; Maya, Rachel, Ana, Amy and Tina really classed up the joint last night.

    Best show in years, hands down.

    Loved the NPR Delicious Dish ‘Dusty Muffin’ and the CSI: Sarasota sketches.

    Well done Betty, well done indeed.

  14. a says:

    i loved it and thought she was great. i am glad it went well and i thought they had fun with her age and she was a good sport for doing it and having fun too.

    can you imagine after being on TV on and off since the 50’s… to have people come together to put her on the show at age 88, for her to pull it off so well and get that standing ovation with flowers at the end? that’s beautiful!!!

  15. gg says:

    Agree with Layla – MacGruber was never funny.

    Betty White has always been funny.

    Most of the good writer/actors are gone from the show. Tina and Amy smoked everybody else. It happens in cycles with SNL; and often the unfunny seasons add up to years.

  16. Roma says:

    Betty is a comedic genius. Mary Tyler Moore Show, anyone?

    I actually got a little emotional when I realized how many female cast members came back. It’s a shame that society now chooses to promote the Megan Fox’s of the world.

  17. StuntMom says:

    Betty was the bomb! Kudos to that bawdy old broad, she took SNL to the next level. When the cast sang “Thank You for Being a Friend”, i thought that was so sweet…and then Betty did her version. I was rofl, had tears in my eyes and my friend called me immediately..we were laughing so hard we couldn’t talk. Great job, Betty. You’ll always be top notch!

  18. lin234 says:

    She had such a great timing during her monologue! Hilarious! She still has her spark at 88 1/2 years old.

  19. jessica says:

    I agree about McGruber is not funny, but Betty White did a WONDERFUL job last night!! She is 88 1/2 and still kicks ass! LOVED IT!!

  20. heb says:

    What is the logic behind airbrushing pictures of Betty White.

    love you Betty-hilarious stuff!

  21. guesty says:

    really love her.

  22. I adore her monologue performance on SNL. For a 88-year-old woman, she is a true beauty 🙂

  23. Maritimer says:

    Is anyone else having trouble viewing the clips?
    They aren’t working for me – and most other sites that have clips aren’t available for viewing in Canada.
    If anyone knows where I can see some of the show from last night online, let me know. I love Betty White!
    Thanks.

  24. jover says:

    Roma, I agree with you re BW. Re your Megan Fox comment, I must disagree – it is really not society that’s promoting the Megafarse’s of the world – it’s Megan Fox’s pr/managment team and the Hollywood studio that has a vested interest in the next wretched installment of Transformers that is ceaselessly promoting such bozos. After all, despite all the advance pub Jennifer’s Body bombed and there is no buzz re Jonah Hex. Megafarse’s attempt to be a high fashion model with her Armani adds has also fallen flat because she has neither external beauty nor inner substance. Combine the above with the lazy media’s relentless fawning over hacks, reality bozo’s and others, and yes it seems like society is promoting such goofs as Megafarse; but this only illustrates the disconnect between hollywood, the media and much of the public.

  25. Red says:

    has nobody else noticed Betty’s face on the posters?!?! SATC photoshoppers were hired for this one….her face looks awful

  26. snappyfish says:

    Just amazing. I love the NPR sketch. The writing has been bad on SNL for sometime now but Betty White was brilliant. I even like the SNL short.

  27. MingMing says:

    Betty is the true talented wit!

    The folks on SNL should follow the example of a real star. She is funnier doing her own improv than doing than any of the material SNL could write.

  28. stephiespoons says:

    @Maritimer

    Try going to global.ca to watch snl clips in Canada.

  29. Bodhi says:

    It was AWESOME!! She kicked so much ass! Love love LOVE her!!!

  30. Gigohead says:

    LOVED BETTY!

    LOVED ALL THE WOMEN OF SNL!!

    For years, women were just the back seat to the men-heavy casting on SNL. Last night show proved the women of SNL ROCK!!!!

    LOVED IT!!

  31. Eye Opener says:

    To SNL,

    This was the BEST episode EVER!!

    Thank you for bringing real talent back.

    This so made up for having Ke$ha on last time! ;(

    Betty White is the QUEEN of comedy. 😉

  32. lucy2 says:

    Great episode, and Betty was awesome. I agree her comic timing and talent blows away so many others who have hosted, and even at her age, she knew every single line and didn’t miss a beat. I’ve seen a lot of 20 or 30 something “actors” unable to tear their eyes from the cue cards for the whole episode. Betty is a true talent and I’m really glad she did SNL!

    It was really apparent how much the show is missing the really talented women. I do like Kristin Wiig, but none of the other women are featured players, and rarely do anything that impresses. Seeing Amy, Maya, Tina and the other former castmates on tonight just reinforced that for me. I’m really glad that they’ve gone on to do other good things – Amy’s show has been hilarious this season, and Tina’s 30 Rock is always great.

  33. aury says:

    thanks for posting the link to the whole episode. i missed it last night. 🙁

  34. Kelsey says:

    The “Blaarrfengaar” section of the census skit was so reminiscent of some of Betty’s best moments as Rose in Golden Girls with her many Norwegian words. I laughed twice as hard because of that. I cried last night I was laughing so much and what a pleasure it was to see her on the show. Go Betty!

  35. Diva says:

    Betty was hands down the best host SNL has had in years in my opinion! LOVE HER.

    As for the freaking out about THREE MacGruber sketches, if you watch SNL with any regularity, you know that there are always at least three of them per episode…. always has been.

  36. Dani says:

    Haven’t seen this episode yet, but I never thought SNL was funny. Ever. It always seemed to try too hard and just ended up forced and stupid.

    Whose Line Is It Anyway was improv and made up on the spot and was 100x funnier than SNL was, and SNL had a week to fine tune skits, maybe more. That says a lot to me.

    The people on the show, past and present, weren’t funny either. In other vehicles that had nothing to do with SNL, people like Bill Murray and Chris Farley were funny, even though Bills talent was heads above Chris’ and anyone elses ever on the show. The women especially on the show have always been unfunny and portrayed mainly as shrill and annoying. Tina Fey is funny in interviews and quite likable, but on SNL she’s horrible. And Amy Poehler is one of the worst. I couldn’t even watch her on shows like the tonight show, she was just horribly annoying and the same goes for most of the women on that show. There’s been plenty of awful men too, but the women were portrayed in horrible sketches on SNL and you just wanted to slap them every time they were in a skit.

    TL;DR version: SNL and it’s cast/writers are not funny, and never were. How this showed stayed on the air is beyond me, I haven’t met one person who has ever liked it.

  37. Risa says:

    oh good lord,

    please let me look as good as betty white when I am her age.

    Amen.

  38. pebbles says:

    she’s just so gosh-darn cute!

  39. Bee says:

    @Paul E. Stanley it’s amazing how easy it is to become a “star” these days. Back in the days of the studio system most celebrities were triple threats, they could sing, dance, and act. Now many actors can barely act, singers are autotuned into oblivion, and dancing is relegated to broadway or the occasional musical. So sad.

  40. Patrice says:

    I have to say that I am someone who is not at all of the school of “Betty White is so cool for the simple fact that she is an old lady”, but I did begrudgingly tune in on Saturday (the show has gotten sooooo bad) and boy, was I happy I did! One of the greatest.episodes.ever.

    Betty White was SHOCKINGLY hilarious (not just because she was an old lady put in funny situations. She genuinely was a crack up!) Also the episode was so off the charts good because they brought back some of the most awesome women from the show’s history (Amy, Tina, Maya, Molly) who all blew me away! It was like they never even left : ) It’s just too bad the show is guranteed return to suckville next week…

  41. Allie says:

    I’m glad Betty is being recognized for how talented she truly is. She’s had a pretty solid career, for more than 50 years in showbiz, how many “celebs” can say the same?

    Betty can deliver a line with such deadpan, she’s clearly a master. She’s a great actress too. She can play different roles, with toally new characterizations, like Sue Ellen on the “Mary Tyler Moore” show to Rose on “The Golden Girls.”
    That’s what a great actress can do, unlike many of the actresses of today, who are overrated and are the same in every role they do, like Jennifer Aniston.

  42. Dara Michelle says:

    I am completely addicted to Golden Girls and Betty White was my favorite character, as I’m sure she was everyone’s! God bless you in this new adventure in your life and I wish you nothing but the best!:)

    In Christ