The 2010 Jennifer Lopez comeback tour hit a major snag earlier this week when news broke that Epic Records dropped the Louboutin-shilling singer from their label, leaving Jenny From The Block without a home for new her LP, Love. While this sort of surprise would no doubt make most draw their blinds, turn off their cellphones and just sort of disappear from public view for a couple of days, that simply wasn’t an option for Lopez, who almost certainly received the tough news while rehearsing to be the host and musical guest on this weekend’s Saturday Night Live. So, how did she handle herself?
Pretty well, actually! Although it has been nine long years since the last time J. Lo stepped on the stage at Studio 8H as the host of SNL, Lopez showed none of the signs of depression that the tabloids had been claiming she had been suffering from this week. Rather, she appeared happy and confident, although never quite as at ease as she was when she was cracking wise on the George Lopez Show a few weeks back. But bonus points are due to Lopez for maintaining her composure when three people inexplicably walked in front of the camera during her monologue!
Alas, the best part of last evening’s program had very little to do with Lopez herself. Chalk up another winner for the Lonely Island guys, as their “Flags of the World†digital short proved to be the highlight of the show:
Nice shoutout to Betty White, fellas. We can only hope that this is the most exposure that the 88-year-old gets on the show.
But back to J. Lo. Most of the evening’s sketches placed comedic emphasis on her ethnicity, but our favorite performance of hers came during the latest “Eternal Spark of Love†sketch, which gave her the chance to explore her inner geek as a puppet collector (and temporary object of affection for Jason Sudeikis):
Skits like these serve to remind us of why we, as a nation, fell for Jennifer Lopez in the first place. Sure, she was (and still is) a stunning beauty, but some of her best acting work early in her career came when she had a chance to show off a more vulnerable and, at times, shy personality than she did when she started running with Puffy and morphing into J. Lo, Diva Supreme. All that said, the less that we say about her two musical performances, the better.
And while this has proven to be a breakout season for both Kenan Thompson and Jason Sudeikis (“Vaginal!â€), we could make a really solid argument that Fred Armisen is the glue that’s been holding the show together. Not only does he add comedic flair to every sketch he appears in, no matter his level of involvement, his impression of embattled New York state governor David Paterson never fails to impress.
Let’s hear it for New Jersey!