SNL MVP: Jonah Hill Is a Better SNL Host Than Movie Star

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Big shot two-time Oscar-nominated actor Jonah Hill swung by Studio 8H to lower himself to the bottom rungs of the performing arts by doing some comedy bits. He's kinda funny, we suppose. 

Of course that introduction was exaggerated because he was funny before he was Big Shot Actor Jonah Hill. But now that he has reached that plateau, Hill can bring out Leonardo DiCaprio to assist with his monologue. And he can convince Leo to do the Titanic scene with him, which was a highlight, despite what some curmudgeons might think. [Whatever, Leo barely tried. —JR]

Michael Cera showing up in the last half of the show was also a nice treat. (Cera has been weirdly absent for the last while. It was good to see him again!) 

The entire episode was a little difficult to watch, though, if only because it brought up thoughts about what could have been if Hill was discovered by Lorne Michaels instead of Judd Apatow. There were flashes of past SNL greats in his performance that make you wonder what the show would be like if he was every week. (Good. The answer is, good.) 

2nd Runner-Up: Vanessa Bayer

I do my fair share of talking about Vanessa Bayer's unparalleled ability to play the straight man in sketches. She never breaks, for one thing, but more than that, she projects an air of beleaguered, quiet dignity whenever she's called upon to react to some of the more outlandish characters. I still feel like she should have been handed an Emmy or the Presidential Medal of Freedom or something for her work in that Super Showcase sketch. Alas.  This very quality was one of the highlights of the Benihana sketch, as she played the perfect counterpoint to Jonah Hill's six-year-old Catskills comedian. Of course, the topper on Bayer's night was the return of Brook-e and Unnamed Former Porn Star, shilling for Lamborghini. —JR

1st Runner-Ups: Kate McKinnon and Cecily Strong [TIE]

Strong was actually in a good number of sketches this week, which hasn't always been the case this season. But she makes it to the runner-up position almost entirely due to one line, the Scottish fish "YOU DON'T KNOW ME" joke, which had me on the floor though the next 4-6 jokes, until ... the most unexpected recurrence of the night. Kate McKinnon's Olya Povlatsky was one of our favorite sketches of 2013, and rightly so. With Russia in the news as the Sochi games get closer and closer. it made a good bit of sense for Olya to return and show that dog lawyer what he missed out on. —JR 

MVP: Jonah Hill

Hill was just a delightful host, and maybe one of the best of the season. He was in nearly every sketch and worked well with the regular performers. He was great as the kid hosting the kicker in "Inside SoCal," one of the best digital short-ish sketches from Kyle Mooney and Beck Bennett this season. But Hill's return as Adam Grossman, the six-year-old comedian, was probably his best sketch of the night. "Shell Silverstein" is a hilarious name for a turtle no matter how old you are. —CS

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