February 18th, 2013
03:07 PM ET
Christoph Waltz hosts 'SNL': What's the verdict?Christoph Waltz is an award-winning actor and a nominee at this weekend's Oscar ceremony, but all of that talent couldn't guarantee that he'd be a standout host of "Saturday Night Live." As it turns out, when the "Django Unchained" star took over the hosting spot for the first time this weekend, he once again proved himself to be a strong supporting player, even if his overall appearance was hit or miss.
"He played the straight man in most sketches, but he wasn’t afraid to dance around a bit when the occasion called for it," EW said. "He was endearing if maybe a little awkward, a true professional, not an obvious cue card reader, and articulate and clear (except for maybe in that last sketch)." The sketch in which he plays a game show host on the depressing "What Have You Become" didn't make any critics crack a smile until Waltz began tap-dancing at the end, but that's more the fault of the concept than the actor. Rolling Stone thought the Oscar nominee "played his parts exceptionally last night, straight and within the confines of each character, especially during the Papal Securities commercial," which you can refresh your memory with below. Jason Sudeikis also starred in the retirement ad as an insurance salesman helping the Pope adjust to his new lifestyle, which included shots of Waltz rocking out in a band and cooking in a "Bless This Mess" apron. But the most memorable, not to mention daring, sketch of the night was a riff on Waltz's work in Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" and "Inglourious Basterds." As New York Magazine's Vulture put it, "Of all the ways to address 'Django Unchained' in honor of Christoph Waltz's presence," having the actor star in a new Tarantino movie called "Djesus Uncrossed" "may have been the one most guaranteed to draw outraged letters of protest." But the risk seemed to pay off, as the sketch's commitment to portraying Tarantino's trademarks in the revisionist story of a "Djesus" who rises from the dead to slaughter the Romans went over well with critics. "There's enough blood and guts and callbacks to old Tarantino movies in here to satisfy any fan," The Atlantic said in a review. "It's a wonder they were even allowed to do it." What did you think of Waltz's "SNL" hosting work?
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Okay let's face it. SNL has sucked in the past 12 years or so. Especially the past few years. I don't watch it anymore because it's just dumb; not funny. It was best when Chris Farley and the old cast were on. Christoph Waltz is a brilliant actor. I just think SNL has gotten so dumb, it cannot be called funny, and that isn't his fault.
Wow. This guys just wins the AA and then he leads in a skit that insults millions of a religion. It appears he enjoys this taking on these types of roles. I hope his Jewish supporters in Hollywood don't turn their back on him. Enjoy your warm fire next to Hitler, joven soldado.
back to the office mania.
He did a fine job. Material he had to work with was subpar, but he went above the material best as he could. Funniest skit was as the white brother of the other black singing family. Most unfunny skit was Djesus (why?). The band was great here too. And the worst host ive ever seen was Jennifer Lawrence.
I agree that Waltz did a great job and was one of the most prepared hosts on the show this season! He seems like he’s a true professional and is willing to experiment with whatever role he plays on the big or small screen. I didn’t make it home in time to watch this on Saturday, but I just caught up with it yesterday since it was recorded on my DISH Hopper. I like to catch up with new episodes of my favorite shows on my days off from work at DISH, and I can do that without needing to delete any of my other saved programs for space because my DVR holds up to 2,000 hours of entertainment.
Nice to see a host who prepared for the show. And it seemed that the regulars took from his example and didn't just 'phone it in' either.. I always change the channel when they spend the entire nite obviously just reading the teleprompters.
Christoph Waltz did a fine job, but the material the writers gave him was utter crap. The only redeeming thing about the entire episode was the Djesus Uncrossed trailer, and even that had some dull moments with the Brad Pitt material and the Poncious Pilate stuff.
just "file" it.
and bebs saw the $1,000 loan i paid off....note please thanks
Wanna know how bad SNL is? They had to beg Keenan and Kel to join...and Kel freaking killed himself. SNL could not be any worse....every episode is unwatchable...watching even 5 minutes of it makes me wonder how the entire cast and crew have not been fired yet. I wonder what their next move is...I'm thinking Andy Milanakos.
Kel didn't commit suicide. Why do these rumors persist?
90% blinded....i love you song in car.....acting from me and janine.
This season of SNL is really missing Andy Samberg and Kristen Wiig. The skits have been falling flat and their constant reliance on flavor-of-the-month hosts and musical acts isn't helping at all. I like Christopher Waltz and thought he was ok on the show, but the real problem was once again the material that he had to work with. It's just not that good.
The show's writers should also stop stealing character ideas from popular radio shows such as the Opie & Anthony show (here's looking at you, Tippy – a direct rip off of Jim Norton's Chip character). If they have no more original ideas, then maybe it's time for Lorne Michaels to hire new writers.
I thought Christoph Waltz was awesome on SNL. I watch the show every weekend, but as much as I tried, I couldn't get through anything Bieber did. Was sooo glad to see Waltz on there and loved most of his sketches.
Being a Christoph Waltz fan I enjoyed the show very much!
This is to the idiots that think he did the worst job ever. You really think he did worse than Justin bieber or Jennifer Lawrence ? They were two of the worst SNL host's of all time
no one will be able to top Betty White's appearance.
sorry Waltz, but your appearance will go down as one of the worst. even the cast couldn't save this episode.
I thought that this was the worst episode of SNL I have watched in many many years!
SNL hasn't been funny in 10 years. Since Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, Jimmy Fallon, Maya Rudolph, Horatio Sanz, and the lot left it's been pure crap.
Horatio Sanz? Really? There's been plenty of good stuff. Horatio was as funny as wet carpet.
And yet many of those who watched SNL before Ferrell, Kattan, Fallon, etc. will tell you that the show was not funny then either. In fact, a lot of people insist that SNL stopped being funny after its first few seasons, and others maintain that it died in the 90s. Yes, a lot of people thought the Will Ferrell days were pure garbage, yet obviously others (mostly newer generations) did not. The people who watch SNL now and enjoy it will one day look back and lament the loss of the SNL of the late 2000s and 2010s.
People can argue with my reasoning all they want, but I've spoken nothing but the truth. It's a continuous cycle, kind of like how each generation tends to think that the next generation's music is terrible. We humans are so silly that way.
His hosting job was awesome, I can't get enough of him...:)
IWaltz doesn't have a strong enough presence to carry the hosting job on SNL, compared to the greats: Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin. Garry Shandling. Laura Daltry
.... are you seriously comparing someone who hosted for his first time to people who have done it over and over again?
You know, Laura, you don't need to 'sign' your posts as if they were personal correspondence; your name appears automatically at the top. I spent a few minutes googling 'Laura Daltry' to see who the heck she was and why she was a wonderful SNL host along the likes of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.