Lindsay Lohan on SNL: Triumph or trainwreck?
Actress Lindsay Lohan – whose name is usually preceded in the media by the word “troubled” or, on occasion, “jailed” – has divided critics and viewers with her performance on Saturday Night Live. Lohan took over SNL hosting duties for the first time since 2006, carrying out a series of skits that played on her bad-girl reputation. But not everyone got the joke: Entertainment Weekly pondered whether Lohan was perhaps the worst SNL host of the year.
Comeback derailed? “The return gig as ‘SNL’ host was supposed to be a professional highlight for the 25-year-old Lohan, who’s struggling to get her career back on track after her most recent round of troubles,” reported Scott Collins for The Los Angeles Times. But judging by the widespread mockery of her performance on Twitter, it “looks like the Lindsay Lohan comeback train is stuck at the station,” Collins wrote.
Hit and miss.“Lohan started strong with an opening monolog that openly acknowledged her recent circumstances,” wrote Jen Chaney on a Washington Post blog. Unfortunately, things went downhill, with Lohan noticeably reading her cue cards. The performance was a disaster, said Chaney, but LiLo failed to “fully reclaim her status as a young comic performer worthy of casting in major Hollywood projects.”
Watch the Lindsay Lohan Saturday Night Live preview below.
LiLo impressed the people that matter. “‘She got slammed on Twitter and Facebook and all over social media,’ said a longtime studio pro. ‘But the people who actually can give her jobs — at least the ones I talked to — said she did a fine job and had several truly funny moments’,” reported The Chicago Sun-Times. Admittedly, insiders weren’t exactly impressed with LiLo’s cue-card reading, but overall, the industry reaction was positive, said the paper.
Big viewing figures. “The 25-year-old actress, who has hosted the show multiple times, brought the show to the number one time slot last night, beating out all other shows on the major networks,” said Ann Pride in The Daily Mail, pointing out that Lohan’s episode is currently the second most-watched of the SNL season. According to Pride, Lohan appeared “oblivious to the criticism” as she joined SNL castmates for an after-party.
