Is this the most synergistic guest lineup ever on SNL (Jennifer Lawrence hosts six days after winning a Golden Globe, on the same weekend that the movie that she won for expands into wide release, while the musical guest is the one whose hit song plays in the commercials for that same movie)?

Cold Opening – Piers Morgan Tonight
Ah, a twofer sketch with Lance Armstrong and Manti Te’o!  Oh wait – here comes Jodie Foster – it’s a three-fer!  Bobby’s as Manti struggling to understand the non-existence of his girlfriend was fun to behold.  Jodie’s “I’m 50” declaration was a great moment of art imitating life imitating art. B+

Jennifer Lawrence’s Monologue
J-Law was confident.  Almost too confident.  She had the right attitude for zinging her fellow Best Actress nominees.  But she zoomed through the concessions of how great they really are, which didn’t allow her to fully tone down that attitude.  But, that’s a nitpick, cause you gotta love that confidence. B

Verismo by Starbucks
Does Starbucks has this sort of reputation for its service?  I guess I just go to better Starbucks. B-

Girlfriends Talk Show
I really appreciate everyone’s performances here, but this sketch just doesn’t do anything. C

Post Hunger Games News Conference
A few good gags, but the overall structure was so formal and dry.  I mean, that’s just not the sort of structure that is likely to produce laughter.  Taran really captured the look and feel of Peeta’s face. B-

The Hobbit Sequels
The whole thing was obvious, and the parody-style sequels listed at the end were unnecessarily hacky, but there were enough solid gags to make this work, particularly the assembling of the IKEA dresser.  I was wondering if the frozen screen wasn’t a technical glitch, but actually intentional. B

Johnny Two Tones
J-Law’s waitress was really, fascinatingly cruel.  And then this sketch just ended.  Bummer.  This really played to her strengths. B

The Lumineers perform “Ho Hey”
Lead singer Wesley Schultz’s voice seemed to crack a few times, but it wasn’t too bad, and they all seemed to be having fun, but this is a song that could be even more fun. B

Weekend Update
-The Jokes:  Solid performance, at least by Seth standards.  Manti Te’o being the last person to believe Lance Armstrong was clever.  Potentially embarrassingly (?), the shirtless Vlad Putin made me laugh.  I thought that crack about the Mississippi Senate was a bit mean, though. B
Gun Appreciation Day?  More like PUN Appreciation Day!  Speaking of…
-The Segments: -Secondhand News: Bobby is not always consistently clever as Anthony Crispino, but he moves so fast and wildly that his misconstructions usually hit you hard.  “Daniel Ray-Lewis” retiring after 17 years in the NFL with no left foot is quite the keeper. B+

Top Dog Chef
Umm… okay. C+

B108 FM
Like an actual obnoxious morning radio show, this sketch can be a bit of a slog to get through, but there are some moments that are worth remembering.  J-Law’s inability to rhyme was random, but she played it well. B-

The Lumineers perform “Stubborn Love”
Yeah, yeah, they got this.  Also, I would like to mention that the girl in the Lumineers (Neyla Pekarek) looks like Abby Elliott. B+

Cinemax Late Night: Danielle
Fascinating, though lacking in jokes. B-

Civil War Love Letters
I am hearing from SNL prognosticators that Tim Robinson could be the next Will Forte (SNL‘s weirdo-in-residence).  That would, obviously, be awesome.  He’s got his own unique style that is certainly different from what Will did, but it does seem to come from a place of deep weirdness.  This titpic-obsessed sketch was a step in the right direction … mostly due to Bill as Abe Lincoln with the creepy stare. B

Overall
J-Law was so game to do whatever, particularly anything edgy.  But she hardly got the chance.  We got a glimmer of the dark comedy she is capable of in the Johnny Two Tones sketch, but mostly the material just did not meet her anywhere.  It wasn’t by any means awful.  But, come on, SNL – you can do better.

Did you, ya hear about, the, uh, best sketch of the night?  Yeah, Anthony PELLICANO announced that his new novel would be about Seth Green!