Gabourey Sidibe, Oscar-nominated star of Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire hosted this week's SNL, and she was very Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire excited. This was everyone's first opportunity to see her perform a role that wasn't dark and depressing, and, if nothing else, she demonstrated that she's nothing like that character (particularly in her enthusiastic monologue, which went way out its way to prove she's nothing like Precious).

She seemed genuinely happy and excited to be there, which is always infectious and cute. Unfortunately, just like in the Jennifer Lopez-hosted outing from earlier this season, SNL demonstrated that it's not sure how to write for anyone who isn't white. Many of the sketches gave Sidibe little more to play than mildly racist stereotypes -- which, to her credit, she performed with aplomb.

More than anything, though, this week's show was important because it gave a showcase to the great comedian and current SNL writer John Mulaney. This won't be the last we see of him on the show, and I'm going to start the campaign now to get him hosting "Weekend Update" when Seth Meyers leaves. Or before. I'm not picky.

• Watch the complete Saturday Night Live Gabourey Sidibe episode

Sketch Highlights

• "Cold Open: Obama Reform" - Just stop it. (Watch the "Cold Open: Obama Reform" video)
• "The Suze Orman Show" - Is Suze Orman still relevant? Maybe. Like a lot of Kristen Wiig characters, you can see that it starts in a funny place but quickly goes too far into overacted cartoonishness. (Watch the "Suze Orman Show" video)

• "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" - I didn't see comedian Steve Harvey host Millionaire last week (nor did I know that Millionaire was still on or still relevant enough to do a sketch about), so I didn't have the very specific knowledge set required to really get what this sketch was making fun of (like the Insane Clown Posse sketch last week, SNL is into parodying some pretty esoteric stuff these days). Still, the impression was actually good and the sketch knew how to build and go somewhere -- so long as you disregard the nonexistent punchline. Funnier than it had a right to be. (Watch the "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" video)
• "Digital Short: Cherry Battle" - I have very little to say about this, except that the effect was cool and that it was somewhat impressed with its own oddness. Is that the same as funny? (Watch the "Digital Short: Cherry Battle" video)
• "Crazy Lady Yelling from Window" - This sketch has me all mixed up. On the one hand, it was another piece that seemed to cast host Gabourey Sidibe in a kind of stereotype and, at times, felt more like an early-'90s In Living Color sketch than SNL in 2010. On the other hand, it was one of the night's few original sketches and gave Sidibe the opportunity to create an actual character -- she wasn't shoehorned in or playing straight for the sake of the cast's wacky characters. She was actually the focus of the scene, and it was easily the best thing she did all night. There were lines here that made me laugh. More importantly, the fact that the guest host was playing the character means there's little chance we'll be seeing it again and again in the weeks to come. If had been, say, Kenan Thompson in drag, you know it would be rolled out again in two weeks. It's got a catchphrase and everything. (Watch the "Crazy Lady Yelling from Window" video)
• "The Story of Frank Sinatra" - Here's a sketch that gets by on Fred Armisen's skill at creating unusual characters, and his bizarre non-accent is pretty much all this has going for it. It's particularly impressive when you hold it up against the other performers' attempts to do a similar accent, a skill at which no one is as good as Armisen. The material was pretty weak, and Sidibe feels shoehorned in. Such is so often the case with the guest host. (Watch the "Story of Frank Sinatra" video)
• "Update: John Mulaney" - I know I'm on record as being a really big fan of comedian John Mulaney, but it's not just bias (or excitement about seeing him finally perform on SNL) when I say that this was easily the funniest bit of the night. Mulaney's bit about Girl Scout cookies could just as easily work as a stand-up routine (which lends itself well to the "Update" format), and was funny in both its utter logic and its creative wording. I suspect we'll be seeing more of John Mulaney in front of the camera in the weeks to come. This was a good debut for him. (Watch the "Update: John Mulaney" video)
• "Public Employee of the Year" - Hey, did you know that there's a public perception that public employees don't work very hard? Especially those people at the DMV! Another sketch that didn't know what to do with host Sidibe, so they cast her as another vaguely racist stereotype. (Watch the "Public Employee of the Year" video)
• "New Alarm Clocks" - I'm not necessarily proud of the fact that these Jenny Slate pieces always make me laugh, but they do. This is already the third variation on the same sketch in a single season, but all of Slate's goofy voiceovers are funny and it's good to see her actually getting a showcase in something that's not "Biker Chick Chat." And while I would be reluctant to point out the fact that Sidibe is playing another version of the same character she played for most of the episode, it's hard not to notice. I know she's just playing a pre-set role in an already-established sketch, and that might have been ok if this wasn't the fourth or fifth time she played the same part in one night. SNL didn't seem to know any other kind of sketch to write for her. (Watch the "New Alarm Clocks" video)
• "Hamilton" - Yes, we've seen it before and it's never been my favorite Will Forte character, but I can again appreciate that Will Forte seems to always get the 11:55 slot and really tries to push the limits of taste and what's acceptable on TV. It's mostly just for shocks, but I like that Forte is willing to go all the way with such a repellent character. Not great, but late enough in another average show that I no longer cared. (Watch the "Hamilton" video)

• Original Air Date: 4/24/10
• Host: Gabourey Sidibe
• Musical Guest: MGMT