Elizabeth Banks did a tremendous job on her first Saturday Night Live hosting job. Banks kicked off the November 14 episode with a song and dance number in a glamorous black ball gown and followed it up with three strong sketches for the night: “Black Jeopardy,” “High School Theatre Show,” and “First got Horny 2 U”.
The Hunger Games star immediately displayed her wit when she poked fun at her extra-frilly attire for the evening, which is quite a departure from the simpler cocktail dresses and pantsuits that most celebrity hosts wear. “I hope I look okay, I just came from the gym,” Banks quipped.
.@ElizabethBanks, being the amazingly talented woman she is, directed her @nbcsnl monologue: https://t.co/d1wddLeyiA pic.twitter.com/QUVj6dXZeT
— Vulture (@vulture) November 15, 2015
Soon after she started her monologue, Banks surprised the audience as she took off the lacey Romona Keveza strapless gown to reveal a much sexier black mini dress she wore underneath. With Elizabeth Banks appearing to the show, SNL was able to make up for the critically-dismal Donald Trump episode of last week.
3 sketches you have to see from Elizabeth Banks’ #SNL hosting gig https://t.co/mHLdiovTOJ pic.twitter.com/FwRvTPpp7Y — Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) November 16, 2015
In “Black Jeopardy” segment, Banks plays Allison, a know-it-all type of girl who is actually quite incapable of giving correct answers. She starred alongside Sasheer Zamata who played Keeley and Jay Pharaoh who played Amir. The three contestants had to answer three categories: “Who Try’Na,” “What Happened Was,” and “I Don’t know You.” The best part was when Elizabeth Banks dropped subtle hints about the Bill Cosby scandal.
“After everything he did, he try’na act like he don’t owe us an explanation,” she said but the correct answer was “Who is Tom Brady.”
Watch Elizabeth Banks Star In A Typical High School Theater Show
The Pitch Perfect actress also played a high school student in the sketch, “High School Theatre Show,” while she channeled her inner ’90s pop band singer in “First Got Horny 2 U.” Elizabeth Banks and the rest of the SNL women – Aidy Bryant, Cecily Strong, Kate McKinnon, and Vanessa Bayer – did a wonderful job in recreating the era of boy bands and girl bands.