Jude Law SNL Return Has More Hamlet Than Lip Syncing

Jude Law's SNL history was overshadowed by the musical guest last time. The Jude Law SNL episode last night didn't have Ashlee Simpson, however. No lip-syncing and no election overshadowed the host this time, as things have changed in the last five or so years. The last time he was on, he was a bigger star, and now he's getting back to film after being on stage. For last night's SNL show, Jude Law relived his stage experience in between playing a few creepy foreigners.

Law stared out making a quick Ashlee Simpson joke before sharing his time playing Hamlet on the stage. Much later on, he spoofed his audition for Hamlet, which apparently also included Al Pacino, Sam Elliot and Nathan Lane. But he's back in movies now, with Sherlock Holmes last winter and Repo Man next week.

Otherwise, the Jude Law SNL episode was rather quick, as things moved faster than usual. The first Pearl Jam performance came just after midnight, and Weekend Update actually started at 12:10. The only post-monologue sketches beforehand were a game show parody, Law in a twisted take on Vicky Christina Barcelona, and an Andy Samberg digital song about an all-powerful boom box.

On the news front, the big focus was on Eric Massa, the disgraced New York Congressman who groped and tickled male staffers. The cold opening spoofed Massa's exit interview, as he kept incriminating himself with graphic stories. But on Weekend Update, Massa got the "Really?!!" treatment from Seth Meyers, this time with Marriage Ref Jerry Seinfeld.

The Jude Law SNL show was the last one before the latest break. After the weirdness of the Zach Galifianakis episode, things went back to the conventional last night. Once more, they brought back an old host, but Law was mostly around to do different accents like Spanish, Russian and even American.

There are many more big things planned for the last two months of the season, like Tina Fey's return and the long awaited Betty White "Women of Comedy" episode. So the Jude Law SNL installment may have seemed more like filled, compared to what's coming in April and May, and what came in the last few weeks.

After the Jude Law show, SNL goes on break until April. There is no guest host set yet for the April 3 show, but Fey and Justin Bieber are set to come on for April 10.

Sources

NBC.com- "Saturday Night Live - All Videos - Newest"

Entertainment Weekly- "Saturday Night Live recap: Jude Law: To be or not to be funny?"