SUNDAY MORNING LIVE: Anne Hathaway Sings on 'SNL,' While Mitt Romney Says Goodbye and Cecily Strong Shines

Welcome to the seventh edition of Sunday Morning Live, The Bill Kuchman Chronicle's look at the latest edition of Saturday Night Live. All of your questions about the Anne Hathaway-hosted episode will be answered after the jump.


How'd Anne Hathaway do?



This was Hathaway's third time hosting SNL, and the actress definitely seemed at home this weekend. No nervous cue card reading for this host. Hathaway kicked the episode off with a tribute to Les Miserables' One More Day, singing a song about Saturday being just one more day away from relaxing after a busy week putting SNL together. While the episode lacked a standout moment — sorry, Louis C.K. didn't show up to lick Hathaway's face — the actress still put on a good episode.


What were the best sketches of the night?



Sometimes the best SNL sketches are the most absurd ones. (Take the infamous potato chip sketch from a few seasons ago, for example.) The McDonald's staff meeting sketch was one of those kinds of sketches. Bobby Moynihan and new SNL star Cecily Strong dominated this one, insulting their coworkers in every way possible. "Bah dah bah bah bah — go kill yourself." With the number of times Moynihan and Strong said "bitch," this was the Jesse Pinkman of SNL sketches.



Dear, SNL, I know that you love Strong. I do too. Please use Aidy Bryant more, though. The Girlfriends Talk Show sketch shows exactly why she shouldn't be relegated to background status. "No, you should be called Roach Warehouse."



Moynihan's Drunk Uncle is always fantastic. His Weekend Update appearances are SNL's opportunity to unleash every ridiculous and offensive thing they can't have Stefon say. When Drunk Uncle tells Seth Meyers that back his day, "When you voted, you pulled a lever like a damn man," I completely agree with him. And no, you can't vote with a Groupon.


Did SNL wrap up the presidential election this week? (And if so, was this the last time we'll see Jason Sudeikis?)



Even though Mitt Romney lost the presidential election on Tuesday, SNL still gave the Republican nominee the honor of anchoring the cold open. As I mentioned on Saturday, Jason Sudeikis really grew into his Romney impression as the campaign went along, hitting his stride over the final weeks before the election. This was a touching farewell to Romney, especially when he uttered the line: “I still love you, America, I do. But you’ve hurt my feelings very, very much.” Poor Mitt. At least he still has Ann Romney, although I wished Kate McKinnon could've dropped at least one more reference to Beyonce during this sketch.

Now that the election is over and Romney isn't going to be president, was this episode Sudeikis' final one? Prior to the start of the season, Lorne Michaels would only commit to the actor staying on the show through the election. Sudeikis was even able to honor his eight seasons on SNL (two as a writer!) during the monologue song. If this was his finale, at least Sudeikis didn't just disappear into the background.



On the opposite end of the political happiness spectrum, we have Jay Pharoah's Barack Obama visiting Weekend Update. After the bizarre absence of Obama the episode before the election last weekend, SNL fully unleashed Pharoah's impression this weekend. Pharoah was all swagger with his portrayal of the reelected president this episode, even letting bits of Denzel Washington and Jay-Z seep into his performance.


Did Anne Hathaway nail her Claire Danes impression in the Homeland sketch?



Honestly, I have no idea. I don't have Showtime, so I can't watch Homeland. Anyone want to tell me how accurate this sketch was?


What about the Pseduo Digital Shorts sketches? Any fake commercials this week?



I have no idea what SNL was going for with The Legend of Mokiki. After being missing for weeks on end this season, Taran Killam snuck back onto the show and was featured in this Pseudo Digital Short. Unfortunately, Mokiki's Sloppy Swish dance wasn't funny enough or memorable enough to catch on.




SNL apparently just noticed that everyone is allergic to everything these days, poking fun at the phenomenon with a commercial for Flaritin. Vanessa Bayer's sneeze on Keenan Thompson was disgusting.


You've only mentioned Kate McKinnon once so far. Did she have any standout moments this episode?

Overall, Strong was the female castmember that owned this weekend's episode of SNL, but that doesn't mean McKinnon didn't get her shot to shine. The actress debuted her Ellen DeGeneres impression, unveiling a dancing yet slightly nasally version of the daytime talk show host. Hathaway also appeared as Katie Holmes in this sketch, making it the second time Hathaway has portrayed Holmes on SNL. Hathaway's Holmes was also a guest on Bayer's Miley Cyrus Show a few seasons ago. (Unfortunately, NBC hasn't posted the Ellen sketch online.)


What's next? 

SNL is back on Nov. 17 with Jeremy Renner hosting and Maroon 5 as the music guest.


Previous editions of Sunday Morning Live

Nov. 3, 2012: Louis C.K.
Oct. 21, 2012: Bruno Mars
Oct. 14, 2012: Christina Applegate
Oct. 7, 2012: Daniel Craig
Sept. 23, 2012: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Sept. 16, 2012: Seth MacFarlane