Emma Stone on ‘SNL’: What the Critics Are Saying

The actress returned for a second stint as host on the NBC late-night show this weekend.

Emma Stone was back on the Saturday Night Live stage this weekend, serving her second stint as host of NBC’s late-night variety show.

The actress, who next appears in July’s The Amazing Spider-Man, among other movies, performed a monologue with Andy Samberg that poked fun the last name of at her Spider-Man co-star — and reported boyfriend –Andrew Garfield, who made an appearance onstage.

Meanwhile, skits included one titled “Bridal Shower Gifts,” in which Stone played the co-worker of a bride-to-be (Kristen Wiig) who inappropriately at a bridal shower, giving the guest of honor anal lubricant as a present and springing for a “human toilet” as live entertainment.

So what did the critics think of her return engagement on the show?

The Houston Chronicle’s Therese Odell was mixed in her assessment.

“Last night’s Saturday Night Live was neither a wild success nor an abject failure, but instead a weird mix of reheated sketches and dirty jokes,” she wrote. “It was as if the writers didn’t quite trust Emma Stone with new material, and so they surrounded her with safe bits that they knew would work, and a couple of very raunchy ones that they knew would at least shock, if not amuse.”

The Orlando Sentinel’s Hal Boedeker was a fan of the host’s performance, if not as enthusiastic about the episode.

“Host Emma Stone was lovely and game in an average episode of the NBC show,” he wrote. “She was funniest as a dense guest who presented inappropriate gifts at a bridal shower. Stone was a cheerful host in the racy final sketch, ‘We’re Going to Make Technology Hump,’ which featured devices (such as a video game controller and an iPad) getting it on.”

Elsewhere, Hitfix.com’s Ryan McGee graded the various segments, writing that some fared better than others. He gave the monologue a C.

“Rather than let Stone drive the monologue, SNL sends Andy Samberg to drop in (literally) and audition for the role of Spider-Man,” he wrote. “Many a joke is made at the expense of Andrew Garfield’s last name, which prompts Garfield himself to come onstage. “’He’s BRITISH?’ Samberg cries. Not much for Stone to do in this besides stare at Samberg trying to flip while strapped into a flying harness. Um…this show won’t be this weak for the next 80 minutes, right?”

The Examiner’s Scott Wampler, meanwhile, gave the monologue a B-, praising Stone for her efforts.

“The punchlines don’t land all that well, but Stone’s delivery makes it seem better than it is,” he wrote. “This sets a precedent for the entire night, by the way.”

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