Say what you will about the erratic history of Saturday Night Live…they have been knocking it out of the park this year. Yeahyeahyeah – everyone has been talking about Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin and with good reason – she was dead on. But the consistency of the show’s skits from weekend to weekend this season have been greatly improving. From Anne Hathaway’s Mary Poppins and Lawrence Welk Show to Bobby Moynahan’s Snagglepuss – they’ve been having a string of unexpected hits.
However.
The one unexpected lesson that I’ve learned from SNL this season is this: Justin Timberlake is an untapped natural resource.
The Huffington Post makes a compelling argument today for Timberlake becoming a full-time cast member. Specifically, Exhibit A from the Huffington Post:
I realize that with two parties involved, there are two hurdles to overcome here. The first question is for Saturday Night Live. Would they benefit from having someone this ubiquitous as a regular player? The second issue belongs to Justin Timberlake. Why would an eminently talented music superstar and film actor want to limit himself to television? Let’s deal with SNL first.
Saturday Night Live has a complicated history with hiring people who are already famous. Without rehashing “The Stars Come Out”: 1980-1985″ chapter from Tom Shales’ must-read work, Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, Lorne Michaels does not like to hire already well known people. This type of casting is associated with a different era of SNL, an era run by Dick Ebersol, at a time where SNL was assumed to be having its final hurrah. In fact, Lorne Michaels’ return to the show basically ended that approach to cast members.
Notwithstanding, couldn’t Lorne Michaels change his policy here? For one thing, we are not talking about hiring an entire cast of celebrities; this would be only one famous cast member. It’s also important to consider how good Justin Timberlake has been on the show and that it seems the cast likes and fits in well with him. Saturday Night Live has been good enough on its own merits to hire Justin Timberlake without it coming off as a cheap publicity ploy.
As far as Justin Timberlake himself, at first glance it seems that he wouldn’t need this gig. Logically, he shouldn’t take a job to appear on SNL. By all means, he has music, he has movies, he has Jessica Biel, and he has no compelling reason to become a cast member. Except for one thing: I think he wants it. Anyone who has seen him perform with the cast can tell that on a level of pure enjoyment and fulfillment, a part of Justin Timberlake wants to be performing in comedy sketches. I think Justin Timberlake yearns to be a cast member on Saturday Night Live.
Don’t think so?
Exhibit B from SNL’s site – Weekend Update: Justin Timberlake hosts in 2 minutes:
You can even find tiny cameos of his in the Digital Shorts.
Seriously? Seriously. Why has this not happened yet?
