NFL Giants QB ELI MANNING made his debut hosting NBC's "SNL” this weekend, saying after his two Super Bowl wins, "this is definitely the third-most exciting night of my life." Manning said in his monologue, "The New York fans have been great to us. We had a big parade downtown where we took the Lombardi Trophy into the heart of the city, and now we have no idea where it is. I’m a little out of my element, but I have some guys here who always have my back, my offensive line.” The Giants starting offensive line was shown sitting in the balcony level of the studio, with Manning saying, “They go with me everywhere: Parties, restaurants, they were even in the room with me and my wife, ABBY, when our daughter was born.” The first skit Manning appeared in was filming some motion capture for an EA Sports videogame. Cast member TARAN KILLAM played Jets QB TIM TEBOW and after being told by cast member JASON SUDEIKIS to do his famous “Tebowing” pose, Tebow said, “Thy will be done.” Cast member KENAN THOMPSON played Ravens LB RAY LEWIS but came out in his uniform and not the skintight motion capture suit. Lewis said, “I’m not wearing them funky-ass pajamas.” Manning portrayed himself in the skit and when asked to give a touchdown celebration dance, Manning acted like he was making a sandwich and then eating it. Sudeikis said, “Just to be clear, when people think Eli Manning you want them to imagine you making a sandwich, dropping it and then eating the sandwich off the ground!?” Manning: “That would be ideal.” Sudeikis replied, “Alright, I guess we got it.”
GETTING REVENGE: A taped skit was a direct shot at his brother, Broncos QB PEYTON MANNING. Eli Manning talked about his involvement in the “Little Brothers” program which “helps kids build confidence, reach their goals and overcome adversity, especially when that adversity is an older sibling.” Manning helps younger brothers by giving wedgies and dunking older brothers heads in toilets, with one older brother saying as he walked into his younger brother’s bedroom, “Are you Eli Manning?” Manning: “No, I’m your worst f------ nightmare!” Cast member ANDY SAMBERG played a bullying older brother who Manning stuffs in the trunk of a car and says to him, “Maybe now you’ll learn to treat your younger brother with some respect, Peyton!” Samberg: “My name’s not Peyton!” Manning: “Whatever!” The other skits included Manning playing a murder suspect and during his trial his attorney reads a transcript of “sexts” to prove he did not commit the murder; a hippie who was part of the Occupy Wall Street movement; a grad student who was a contestant on the game show “What is This?” who was also having a relationship with the show’s host; a Swedish football player who appeared on “Helga Lately;” a straight-laced guy in a CHEECH & CHONG movie; and “Mrs. Chicken Fried Steak” who competed in the “Miss Drag World” pageant, and he said to the audience while dressed in drag, “Holla!” (“SNL,” NBC, 5/5).
A GOOD SHOWING: In N.Y., Dan Good wrote Manning “paralleled his usual performance as Giants QB -- a clean showing, solid highlights, no major fumbles.” Viewers who watched the entire episode saw Manning in big hair, lipstick and a frilly yellow dress, “for a drag show skit, the kind of image that could leave die-hard Giants fans with indigestion.” Manning “had fun. He smiled. And we smiled, too, watching little brother have his moment” (N.Y. POST 5/6). ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY’s Marc Snetiker wrote, “Despite the unimaginative dumb-meathead approach, Manning was game for whatever silly scenarios were thrown at him -- and unlike other hosts, he appeared in almost every sketch that made it to air." Even in a "noticeably weak episode, the man showed he had courage, if not exceptionally strong proclivity for comedic timing.” Manning “may not have completely scored, but at the very least, he was a good sport” (EW.com, 5/6). SI.com’s Peter King writes that Eli Manning "wasn’t as funny" as his brother, who hosted six years ago, but he does not "recall a guest host playing more roles than Eli played” Saturday. It “wasn’t a better performance than Peyton’s … but it’s got to go down in SNL history as a candidate in the category of Most Roles Played By a Host in 90 Minutes” (SI.com, 5/7).
HIGHLIGHT REEL: In N.Y., Ralph Vacchiano wrote Manning "scored big with a hilarious commercial spoof for a fictional ‘Little Brothers’ charity, striking a blow for tortured brothers everywhere.” In the skit, "reminiscent of the classic United Way spoof Peyton did," Eli “pledged to help kids deal with adversity ‘especially when that adversity is an older sibling.’” Eli “was clearly willing to step way out of character during his star turn on SNL.” He was “even surprisingly animated during his opening monologue, joking about being converted into a true New Yorker” (
N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/6). In Newark, Amy Kuperinsky wrote, “While it was probably more funny to watch the clean-cut Manning introduce [singer]
RIHANNA,
... he wasn’t all that bad as a murder defendant who had to illustrate his use of emoticons in text messages." Kuperinsky: "The writers obviously knew that making the football straight man stick out his tongue and wink -- plus phonetically say ‘kewl’ -- wouldn’t completely bomb” (
Newark STAR-LEDGER, 5/6). NFL.com’s Gregg Rosenthal wrote, “Let’s give Eli a B+." As athlete hosts go, "he looked like
SEAN PENN compared to
TOM BRADY,
MICHAEL PHELPS, and
MICHAEL JORDAN." Eli "went for it," and he "may have even topped his brother." The performance "was a lot like Eli’s career." Rosenthal: "We had low expectations, but he wound up looking cool under pressure” (
NFL.com, 5/6). ESPN N.Y.'s Ohm Youngmisuk wrote as is "often the case with sports figures who host the show, there are some funny moments and not-so-funny moments." Youngmisuk: "But considering how the clean-cut Manning is so politically-correct and safe during media interviews with reporters, it was interesting to see the quarterback in a different light on ‘SNL’” (
ESPNNY.com, 5/6). ATLANTIC MONTHLY's Sage Stossel wrote Manning “delivered an endearingly goofy performance, displaying a surprising knack for physical comedy” (
THEATLANTIC.com, 5/6). ESPNW.com’s Jane McManus wrote Manning “wasn’t terrible; he was a bit wooden, but pretty good-natured” (
ESPNW.com, 5/6). YAHOO SPORTS' Jeffrey Eisenband writes that Manning “had the crowd at 30 Rock breaking into hysterics with a performance that rivaled Peyton’s” (
THEPOSTGAME.com, 5/7).
