Saturday Night Live: Harry Styles deserves a second chance

Harry Styles proved he was a capable Saturday Night Live host in an episode that didn’t always hit the mark.

Harry Styles was given the honor of serving as both host and musical guest on last week’s Saturday Night Live. And while Styles certainly seemed committed to the roles, the roles didn’t always serve Styles.

Styles was already entering the night under some pressure. There is an expectation that a performer worth of double-duty will prove to the audience that it wasn’t a mistake. Styles’ certainly had the support of his fanbase behind him as #HarryonSNL was racking up tweets and engagement on Twitter leading up to the episode.

But no matter how many dedicated fans helped build hype for Styles debut as a Saturday Night Live host, it would ultimately come down to the content of the sketches that determined the success. And after Saturday’s show, the result seems to be: better luck next time.

Styles wasn’t asked to stretch as a comedic performer save for one sketch. “Childbirth,” co-starring Heidi Gardner, was the host’s best of the night in terms of pure comedy. The accent and physicality called for in “Childbirth” was more of a test for Styles than anything else and the singer largely answered the call.

The best sketch of the night was the Aidy Bryant-led “Joan Song.” Bryant has arguably been the MVP of season 45 after six episodes. She seems to be having as much fun as ever in her performances and continues to play the oddest characters each week. It could all point to season 45 being Bryant’s last on Saturday Night Live but that is a topic for another time.

“Joan Song” was bolstered by Styles as the human-version of Doug the dog. It was expected that the writers would look for a way to incorporate Styles’ singing abilities into a sketch. But Styles’ sound as Doug probably doesn’t match anything off his latest album Fine Line.

In other sketches, Styles did what was asked of him and neither carried nor derailed anything. He played supporting roles in “That’s the Game” and “Baby Faye and her Newsboys” which were designed to showcase Chris Redd and Cecily Strong respectively. Styles’ energy and comfort did seem better in these pre-taped segments but the singer/actor did look like he found a comfortable groove as the night went on and culminated with “Funeral DJs.”

The live and same-day ratings for Styles’ episode of Saturday Night Live did drop slightly compared to the last episode hosted by Kristen Stewart. It is well-known that Styles is extremely popular with younger audiences but that audience may not have translated to Saturday Night Live viewership. Perhaps in the coming days, some of Styles’ SNL material may get a second life via social media.

Many of those Harry Styles fans may have been more interested in the musical performances. And rightly so. The YouTube clip of Styles performing Watermelon Sugar is already among the most popular videos from the show.

So should Harry Styles have been brought in as just the musical guest, allowing someone with an even broader appeal to host? Perhaps. But it’s hard to pick just who could have elevated the sketches beyond what Styles did. When Saturday Night Live was at its best this week, Styles was an asset. There was nothing to suggest that Styles doesn’t deserve another shot at hosting somewhere down the line.

“Childbirth Class” is enough to prove that Styles can commit to a bizarre or over-the-top character to help a sketch land. Beyond that bit, he was often asked to play reserved characters or the straight man as he did in “Sara Lee” and “Lunch Run.” If and when Harry Styles hosts Saturday Night Live again hopefully he’ll be cut loose.

Saturday Night Live should get back on track this week. Will Ferrell is the host and with him comes one of the biggest fanbases in all of comedy. Ferrell is the kind of sketch performers that can save so-so material with ease. Add in King Princess as the musical guest and Saturday Night Live fans should already be looking forward to Saturday.