Entertainment

Listen Up, Gaga and Hutcherson

by Alida Miranda-Wolff

Big news for fans of awkward late night comedy. Lady Gaga and Josh Hutcherson are each hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time in November, but before we get excited, we need to engage in some real talk. Gaga, Josh, are you listening? Good, because you're going to want to hear what we have to say. For every phenomenal Justin Timberlake, there are a dozen mediocre Bruno Mars's, and now that both of you are going to be hosts, you have to learn to manage your expectations. Just because you're funny in real life doesn't mean you are automatically going to kill on SNL. Who is naturally funnier than Jennifer Lawrence? No one. But do you know what she was on SNL? Not funny. The writers room apparently missed the memo that she's at her best when she's being her normal awkward self or a darkly troubled young heroine, not a stock character. Prepare yourself to work hard, get creative, and learn the SNL ropes, or else you'll fail. We want you to succeed, and we think you deserve our help, so we've put together a guide for you. And yes, even though we've never performed live or done improv of any kind, and we spend most days lounging around in our pajamas and rummaging for gummy bears in our purses, we're experts.

Play to Your Strengths

Josh Hutcherson, before the Hunger Games, you were an indie darling, starring in critical hits like The Kids Are Alright. You are so good at playing mature teens and nice guys that you can't go wrong sticking to those roles. We're not saying play it safe; instead, go for those screwball characters and hard-to-nail impersonations, but mix them in with your proven strengths to pad your fall, or in the best case scenario, bring your whole night to another level.Gaga, maybe you've never hosted SNL before, but you've performed three times and starred in one of the best digital shorts ever. Use your performing chops, and give us another The Golden Rule.

Don't Try Too Hard

We're not saying either of you are guilty of this; we're just afraid of having another Miley Cyrus debacle on our hands. We just couldn't handle another skit like Kyle Mooney and Miley Cyrus Rehearsal Sex.

Be Careful with the Parodies

Guys, both of you are movie stars now, and we know it's really tempting to parody your characters right now. Don't. Gaga, Machete Kills is a parody already, so parodying it again doesn't even make sense. And Hutcherson, unless you are specifically asked to do a Catching Fire parody that involves Peeta and Gale ditching Katniss and running off into the forest together to pursue a torrid affair, pass. I mean, do you really want to make another version of this?

Look Outside the SNL Bubble for Inspiration

Gaga, I'm not worried about you on this one. If you do a commercial or end up confronting The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With at a Party, I'm sure you can hold your own or at the very least, get a few laughs from your Little Monsters. We all know you don't really conform to norms, so we're thinking you'll bring your characteristic creativity to your hosting. If you don't, however, you're going to be in for some scathing reviews. Hutcherson, I'm serious: do not let them turn you into another vanilla host playing along as the straight man all night. Why don't you bring the writers some material to riff off from the very beginning? For example:

And Whatever You Do, Look Like You're Having Fun!

Otherwise, you'll end up as SNL infamous as Lana Del Rey.