I think JJ's performance was a combination of awful writing and her limitations as an actress. I was hoping to see some kind of range, since I've only seen her as Betty Draper and always thought she was very convincing.
To me, the problems were evident in the opening monologue. The writers didn't showcase her at all; they diverted our attention by focusing on three die-hard Mad Men fans. That should have been a hint right there. For most of the show, she just stood around with this vacant thousand-yard stare. I really wonder whether the show planned to use her more, but dialed back her contribution because she was so bad during rehearsal.
The writing shares much of the blame. It was worse than usual, and that's saying something. It's really bizzare that with some hosts, SNL can be hilarious (Alec Baldwin, Justin Timberlake, Jim Carrey) and others, not so much.
I can't say this performance will spell the end of JJ's career, as she'll get by on her looks. For me it answered the question of whether she can pull off any role aside from BD: no, not really. #madmen
Am I the only one that wants to see her return to Mad Men? I don't really want to see Don whore it up and not have to face any reperecussions from an angry wife. And it was just SNL! The material she had to work with wasn't great and the show doesn't provide a good platform for everyone. She may not have a career as a comedic actress but you guys are acting like this is the death knell for her career. #madmen
@heywhat: I think she's great in Mad Men and have never understood this notion that she's a terrible actress. She had me in tears more than once, and I totally bought her as a miserable housewife who desperately hoped there was more to life than tolerating a cheating husband and dreaming of an actual real marriage with someone who loved her back. #madmen
Not everyone is cut out for SNL, but I'm not hearing too much about how bad the Black Eyed Peas bombed. I was extremely uncomfortable watching them perform. Also, they performed three songs, closing the show, something I don't recall a band doing before #madmen
@Sandogg: They're basically terrible every time they perform on live TV because they rely too much on electronic backup. They weren't much better last season on SYTYCD. I don't know why they keep this up; it really never works. #madmen
It's kind of crazy to decide someone's fate in the biz based on what they did on SNL . With the way things are set up at SNL the writing is all based on cast members vying to get their skits selected so they get the airtime and not with the host's best interests and assets in mind. I hate her character on Mad Men and am happy to see her go but I'd like to see her in something else before completely giving her the heave ho. Could be that she plays Betty so well b/c it's essentially her or we could wind up being very surprised by a meaty turn in something else.
As for Ashton Doucher, where does he get off criticizing her?! He used to be a model too and he's going to say that she's not going to make it as an actress? I think it's funny that he actually insinuated that he could act and, therefore, judge someone else's talent. Now he's making commercials, producing shitty reality shows and famous for marrying Demi Moore. What a talent. #madmen
@hotpinklovesofa: OK, so you could add Ashton Kutcher's resume to her list of options. Make commercials. Host a reality TV show. Marry up. I don't see how any of these couldn't co-exist with demonstrable lack of acting talent. #madmen
Actual line from the GQ profile of January Jones: "During a visit to Paris, Jones had an epiphany at the gravesite of Doors frontman Jim Morrison." #madmen
Wait, okay, if Betty Draper's presence on Mad Men is hanging by a thread, what about Sally? I mean, obviously no one could give a crap about Bobby (Billy? What? See?), but it seems like the writers wet their pants over Sally and her oh-so-precious lisp. How are they going to include everyone's favorite future lesbian hippie without Betty being at least somewhat present?
Also, is anyone else wondering about Trudy? Her character seems to be on the rise on Mad Men, but isn't she a main character on Community? #madmen
@randomnessish: As far as I'm concerned, they need to just get rid of both Betty and Sally. Well, perhaps they could keep Sally, but only if the show does a time-jump and we actually get to see her character in hippie/radical mode. Because all she is right now is a lisp.
TV Critics: Lisp doesn't = good acting. Nor does your perception of what a character might become in the speculative future of the TV show. Children still cannot act. Get over it.
@skt.smth: This is one of the Great Peeves of my life: child acting. But really, the most horrific hair-raising, crazy-making aspect of that is The Advertisement Narrated by a Child. I simply cannot bear them. #madmen
@jaxdesert: Child actors can do fine work in supplementary roles. In fact, I don't think the girl who plays Sally is that bad for the role she plays. But all these critics swooning over how "evocative" she is, or whatever? I mean, come on. Just because the character represents some persona that you find appealing/touching (the young girl who will likely rebel against her parents' generation), doesn't mean she's a great actor. #madmen
@skt.smth: I so disagree with you on this. The kid who plays Sally is a great little actress. Most child actresses suck, but not all of them (Abigail Breslin in Little Miss Sunshine, to name one example). I will be pissed if we never see Sally again, because I want to see what happens to her now that she's being raised almost entirely by the unhappy ice queen. #madmen
@NigelAstydameia: I have to say, I did like that episode where she stole poor old grandad's money then put it back where it looked like he'd lost it given his dementia and all..... #madmen
@skt.smth: ugh, oh god, I haaaate child actors, especially ones with lisps. It just screams of planned twee-ness. Oh, look at me, I'm so cute and blonde and adorable, look at my dimples and watch me say incredibly insightful things that magically push on the plot! Gag me with a spoon.
@Iamdoingit: ...this is true. Supporting cast in Mad Men main character in Community. #madmen
@Trixie from Toronto: I think your response keys in to exactly what I'm saying. "What happens to Sally" is far more interesting a proposition than watching her raw acting ability, which has basically been limited to her paying rapt attention to "significant moments in American history" on the TV, and throwing selfish tantrums at her parents. #madmen
@skt.smth: Or grieving for her grandfather, the only person in the house who outwardly did so. I found her to be a really compelling little actress. #madmen
@Trixie from Toronto: Again, what she does (grieving for grandpa) is more interesting than her acting. The acting itself, I've found largely passable, but at times borderline obnoxious. Her indignance at how everyone acted upon the grandfather's death felt cloying to me. It seems like the writers want her to be the Shakespearean clown, setting "the truth" out before her self-absorbed, emotionally deaf/blind parents, but her performances often fail to make me feel like she's doing anything more than begging for attention. And while it's clear that begging for attention is part of her character, I don't think her performance is nuanced enough to convince me that she does more than that in her role. #madmen
@skt.smth: We will agree to disagree but the "what she does is more interesting than her acting" makes not a lot of sense. Huh? What she did in those scenes is called acting. I get that you don't like her, but that's a real reach.
@Trixie from Toronto: What I mean is that what happens to her character as far as the events of the show are concerned (and what her character promises to be) is far more compelling than her actual acting out of those events. What's the difficulty in understanding this distinction?
@Colonel Mustard: It's also not evidence of acting talent. Robert DeNiro did horribly on SNL. Britney Spears did great. Sketch comedy is just not the same thing as film or television acting. #madmen
You can't blame January for the bad writing on SNL. Sometimes, an actor gets a part on a critically successful cable drama that they are perfect for and that's all they get. (See James Gandolfini) #madmen
@kookla: That, and obviously January Jones wasn't made for the kind of comedy SNL serves, if she's made for comedy at all. I picture her more in gripping thrillers or indie dramas, not horribly written skits about farting on SNL. Of course, I'd like to see her succeed, but wooden, icy, passive characters on TV don't really highlight one's acting talents. #madmen
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1980 David Bowie From The Music Video Ashes To Ashes was starred
1980 David Bowie From The Music Video Ashes To Ashes was unstarred
She wears the throwback look extraordinarily well, but ask her to express any kind of multi-faceted emotion, and she falls flat. Her blank, monotone, weirdly detached style of acting works perfectly for the character of Betty Draper, but me thinks that's all she's capable of. #madmen
To me, hosting SNL is like a test to see who actually is a good actor. It takes a lot of talent and confidence to perform live and play characters and be funny. Lindsay Lohan hosted three times, and even when she was obviously strung-out she did a good (not great, but good) job. Gwyneth Paltrow also hosted a few times, and she was actually very versatile and funny. A lot of people think those two are talentless, but they're not. On the other hand, Halle Berry may have an Oscar, but on SNL she came across as very stiff and awkward.
There are exceptions, of course: some athletes have been good hosts and I'm not sure how they'd be as actors. But I still stand by it. #madmen
@VioletViolet: I agree wholeheartedly. Clearly, Lindsay Lohan and Gwyneth Paltrow have talent (that they must be hiding away for a rainy day), but they were definitely up for the challenge of one of the most insane schedules and productions that exists right now. Comedy is harder than drama because it's so based on timing, listening and tone, and January Jones just didn't have any of it.
As for the writing, sketch comedy is hit or miss, but a talented person can make the most of a bad sketch and still make it funny in some way. January Jones is not one of those people.
And Peyton Manning was a great host. I really want him to come back. His digital short was super duper. #madmen
@VioletViolet: Can't say I agree with that logic. My favorite SNL host next to Alec Baldwin has been Justin Timberlake. His episodes are consistently hilarious. So this means he's a better actor than Halle Berry?! #madmen
Timberlake does a good job essentially playing himself on SNL and exploiting his talents for singing/dancing/writing music. But acting-wise, his biggest claim to fame is that he will soon voice the character of Boo Boo Bear. That may his only movie to not go straight to DVD.
Sure, Halle Berry has had her disasters like Catwoman and her B*A*P*S. But she has also done great work in Monster's Ball and the Dorothy Dandridge Biopic. #madmen
Firstly, Ashton isn't allowed to comment on such things.
Secondly, she's going to have a bitch of a time beating back "Betty Draper" from every job gig she's offered. If she's smart she'll do an indie, if she's not she'll become Kirsten Dunst or Cameron Diaz at this point (Both of whom have no idea what their career is supposed to be).
More than likely though she'll be the boring wife/girlfriend/mother on a lameduck drama wherein her husband/boyfriend/child is dead/cheating/missing and everyone will say, "Oh, look she's crying and scowling....again." No, if she's smart and going the procedural road she'd do best to land on a comedy where her unpredictable yet charming comedic timing, wows us all, or be the femme fatale on Law & Order: SVU and be absolutely henious and make us say, "Hmmm, didn't know old Betts could cut off a man's privates so spectacularly."
Otherwise it's starring opposite Jack Black in a movie about a tubby loud mouth who likes this girl no one actually believes he could get or co-starring as his demure love interest in the animated comedy A Kung Fu Panda Sings Offkey To No One's Great Surprise.
@jrhys: Yeah, that was lazy. Why not stretch those chops a little. We already know you can do "frosty lady from another era". Let's try "engaging actress living in the present who doesn't need Jon Hamm to be her acting coach." #madmen
oh i LOVE JJ on the show, but it's for her muttering and ice princess ways. she has NAILED the pouty, self-centered sorority sister i grew up with. but baby, Jan ain't actin'...that's HER.
and i may be flogged publicly for daring to say this: Jon Hamm is also a terrible actor. his emoting is best classified as the "smoke 'n stare" variety; but sorry, it ain't actin'. godlike looks? oh yeah; actor? nah.
together, Jan & Jon just happen to be quite believable portraying a typical 1960's boring brimming-with-hostility marriage. their chemistry is totally alkaline, which fits the genre perfectly. the fact that they're really just two beautiful people mumbling and stumbling thru brilliant scripts only becomes starkly evident when we see them try to be funny -- with real actors on SNL or 30 Rock. they're both one-note, boring people who landed plum roles because of how they look, not how they act.
e.g., Kristen Wiig is about 300 times more talented than Jan Jones but alas, she doesn't have the vibe nor the look. ditto for Michael Cudlitz ('Southland') who is a powerhouse and could out-stare Hamm without liftin' an eyebrow; but again, he ain't the pretty boy (well, he's awesome, but not the typical pretty).
ask any truly talented actor how they feel about Jones & Hamm; i think you'll hear agreement that they're simply two very lucky ducklings. wish them well, and hope they save their money. #madmen
@Baroness: Agreed. He didn't smoke or stare on SNL unless he was doing a parody of Mad Men. And he was great in 30 Rock. The 'smoke & stare' is a direct reflection of Don Draper's character. #madmen
@sparklyharempants: Any doubts about Jon Hamm's acting ability had to have been erased by the home stretch of season 3. Watching Don Draper break down and lose everything he had built around him was awe-inspiring. Hamm is always playing a character who is, in a sense, also playing a character. That's the kind of complex, layered acting that not many people can pull off. #madmen
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1980 David Bowie From The Music Video Ashes To Ashes was starred
1980 David Bowie From The Music Video Ashes To Ashes was unstarred
A bad performance on SNL does not mean someone is a bad actor. Some good actors are just not cut out for performing live comedy. I recall Peter Sarsgaard, who I think is a very talented actor, doing a dreadful job when he hosted, and that's just one example that comes to mind. The only thing that saved that show was the "Peter Sarsgaard SARS guard" infomercial, and that was not due to his performance but rather the coincidence between his name and an Asian virus. Jones had no such luck.
@Atilla the Bun: It'd be different if there was another solid way to judge her, but I think that a lot of people--myself included--were closely scrutinizing her performance to answer the question "Is she good at being Betty Draper because she's a good actress? Or because she luckily stumbled upon a part that called for being a beautiful, humorless android, thereby allowing her to skate by on the fact that she was just playing herself." It may not be fair, but Saturday night did appear to provide the answer many of us were looking for. #madmen
@DahlELama: But do you really think ANYONE could have made that material good? I agree that she seemed wooden, but really, what was she supposed to do in skits where her entire performance was to stand there as a Dairy Queen cashier or to hop around farting? Don't get my tone wrong here--it doesn't ultimately matter to me whether JJ is a good actress or a bad one. I just think she is being judged a little harshly considering the material she was given. #madmen
@Atilla the Bun: My impression of how SNL works is that the writing for each episode is largely affected by the host. As such, if she's not really skilled at something like impressions, for example, that takes out a bunch of options. In contrast, Taylor Swift did a variety of different, awkward, and bizarre things, and as a result, she got to host a pretty damn good show. I have a hard time believing that the show could've gone from one end of the spectrum of goodness to the other so quickly without the hosts being partially to credit and/or blame. #madmen
@Atilla the Bun: Hosts have some control over the type of stuff they do for the show (check out Sunday's Megan Fox profile, as she put the kibosh on various gags the writers had offered her during her own host gig). Ya never know - the fact that all of Jones' sketches involved her standing around vapidly might be because that's all she felt comfortable doing. #madmen
@DahlELama: That may very well be the case that the skits sucked because of the limitations imposed by her talent--or lack there of. Though I thought the episode Paris Hilton hosted was funner that this one and I just refuse to believe that Paris Hilton is more talented or inspiring than January Jones. #madmen
@DahlELama: I almost stopped following you for saying Taylor Swift hosted "a pretty damn good show." Take the blinders off. She was dreadful...as is her voice. She's so fortunate that the general populous celebrates mediocrity, eats up with a gigantic Baby Huey spoon in fact -- Oh yes, and we can't forget that she's really pretty. IMO, Swift's live performances, including speaking/acting (is that what we're calling it now?) roles, bring to mind a bad high school play and/or talent show. #madmen
@Sullygulliver: I didn't say she acted well; I said she hosted a good show, and she did. I think the show was good despite the fact that she's not a good actress or singer, but the point is that when you show up to SNL and say "I'll do anything, from wearing headgear to imitating Kate Gosselin," you get better writing and funnier sketches. When you show up saying "I look like Grace Kelly; show me what you can do using me as Grace Kelly," you get Grace Kelly...farting. #madmen
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To me, the problems were evident in the opening monologue. The writers didn't showcase her at all; they diverted our attention by focusing on three die-hard Mad Men fans. That should have been a hint right there. For most of the show, she just stood around with this vacant thousand-yard stare. I really wonder whether the show planned to use her more, but dialed back her contribution because she was so bad during rehearsal.
The writing shares much of the blame. It was worse than usual, and that's saying something. It's really bizzare that with some hosts, SNL can be hilarious (Alec Baldwin, Justin Timberlake, Jim Carrey) and others, not so much.
I can't say this performance will spell the end of JJ's career, as she'll get by on her looks. For me it answered the question of whether she can pull off any role aside from BD: no, not really. #madmen
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As for Ashton Doucher, where does he get off criticizing her?! He used to be a model too and he's going to say that she's not going to make it as an actress? I think it's funny that he actually insinuated that he could act and, therefore, judge someone else's talent. Now he's making commercials, producing shitty reality shows and famous for marrying Demi Moore. What a talent. #madmen
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Also, is anyone else wondering about Trudy? Her character seems to be on the rise on Mad Men, but isn't she a main character on Community? #madmen
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TV Critics: Lisp doesn't = good acting. Nor does your perception of what a character might become in the speculative future of the TV show. Children still cannot act. Get over it.
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I actually like the Draper kids--that girl is kind of dark in a good way. It would be fun to require that all kid parts be played by midgets, though.
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@Iamdoingit: ...this is true. Supporting cast in Mad Men main character in Community. #madmen
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There are exceptions, of course: some athletes have been good hosts and I'm not sure how they'd be as actors. But I still stand by it. #madmen
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As for the writing, sketch comedy is hit or miss, but a talented person can make the most of a bad sketch and still make it funny in some way. January Jones is not one of those people.
And Peyton Manning was a great host. I really want him to come back. His digital short was super duper. #madmen
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Timberlake does a good job essentially playing himself on SNL and exploiting his talents for singing/dancing/writing music. But acting-wise, his biggest claim to fame is that he will soon voice the character of Boo Boo Bear. That may his only movie to not go straight to DVD.
Sure, Halle Berry has had her disasters like Catwoman and her B*A*P*S. But she has also done great work in Monster's Ball and the Dorothy Dandridge Biopic. #madmen
11/16/09
Secondly, she's going to have a bitch of a time beating back "Betty Draper" from every job gig she's offered. If she's smart she'll do an indie, if she's not she'll become Kirsten Dunst or Cameron Diaz at this point (Both of whom have no idea what their career is supposed to be).
More than likely though she'll be the boring wife/girlfriend/mother on a lameduck drama wherein her husband/boyfriend/child is dead/cheating/missing and everyone will say, "Oh, look she's crying and scowling....again." No, if she's smart and going the procedural road she'd do best to land on a comedy where her unpredictable yet charming comedic timing, wows us all, or be the femme fatale on Law & Order: SVU and be absolutely henious and make us say, "Hmmm, didn't know old Betts could cut off a man's privates so spectacularly."
Otherwise it's starring opposite Jack Black in a movie about a tubby loud mouth who likes this girl no one actually believes he could get or co-starring as his demure love interest in the animated comedy A Kung Fu Panda Sings Offkey To No One's Great Surprise.
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and i may be flogged publicly for daring to say this: Jon Hamm is also a terrible actor. his emoting is best classified as the "smoke 'n stare" variety; but sorry, it ain't actin'. godlike looks? oh yeah; actor? nah.
together, Jan & Jon just happen to be quite believable portraying a typical 1960's boring brimming-with-hostility marriage. their chemistry is totally alkaline, which fits the genre perfectly. the fact that they're really just two beautiful people mumbling and stumbling thru brilliant scripts only becomes starkly evident when we see them try to be funny -- with real actors on SNL or 30 Rock. they're both one-note, boring people who landed plum roles because of how they look, not how they act.
e.g., Kristen Wiig is about 300 times more talented than Jan Jones but alas, she doesn't have the vibe nor the look. ditto for Michael Cudlitz ('Southland') who is a powerhouse and could out-stare Hamm without liftin' an eyebrow; but again, he ain't the pretty boy (well, he's awesome, but not the typical pretty).
ask any truly talented actor how they feel about Jones & Hamm; i think you'll hear agreement that they're simply two very lucky ducklings. wish them well, and hope they save their money. #madmen
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