I (heart) this boy

Joseph Gordon-Levitt...

... Makin' 'em laugh.

On a weekend that saw the world going cookoo for Cocoa Puffs for a bunch of pretty boys in "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," another boy captured my heart on "Saturday Night Live" by quite literally falling on his face.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, most recently of "(500) Days of Summer," went on "Saturday Night Live" and did a few things that you just cannot do if you want to escape my ardor.
First of all, he bounded out on that stage with so much enthusiasm, you might have just thought he was TRULY thrilled to be there. After the debacle that was the January Jones episode, just a week prior, it was like watching a different show. After saying the customary "I'm happy to be here" he proved it by admitting he's been contemplating a monologue since he found out he would be on the show two months ago.
What he decided on was a tribute to Donald O'Connor's number "Make 'em Laugh" from the classic 1952 musical "Singin' in the Rain." He nailed the number, and it was unlike anything I've seen on "SNL" in some time. If you hit the link above, you can watch it, too, and I recommend you do.
After that, the episode became more like a normal episode, with good and bad points. The "Palin 2012" was an unfunny attempt to do a Palin book joke. Surely there was something better. Kenan Thompson's "What's Up With That" is quickly becoming a hilarious new segment. The digital short featured Kenan Thompson, who had convinced Andy Samberg he was Reba McEntire by putting on a red wig and doing nothing else, was pretty good. There was more singing than usual overall, which I like.
There are always going to be people who say "SNL" is done, and I'm sure opening with a number from a 60-year-old musical will do little to change that opinion. But I thought it was pretty gutsy.