Thumbs down, TRPs up for LiLo in SNL

Lindsay Lohan got frisked, had herself checked for drug abuse and even poked fun at the recent mishaps in her life on NBC's Saturday Night Live show. But she still failed to impress the critics. Here's why.

Lindsay Lohan poked fun at herself and the recent mishaps in her life on the weekend’s Saturday Night Live show on NBC. In her opening monologue, the 25-year-old actress got frisked by one cast member, had her pupils checked for signs of drug use by another, and set off an alarm when she tried to step off stage, the New York Daily News reported.

A still from Lindsay's Real Housewives of Disney sketch

However, the critics didn't seem impressed. In her fourth outing as a host on the show, not only did LiLo look puffy and haggered, she even stumbled over her lines, relying mostly on the cues and prompters. US magazine Entertainment Weekly even asked if she was the show's worst host this year.

As soon as the show started, Lindsay's rambling performance became one of the hottest topics across the web, Daily Mail reported.

Comic Joan Rivers even quipped on his Twitter wall: "Lindsay Lohan was so bad on SNL that the judge is sending her back to rehab, but for acting lessons."

"Lohan, who kept glancing at her cue cards, delivered her lines with a lack of conviction. That ball got definitively dropped," wrote Jen Chaney, Washington Post.

"In other sketches, the a.m. DJ riff and a housesitting bit she did with a decidedly paranoid, butt-dialing Kristen Wiig — were a little better. But Lohan had notably less dialogue to deliver in those sketches and was largely carried by her co-stars," wrote Chaney. "Lohan also didn’t fully reclaim her status as a young comic performer worthy of casting in major Hollywood projects," she concluded.

"Letting Lindsay Lohan host Saturday Night Live was a mistake. And that isn't anything against Lohan, her well-documented escapades or her hopeful recovery. The fact is she just wasn't ready," Mike Ryan of Huffington Post wrote.

Ryan rated Lindsay's performance, giving it a measly 5.13.

The Los Angeles Times said the performance gave the impression that Lindsay's 'comeback train is stuck at the station.'

However, despite critics panning LiLo's performance in the show, the ratings of the SNL told a different story. The 25-year-old actor reportedly brought the show to the number 1 slot, beating all shows across leading networks.

A still from Lindsay's hosting performance in Saturday Night Live

In fact, Lindsay‘s episode is now counted as the second most watched SNL of the season, with NBA legend Charles Barkley taking the top spot for the show’s 37th season ratings win, reported Daily Mail.

After LiLo's film career had bombed, she pinned her hopes on SNL and her Elizabeth Taylor biopic. She recently told a US TV show, "So being able to have this opportunity with SNL and the film, I'm gonna do what I'm supposed to do, and enjoy doing it, and do it as best as I can." She still is reportedly very proud of her performance in the show.

While this attempt seems to have flopped, let's hope Lindsay does justice to Elizabeth Taylor's biopic.