(S31E15) I went in to this episode expecting it to be absolutely horrible. I'm sorry, but I just didn't see Antonio Banderas as someone with good SNL hosting potential. I figured he was just coming on to plug his new film, Take the Lead. Well he never plugged the movie once, and guess what? He was absolutely spectacular as host. For those that haven't been paying attention to the news at all this week, immigration is the topic right now in Congress and SNL made damn sure it was addressed last night.

Anderson Cooper 360° - I hope they start relying on this as a cold open more than Hardball. I don't necessarily think Seth Myers is better as Anderson than Darrell Hammond is at being Chris Matthews, but it's just time for Darrell Hammond to go. This sketch was very funny. Banderas as Mexican Prez Vincente Fox was hilarious. Claiming that Mexico had a huge American immigration problem due to spring break, bargain-priced tequila, and breasts was funny stuff. The stand-out was Kenan as Rep. Cynthia McKinney. When she yelled "I will slap the Kiehl's moisturizer off your face Ann-Uh-Sun Coo-Puh," I lost it... especially since I use Kiehl's moisturizer. You wouldn't believe how soft my face is.

Antonio's Monologue - I think this was the only low point of the show for me. After he stripped his clothes off to reveal that he was a woman, I laughed because, hey, Antonio Banderas has fake boobs on. Then it got old. Fortunately this didn't last long and they moved ahead.

Basic Instinct 2: Return of the Beaver - I don't care how old I get, when I hear the word "vagina" or the phrase "hair pie," I'm gonna laugh. Beyond the humor factor that this semi-fake movie preview had, I think it made a good point. Seriously, why did this movie need to be made? The only reason that anyone is talking about it is because of the Sharon Stone Hoo-Hah factor. Will we get to see it again or not?

Deal or No Deal - I've actually never watched an episode of Deal or No Deal before, but I've heard enough people talk about it and seen the commercials enough that I think I have a pretty good idea of how it works. Fred Armisen was great as Howie Mandel and I loved it when the briefcase girls started speaking up due to Howie's poor instructions to the contestants. When they showed the family members and one of them kept yelling "No Whammy," I smiled. Press Your Luck, now there was a great game show.

Voice Recording Lady - I think this is the second time, maybe the third, this has been done. "Cute" is the best word to describe the premise. I enjoyed this if only because it was short. I laughed a few times and then it was over before they let it go on too long. I enjoyed how Rachel had her Spanish co-worker accompany her to the party. It makes you wonder though. Who does actually do those voice recordings? Some sound electronic, but some are definitely recorded. That job must suck.

Besos y Lagrimas - I don't ever recall seeing an SNL sketch that was done entirely in Spanish. My Spanish is terrible but I believe the title translates to Kisses and Tears. Which makes sense, since that's all this telenovela spoof was about. I can't stand telenovelas, so anything that pokes fun is fine by me. This played up every stereotype though. Rich families. Affairs with gardeners and illegitimate babies. Oh, and gusts of wind that blow the shirts off of muscular men named Paulo. I was very impressed with this.

The 13th Annual Women's Basketball Coaches' Fashion Awards - It's rare, lately anyway, for a host to carry a sketch. Well, Banderas carried this one. As the emcee of the event, his songs were hilarious offering praise to these women who dress like men for the sake of basketball.

Weekend Update - This was probably the best WU they've had in a while. It was solid. It started with a Tom Delay montage set to Daniel Powter's "Bad Day," which I found very amusing. Darrell Hammond made his only appearance as Dan Rather. He spoke about the Katie Couric move to CBS and politely put her down. "She's a fantastic journalist. Look at her recent piece on ways to cook with a green bell pepper!" The highlight was definitely Chris Kattan showing up. In 30 seconds we got his Antonio Banderas impression, gay Hitler, Mango, and Mr. Peepers. It was great.

Zorro - Filming a scene during the last movie, apparently Banderas decided he would not make out with Catherine Zeta-Jones due to his fears of bird flu and herpes. So he got a "make out scene" stand in. Enter Horatio Sanz, who had just eaten a fish and bean chalupa. Mmmm. This could have been funnier, but this type of part is Horatio's bread and butter so he played it up well.

The Karaoke Bar - Amy Poehler was the drunk lady with a microphone hostess at the bar and she kept getting in the way of Rachel Dratch's renditions of "Natural Woman," "Sexual Healing," and "Milkshake" by making out with her date played by Antonio. I thought this was funny but then Poehler made some comment about how she loves her husband, and says, "Right honey?" Chris Parnell, her husband, was there the whole time. Then I thought it was really funny.

Foreigners - This was my favorite sketch of the night. It was like a weird PSA. Amy and Jason Sudeikis were talking about Mexicans and how if NBC had their way, the entire cast would be "border hopping Mexicans." Of course, Horatio walks by. He's then joined by Fred and Antonio who are there to inform us Americans of their three-pronged plan. Number one, take our jobs. Number two, have babies with our women. And number three, cut us with knives. Simple plan, we should all watch out. This was good though. I liked how they took all the stereotypes head-on.

Wine Snobs - I found this to be very funny because I took a wine appreciation class about a year ago and Chris Parnell's character reminded me of the guy that taught the class. When they were taking in the various wines' bouquets, all the notes they were listing were hilarious. Electronics, gun metal, a whore's sweat. There were some other funny ones, but they escape me now. Which ones am I missing?

Overall, I thought this was a great episode. I didn't watch the two Mary J. Blige performances so if anyone wants to comment on those, please do. Also, was it just me or was Amy Poehler in just about every sketch? She was all over the place. Another thing I noticed was in the credits. Mindy Kaling, of The Office, was in there. After the writer's list, it said "Additional Sketch by Mindy Kaling." Anyone have any idea which sketch it was?

Next week is another new episode with Lindsay Lohan and Pearl Jam.