Welcome to the club, Kristen Wiig.
The “Palm Royale” star hosted “Saturday Night Live” for a fifth time this weekend, and as is tradition, she was inducted into the show’s prestigious “Five-Timers Club” in a cameo-filled monologue. The twist? Most of the appearances were by stars who aren’t actually in the club, which is reserved for those who have hosted “SNL” five times.
The first to appear was Paul Rudd, who has been in the club ever since he hosted “SNL” for his fifth time in 2021. While sitting in the audience, he was wearing his Five-Timers Club jacket.
“I also heard a rumor that you might be doing one of those five-timers sketches featuring awesome celebrity cameos,” Rudd said. “So is there a script or something I could look at for that?”
Previously on ‘SNL’:Kate McKinnon brings on Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph for ABBA spoof and tampon ad
After Wiig told the “Ant-Man” star she isn’t doing one of these sketches, former “SNL” writer Paula Pell showed up to humble her a bit, declaring that “SNL” gives out Five-Timers Club jackets “to everybody like free maxi pads.” Case in point? Matt Damon appeared next wearing one of the jackets, even though he has only hosted “SNL” two times.
The star joked that “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels told him “the first time I hosted was so good, it counted for three. Second time, not quite as good, that only counted for two, but by my math, that’s five, baby!”
This led Wiig to question if the Five-Timers Club jacket has any meaning anymore, and the show then cut to Michaels surrounded by Fred Armisen, Jon Hamm, Will Forte and Martin Short, all of whom were wearing the jackets, despite not having hosted five times. “Together, we’ve hosted five times,” Forte said. Michaels could be seen cracking up as Short passionately defended him against Hamm, who confronted the producer about the fact that he hasn’t hosted in more than a decade.
Tina Fey welcomes Emma Stone:The star joined the ‘SNL’ Five-Timers Club
Finally, all of the celebrities joined Wiig on stage to initiate her into the club through song. But there was still one last cameo: Ryan Gosling, who could be seen putting on a Five-Timers Club jacket off stage. “Are you sure?” he asked Michaels. “I mean, I haven’t even hosted three times yet. It seems unfair.” (His third hosting gig will be April 13.) At the end of the monologue, though, Gosling was the one to officially hand Wiig her jacket.
Emma Stone most recently joined the “SNL” Five-Timers Club in December, with Tina Fey welcoming her in. Other stars who have joined the club in recent years include Woody Harrelson and John Mulaney.
Kristen Wiig returns as Aunt Linda to review ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’
Later in the show, Wiig reprised one of her classic “SNL” characters: Aunt Linda, a woman who appears baffled and annoyed by virtually every movie she sees. On Weekend Update, Wiig’s Linda offered her take on last year’s biggest films, starting with “Barbie.”
“I didn’t get it!” she declared. “Is she a doll that comes to life? It doesn’t make any sense. And where are they, on the moon?”
Wiig’s Linda then reviewed Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” this year’s Oscar winner for best picture. “Directed by Christopher No Thanks,” she said. “Why the heck would anyone make a movie about the person who invented the microwave?”
Linda also provided some TV criticism with a review of “The Bear,” expressing her bewilderment with the “completely misleading title” and the fact that the kitchen on the show is so “unorganized” and “understaffed.”
“Why is he so upset?” she also asked. “He found a bunch of money in the tomato sauce. And what the heck is Kenergy?”
Kaia Gerber makes a ‘SNL’ cameo in ‘Pilates’ sketch
Other highlights from the episode included a mock movie trailer treating a Pilates class like it’s a “Saw”-style horror film. Wiig starred as the instructor, and Kaia Gerber made a cameo.
“Usually, there are eight gorgeous women, one gay man not wearing underwear, and sometimes, Kaia Gerber,” Sarah Sherman’s character said while describing the Pilates class before Gerber appeared and declared, “This is randomly so easy!”
First appeared on www.usatoday.com