Will Forte returned to host Saturday Night Live for the first time last night, and the former cast member used his monologue to hilariously complain about all of his former co-stars who were asked to return before him. That list includes Kristen Wiig, who has been invited back to host multiple times. She surprised the crowd with an appearance during Forte’s intro, and she stuck around during the show and appeared in multiple sketches with her longtime co-star. Not surprisingly, the sketches featuring the two got really weird.
The most talked about of those sketches obviously was MacGruber. The two spun off their absurd characters into both a movie and a series on Peacock; so, it was widely assumed at least Will Forte would bring back his old favorite when he hosted. He did and thankfully Kristen Wiig joined him, along with Ryan Phillippe. In the newest versions, MacGruber is now an anti-vaxxer who wants no part of wearing a mask and sports a fake vaccine card. You can watch the very on-brand for MacGruber madness below…
Like MacGruber, Will Forte always thrives when taking things as far as possible. He absolutely loves weirdness and loves pushing the joke as far as possible. He thrives off playing characters that are socially unaware and/ or just complete weirdos. That’s probably why Saturday Night Live had him playing the other dude in a married couple threesome last night. I mean look at how long he shakes the bed in this sketch. Just utter madness in the best way. But even amidst creepy weirdos and old timey movie characters, probably the weirdest place he went last night was alongside Kristen Wiig when they brought back out Clancy T Bachleratt and Jackie Snad.
If you’re asking yourself who the hell is that, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Forte and Wiig played the characters in a sketch alongside Seth Rogen all the way back in 2009, and at the time, it was way too weird for most people. The sketch followed two musicians who sing songs about Model Ts, toddlers, jars of beer and spaceships. That’s it. That’s what all their songs are about. The sketch generated a small cult following, but it never really broke out. And yet, hilariously, it returned last night to weird everyone out again. Check out its bizarre magic below…
The above sketch is a good example of why I love Saturday Night Live so much. Not every sketch is supposed to be as broadly accessible as possible. No doubt a high percentage of people who watched the above, thought that’s weird and then moved on. But for a small percentage of us who love really eccentric and irreverent comedy, something like that is an absolute gift that you’d ordinarily never get on network television.
SNL is typically all about what’s new and relevant. And that’s good. Casts need to change. Current events need to be talked about. It’s ultimately good that the show isn’t the same thing it was ten years ago or forty years ago, but still, I’m a big fan of bringing back an older cast member to host once or twice each season. It’s a good bridge to the past, and it’s a wonderful gift for those of us who have been watching SNL for decades.
The show will return next week with Willem Dafoe, who is the latest in a series of exciting SNL hosts this season.
