He’s officially “Saturday Night Live” royalty.
Justin Timberlake joined the Five-Timers Club – a fraternity for the show’s most prolific hosts – during a star-studded monologue on this weekend’s episode.
Other five-timers and show favorites such as Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Paul Simon, Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd appeared to properly honor Timberlake into the club.
Timberlake has been the most memorable show host over the past decade, donning ridiculous suits, singing falsetto and gift-wrapping his unmentionables during some of his most famous segments.
Those talents were on display Saturday. During his monologue, the suit-and-tie clad performer showed his golden Five-Timers Club card, then left the stage to enter the secret lounge.
After donning a smoking jacket Timberlake bumped into Simon, who momentarily dozed off before chit-chatting with JT.
“Mr. Simon, the honor’s mine,” Timberlake said.
“I think it is,” Simon responded.
Martin followed, carrying a pipe, busting the host’s chops about his boy-band past.
“I always figured if an ‘N Sync member would make the Five-Timers Club, it would be Joey Fatone,” Martin said.
Aykroyd played the bartender – the best he could do since he only hosted SNL once, Martin explained.
Timberlake studied the club’s hall of portraits, featuring paintings of Drew Barrymore and John Goodman … and Chase, in the flesh, befuddled by a land-line phone.
Short appeared as a waiter, sneezing in the food.
“I just realized I’m standing next to the Three Amigos,” Timberlake said, referring to the 1980s comedy starring Martin, Short and Chase. Martin Short did the “Three Amigos” pose. The others brushed it off.
The Five-Timers Club couldn’t be complete without Tom Hanks and Alec Baldwin, and the two emerged together to watch the current cast-members fighting each other.
Candice Bergen was also on hand, representing the club’s first female member.
“Could you please remember to keep the toilet seat down?” Bergen asked the boys.
“I go in the sink,” Short responded.
This weekend’s episode opened with a skit showing Hugo Chavez’s funeral ceremony – with Elton John (Timberlake) singing “Candle in the Wind” to honor the fallen Venezuelan president, filling the song with humorous lyrics about Chavez’s exploits.
“And it seems to me you lived your life like a candle in the wind, if a candle could pull out two pistols at a press conference,” he sang, his blue suit shimmering.
The “D–k in a Box” guys – Timberlake and SNL legend Andy Samberg – were together again, reunited for a romance TV show skit called “It’s a Date.”
The duo used 1990s-style R&B to woo potential partner Judy Peterman (Vanessa Bayer), singing about “Freaking in the back of a PT Cruiser” and “Both of us railing on your butt.”
“I don’t hate it,” Judy said.
The bigger surprise came when the next group of bachelors were introduced – George and Yortuk Festrunk, “two wild and crazy guys” played by Aykroyd and Martin, characters popularized during SNL’s early days.
A dream date with the Czech brothers involved sparkling wine from Long Island and a ride in their stretch limousine (“which we own … for work,” Yortuk explained).
“They’re very direct,” Judy said, “and these days, that’s very refreshing.”
Of course the dating competition came down to our two duos … one group, serenading a woman about the Disney cartoon “DuckTales,” the other guys talking about their bulges in plaid pants and swirl button-ups.
The juxtaposition of partners bridged the SNL of yesterday and today, showing how the goals and humor are pretty much the same as they were 35 years ago. Sure, the show has had its down points … and sure, the criticisms seem louder lately. But at its best, when stars such as Timberlake are leading the way, SNL remains viable and memorable and fresh and exciting, the way it was this weekend.
Those sentiments emerged during another go-to Timberlake skit, showing the singer-actor busting out raps in a ridiculous costume, this time a giant chunk of tofu promoting a restaurant called “Veganville.”
Mr. Veganville used songs and jabs to challenge a sausage salesman (Bobby Moynihan). Vanilla Ice’s biggest hit became “Brown Rice Baby.” Rihanna’s single became “We Found Love … In a Meatless Place.”
Billy Idol’s “Dancing With Myself” was transformed to “Thinking About My Health.”
But the energy just wasn’t high enough – so Timberlake walked in front of the camera.
“Tofu burritos,” he said, waving his over-sized gloves, and you knew what was coming next. “Drink a vegan shake,” he said, and the next shot showed two dozen dancers behind him, people celebrating in cheese hats and king crowns, with JT and SNL doing their own meat-free version of the “Harlem Shake.”
Later in the episode, musical partner Jay-Z appeared alongside Timberlake for their hit song “Suit & Tie,” a performance most notable for JT’s possible diss of Jay-Z’s friend Kanye West.
Kanye criticized the song at a London concert last month, saying he wasn’t feeling “Suit & Tie.”
Timberlake’s SNL performance of the song, which needed some alternate lyrics due to curse words, included the line “My hits so sick/ I got rappers actin’ dramatic.”
But that’s alrighttttttttttt …
The introduction to Justin’s second song, “Mirrors,” featured the Three Amgios – Short, Martin and Chase – this time in full costume, all embracing their statuses.
“Ladies and gentlemen, once again,” they said, pounding their chests with their fists, grabbing their hips, coughing and lunging, just as they did in the 1986 movie – the kind of reunion that only happens for the special hosts, a group that now officially has one more member.