Will Ferrell returned to his old stomping grounds to host the Saturday, January 27, episode of Saturday Night Live, with musical guest Chris Stapleton. The former cast member brought the laughs in every single sketch, from the cold open to Weekend Update. Here are a few of our favorite moments.
George W. Bush’s Cold Open
Ferrell brushed the cobwebs off of his always entertaining George W. Bush impression for the cold open, reminding Americans how “historically not good” the 43rd president was. Bush rattled off his list of transgressions, including starting two wars that the U.S. is still in. Although he’s so “popular AF” in the Trump era that he could end up on Mount Rushmore, we think he should probably stick to getting that MFA from University of Phoenix (Online).
Ferrell’s Off-Kilter Monologue
Ferrell is perhaps the only host who could’ve pulled off this wacky monologue. After a supposed head injury left him bleeding from the front and back of his head, the SNL veteran attempted to make his way through his song-and-dance routine, but all we got was a bunch of gibberish and hallucinations. It was a fun alternative to the monologues we’re used to seeing, and might we say, we saw a glimmer of Buddy the Elf in this bit.
Crispy, Pastry Crust
Ferrell and Kate McKinnon played an elderly couple attempting to film a diner commercial in this spoof of a too-good-to-be-true real-life blooper reel. The duo couldn’t get their line — “baked in a crispy, pastry crust” — right, which resulted in many hilarious flubs that sounded nothing like “baked in a crispy,pastry crust.”
A Very Dreary Flight Attendant
Aidy Bryant and Chris Redd’s flight attendants were just trying to make safety instructions fun with an original rap, but their coworker (Ferrell) took a more pessimistic approach, incorporating his own freestyle lyrics to inform passengers that “death is final.” You know what they say — Gareth will rap as he pleases.
Heidi Gardner Gets Teen Girls
Heidi Gardner stood out during a Weekend Update segment in which she played a teen girl named Bailey. Bailey was supposed to be giving her opinions on Oscar-nominated films, but Gardner veered into a scarily accurate emotional meltdown when Michael Che suggested she was “upset.”
Saturday Night Live airs on NBC Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET.
