Classic SNL References on JT Hosted SNL

Justin Timberlake returned to Saturday Night Live to host for the 5th time last weekend, and he brought along with him a slew of former SNL hosts and cast members making surprise appearances    on the show.  But in addition to that, there were many references to classic SNL that some younger or more casual fans may not be too familiar with.  Below, we breakdown some of these references that you may have missed.

When it was first announced that Justin Timberlake was going to be this week's SNL host, much was made of the fact that it was his 5th time hosting and that he would be joining the prestigious "Five Timers Club".  The "Five Timers Club" has been references many times on SNL, but it all started back in 1990 when Tom Hanks hosted for his 5th time. His classic monologue was mirrored quite closely by Justin Timberlake's monologue, by showing the audience his official Five Timers Club membership card, going to the Five Timers Club Lounge, and being greeted Paul Simon, Steve Martin, and other people who have hosted the show at least five times.  It's also interesting to note that Justin Timberlake's monologue had the Five Timers Club lounge doorman played by a mostly unknown SNL writer named Mike O'Brien, (host of the web series 7 Minutes in Heaven).  The Five Timers Club lounge doorman for Tom Hanks was also an unknown SNL writer at the time, who happens to share Mike O'Brien's last name - a very young Conan O'Brien.  Check out the similarities and differences between the the two monologues below:

When it was announced that Justin would be hosting there was also a lot of speculation about if Andy Samberg, who left the show at the end of last season, would return to reunite with Justin Timberlake to play the guys from the "D*ck in a Box" Digital Shorts.  To the delight of many fans, Andy did in fact return and everyone's favorite 90's R&B duo was back on the show, but they weren't the only ones!  Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd, who were previously seen in the "Five Timers Club" monologue (above), reprised another popular SNL duo - the "Wild and Crazy Guys"!  Steve Martin hosted many times back in the 70's, and he and Dan Aykroyd would often play the Festrunk Brothers, two Czechoslovakian  swingers who go around looking for some "American foxes" to hook up with.  Known for their over-usage of American expressions and their popular catch phrase "We are two wild and crazy guys!"  the sketch was done four times during the 70's, as well as one time in 1998 with Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan's Roxbury Guys characters.  Here's the historic return of the Festrunk Brothers, followed by a classic Festrunk sketch from 1978:

When Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Chevy Chase all appeared together in the Five Timers Club monologue, Justin Timberlake said exactly what I was shouting to my TV set at home, "It's the Three Amigos!"  Three Amigos (which eagle-eyed fans might recognize from the movie poster in the back of Lorne's office from some of the "Laser Cats" Digital Shorts, pictured to the right) was a 1986 comedy film written by SNL Creator/Executive Producer Lorne Michaels and Steve Martin (along with singer/songwriter Randy Newman) starring Martin, Short, and Chase as actors who star in a series of successful western films as the crime fighting trio The Three Amigos.  A woman in a poor Mexican village sees the Three Amigos in a movie and writes to them to help save their village from the evil bandito named El Guapo (which if anyone knows Spanish, comically translates to "The Handsome").  Due to a misunderstanding, the Three Amigos think she wants them to come to film a movie, not realizing that the terrifying El Guapo is actually real.  Hilarity ensues.  During the monologue, Timberlake asked them to do "The Three Amigo Salute", to which only Martin Short took part in.  Later in the show however, the Three Amigos return, in full costume, and all do the Three Amigo Salute in unison as they introduce Justin Timberlake's second musical performance:

And here's the actual Three Amigos Salute from the film.  The best six seconds in cinematic history:

Finally, this is my personal favorite scene from the film.  To set up the clip, a German man walks into this saloon and warns everyone that his very tough and fast-shooting friends will be arriving soon, and that they don't mess around.  Of course, The Three Amigos then enter, with everyone in the saloon frightened thinking that they're the tough friends of the German.  Once again, hilarity ensues:

Let us know if we missed any other classic SNL references from the episode!  And if you haven't seen Three Amigos, you should really check it out. Highly recommended.