Reese Witherspoon Hosts 'SNL': Mother's Day Tribute, Boxed Wine Women and Cool GOP Candidates (Video)

The last time Reese Witherspoon hosted “Saturday Night Live,” America was rebounding two weeks after 9/11 and she was filled with jitters.

The Oscar winning actress, New York City and the country have come a long way since then and when she took to the stage this weekend, Witherspoon turned her opening monologue into a touching and humorous tribute to her mom and the mothers of “SNL” cast members.

Following a slew of chuckle worthy apologies from the actors to their real-life moms, the moms turned the tables and paid tribute to their children by showing rare footage of the stars when they were precocious kids.

Also Read: 'Hot Pursuit' Pummeled by Critics: Read the Worst Reviews of Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara Farce

The funniest moment involved a young Cecily Strong playing a girl with a bad cocaine addiction. From there, Witherspoon wasted no time appearing in a number of sketches.

The first had her playing a flatulent cougar and co-host of a fictional talk show called “The Scene in L.A.” Strong costarred as her friend and co-host who needed Poise bladder control pads.

On the second sketch, Witherspoon played a wife and contestant on the made-up game show “Picture Perfect.” The sketch was a tongue-in-cheek nod to the deadly Prophet Muhammad art contest earlier this week in Texas.

Also Read: Nicole Kidman-Reese Witherspoon Miniseries 'Big Little Lies' Lands at HBO

There was a Hallmark parody where Witherspoon played the concerned coworker of a man who had a grossly inappropriate sexual relationship with their boss and a water park sketch where she doubled as a sexy park employee.

Witherspoon drew the most laughs as a boxed wine sipping busy body with eccentric house robbing friends and a husband possessed by a demon and later as a kitten enthusiast named Purr-sula. On “Weekend Update,” Witherspoon joined Strong again for a bit called “Two Girls You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With At a Party.”

Anyone hoping that Witherspoon would poke fun at her critically panned comedy “Hot Pursuit,” which opened this weekend, ESPN’s Britt McHenry or even Deflategate, had to be disappointed because that didn’t happen.

Also Read: Reese Witherspoon Talks 'Legally Blonde 3' Possibilities With Sofia Vergara, Andy Cohen (Video)

At least the cold open was timely as it poked fun at the upcoming Southern Republican Leadership Conference. In it, each 2016 GOP presidential hopeful tried too hard to seem cool.

Taran Killam stole the show as a shirtless ballroom dancing Marco Rubio. Meanwhile, Kenan Thompson impressed as a mic dropping, trash talking Dr. Ben Carson. The parting line? “Won’t it be fun to watch all of these guys lose to Jeb Bush?” Burn.

“Saturday Night Live” airs at 11:35 p.m. Saturdays on NBC.

21 Worst Onscreen Moms, From Norma Bates to Peg Bundy (Photos)

TheWrap looks at dysfunctional moms in honor of Mother's Day, from Norma Bates in "Psycho" to Peg Bundy in "Married With Children" and "Serial Mom."
"Psycho" (1960) Possibly the worst mother in Hollywood history (and now on A&E with "Bates Motel"), Norma Bates was so abusive she it resulted in her murder -- and those of subsequent innocent victims -- at the hands of her son, Norman.
Warner Bros. Pictures
"The Manchurian Candidate" (1962) Mrs. Iselin (Angela Lansbury) is less a mother and more a secret agent intent on making her son the first puppet President in a Communist conspiracy.
M.C. Productions
"Carrie" (1976) After emotionally and physically abusing her daughter for years, Mrs. White (Piper Laurie) tried to kill Carrie when she believed a demon was the reason her daughter had psychic powers.
United Artists
"Mommie Dearest" (1981) Faye Dunaway portrays Joan Crawford as controlling and overbearing mother to adopted daughter, Christina, in the 1981 biographical cult drama.
Paramount Pictures
"Married... With Children" (1987-97) Peggy Bundy isn't mean, she's just lazy and inattentive, refusing to cook or clean and instead spending her time sat on the couch watching "Oprah."
Embassy Television
"Throw Momma From the Train" (1987) Mrs. Lift (Anne Ramsey) was such a terrible, overbearing mother that her son was inspired on how to kill her after watching an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
Orion Pictures
"Seinfeld" (1989-98) After watching Mrs. Costanza (Estelle Harris) for only five minutes, you completely understand how George could grow into the needy, neurotic person we knew and loved for nine seasons.
West-Shapiro
"Serial Mom" (1994) The dark comedy starred Kathleen Turner as a suburban housewife who secretly murders people over trivial of perceived slights or social faux pas.
Polar Entertainment Corporation
"The Sopranos" (1999-2007) A paranoid nightmare, Livia Soprano (Nancy Marchand) tried to have her mob boss son, Tony Soprano, killed when she thought he was too weak to lead.
HBO
"Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" (2002) Ellen Burstyn plays the abusive Southern mother to Sandra Bullock in this comedy-drama that spans 70 years of the "Ya-Ya Sisterhood."
All Girls Productions
"White Oleander" (2002) Based on the novel by Janet Fitch, Michelle Pfeiffer plays a self-centered, cold-hearted and eccentric mother who kills and her cheating boyfriend -- landing her in prison and daughter, Astrid (Alison Lohman) in a foster home.
Warner Bros. Pictures
"8 Mile" (2002) Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr. (Eminem) lives with his alcoholic mother (Kim Basinger) in a Detroit trailer park while struggling to make it as a white rapper.
Imagine Entertainment
"Arrested Development" (2003-) Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter) was never hesitant to sacrifice her children's happiness for a gin and tonic.
Imagine Entertainment
"Mean Girls" (2004) The ultimate example of lax parenting, Mrs. King (Amy Poehler) is way more concerned with looking cool than being an actual mom to her daughter.
Paramount Pictures
"Mad Men" (2007-15) Though she could occasionally show maternal instinct, Betty Draper (January Jones) was at times just as childish as her kids, and often even more selfish and needy.
Lionsgate Television
"Sons of Anarchy" (2008-14) Gemma Teller Morrow (Katey Sagal) may have had the motorcycle club's interests at heart, but those interests typically involved ruining her son's chances at happiness, culminating in her killing his wife and the mother of his child.
SutterInk
"The Hangover" (2009) We all remember how nice Jade (Heather Graham) was, but we always forgot that she let three complete strangers take her baby for the night in Las Vegas.
Warner Bros. Pictures
"Precious" (2009) Unemployed mother Mary (Mo'Nique) takes out all her fears and insecurities on her 16-year-old daughter, whom she blamed for getting impregnated twice by Mary's husband after he raped her.
Lionsgate
"The Hunger Games" (2012) Mrs. Everdeen (Paula Malcomson) emotionally shut down after the death of her husband, leaving her teenage daughter Katniss to figure out how to keep her family alive.
Lionsgate
"Justified" (2010-15) Mags Bennett (Margo Martindale) runs a family of hillbilly pot growers, makes lethal moonshine and wields a hammer that she's not afraid to use.
FX Productions
"American Horror Story: Coven" (2013-14) There are so many evil moms to choose from on "AHS" but Fiona (Jessica Lange) takes this dark prize as the glamorous wicked witch to belittled daughter Cordelia (Sarah Paulson).
Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision