Woody Harrelson’s Best ‘SNL’ Skits

by Ed CambroNovember 17, 2014, 9:14 pmComedy >

The 40^th season of Saturday Night Live has been surprisingly strong season, and Woody Harrelson’s third hosting gig was a definite highlight—from his drug-induced memories to his many, many terrible hairpieces, Harrelson returned to his comedic roots in style.

#1—The Monologue: Harrelson slurs (let’s call it nerves) through a fun opening to the show. There was a song parody of Taylor Swift’s 1989 and a lot of self-aware drug humor from Harrelson. Then his co-stars Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence show up to make him feel old and somewhat insane.

#2 Old New York: Woody Harrelson, Taran Killam, Bobby Moynihan, and Kenan Thompson play old school New Yorkers at a bar, nostalgic for the way New York used to be—knishes, hot dog carts, pizza… and crack cocaine. The accents are more Boston than they are New York but the group of Regular Joes bring up several great points about how much fun this city was before frozen yogurt, the health food obsession and functioning drug laws.

#3 Last Call with Woody Harrelson: The SNL crew got themselves a bar set and they were going to get their money out of it. Harrelson and Kate McKinnon play two very awkward people using awful pickup lines to score with each other. Their delivery is slow and measured but the dialogue is self-loathingly revealing, making it almost impossible to pick the best ones. However, I’ll attempt anyway: their drink orders were “A legal speedball; that’s Red Bull and Ambien” and “Tequila and condensed milk.” Also worth laughing at repeatedly is what McKinnon’s Sheila does for a living. Thompson is the weak link here, unsurprisingly, but the skit hinges perfectly on Harrelson and McKinnon and they take us home safely and wrapped in plastic.

https://www.hulu.com/watch/714478

#4 Match’d: An old dating show parody modernized for the MTV Jersey Shore audience. Beck Bennett, Kyle Mooney and Taran Killam are horny for the equally horny Desiree. It turns out the host, played by Harrelson, is Desiree’s dad. It gets very uncomfortable, obsequious and funny.

#5 New Marijuana Policy: Mayor De Blazio finally amended New York’s pot possession laws and everyone celebrates. Woody Harrelson (a known pot aficionado and enthusiast in real life) joins the party as a Rastafarian. Pete Davidson also appears.