There were three things we wanted out of a Saturday Night Live episode starring Woody Harrelson: a Jennifer Lawrence cameo, a Matthew McConaughey cameo, and a lot of references to Woody's drug use. We'll take two out of three, especially when they involve a silly take on Taylor Swift's "Blank Space," accompanied by Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, and Josh Hutcherson.
"With all due respect to Miss Swift, I think I know a little more about 1989 than she does...even if the memories are a little fuzzy, because of the drugs," Harrelson said, noting the coincidence that 1989 was the year he first hosted the show. Guitar in hand, he began singing a recap of that year as he (sort of) remembered it, with lyrics like, "Michael Keaton, he was Batman, not sure who was president ... Still, I got a blank space, baby, 'cause I used to do cocaine."
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That's when Hemsworth and Hutcherson showed up, reminding everyone they weren't even born yet in 1989, followed by Lawrence, whom Harrelson greeted her in a rather unusual manner. (Let's just say Katniss would have taken his head off for it.) She made some typically self-deprecating jokes about her bad singing before totally stumbling over her imitation of Harrelson and switching into an ad lib, "You're always so stoned!" Giggles all around.
True Detective fans hoping for a cameo by Harrelson's co-star, a favorite SNL target, got only a Weekend Update appearance by Taran Killam as McConaughey, spouting nonsensical philosophies. The other cameo of note was Orange Is the New Black's Uzo Aduba in "The Dudleys," a spoof of a sitcom that's just a little too responsive to internet criticism. The whole bit would have been a lot funnier if we weren't still in a haze of love for "Too Many Cooks." Harrelson was at his funniest during "Match'd," an MTV dating show starring Cecily Strong as a horny contestant whose dad also happens to be the host (Harrelson).
Lawrence had one more chance to steal the show: During the final credits, she stood behind Harrelson, talking loudly to someone else as he tried to begin his thank yous. This is our Jen, we're talking about after all, though, so she probably had no idea they were live.