“You loved him on “SNL.” You hated him in movies. Now you’re ambivalent. Please welcome… Jimmy Fallon!” That’s one of the potential openings announcer Steve Higgins considered, according to Entertainment Weekly. Ironic because that’s also how I feel since Fallon’s show started Monday night.
The “SNL” alum shows his former Weekend Update roots when he does his opening monologue. Rather than the loose, somewhat improvisational monologues of fellow late night comedy hosts Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and David Letterman, Fallon moves at a rat-a-tat pace and overly emphasizes the set-ups and punch lines.
As he reads off cue cards too much or awkwardly handles guests, he lacks O’Brien’s lovable craziness, Leno’s confidence, and Letterman’s charming curmudgeoness. Rather than playing up an interview with an odd guest like Letterman did with Joaquin Phoenix last month, Fallon didn’t know quite what to do with his first guest Robert De Niro who was aloof and quiet.
His interviews fare better when they’re with his friends like Tina Fey. Yet, then the audience is stuck feeling alienated as we listen to a one-on-one private conversation between two friends talking about old times or parties they attend together.
One thing Fallon’s got down pat though is his appeal to the youth demographic. Not only is his audience primarily made up of 20-somethings, he draws them in by incorporating Facebook into his gags and doing a soon-to-be recurring Internet Video of the Day skit. He also makes for a really nice, personable guy running up into the audience every night clapping hands and bringing a girl onstage to sing karaoke alongside Jon Bon Jovi.
The skit, however, where he brought young audience members up to the stage to lick things for $10, like most of his other skits, fell flat. Where’s the humor in watching a kid lick a lawnmower? It wouldn’t be any funnier if Fallon gave me $10 to watch either.
Given Fallon’s nice guy attitude and his funny days on “SNL,” his show is worth keeping an eye on though. Plus, late night comedy shows do take time. Case in point is O’Brien who notoriously got pounded by the critics for the first year of his show and came dangerously close to getting canceled way back in 1995. But now look at him. Starting this June, he takes over from Leno as new host of the “Tonight Show.”
In the meantime, I loved him on “SNL,” hated him in movies (well “Fever Pitch was alright”), and right now I’m ambivalent about him.
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