A Willy Wonka Golden Ticket...
That's what greeted viewers of the inaugural Late Late Show with James Corden at the
helm. It came in the form of a prerecorded
skit that featured the likes of Jay Leno,
Meryl Streep, Shia LeBeouf and Arnold
Swarzenegger as drill instructors in a kind of late show boot camp.
Dripping in satire, it was an obvious acknowledgment of Corden's
lukewarm reception since being chosen as the new host as well as the delay in
his start date.
We were then introduced to the new Late Late show band
headed by Reggie Watts best known as
the strange sidekick of Scott Aukerman
on IFC's Comedy Bang! Bang!
While Watts probably would have been a better choice as
host, The Roots ( Jimmy Fallon's house
band) have nothing to worry about.
One thing was clear.
CBS is betting the farm on Corden with a star studded premier that
included Tom Hanks and Mila Kunis as his first guests and a set
that Craig Ferguson could only dream of.
Taking a page from British talk shows, Corden
chose to have both Hanks and Kunis on at the same time leading to what was at
times a chaotic exchange.
 |
| Corden, Mila Kunis and Tom Hanks on Show 1 |
The interview itself was much less formal than the average
late night fare with Corden eschewing the interview desk for a chair next to
Hanks and Kunis.
Aside from pressing for
confirmation of Kunis marriage to Ashton Kutcher, the conversation stayed light
and largely irrelevant. It was evident
that Corden was attempting to adopt at least some of Craig Ferguson's interview
style. That being a discussion less
about profession and more about personal topics like family and children.
But where Ferguson was relaxed and informal, Corden comes
off more like a giddy schoolgirl gossiping with friends. A trait sometimes shared with the Tonight
Show's Jimmy Fallon. But where Fallon has
real comedic talent and an affable manner to offset his enthusiasm, Corden
seems to just be "playing" host.
Of course he is a Tony award winning actor so it's really no surprise
that he'd fall back on those talents.
In the end the only thing we learned from tonight's show was
that Mila Kunis "might" be married and Tom Hanks has 4 adult
children. Nobody was expecting a Ted Talk but the whole exchange had
about as much depth as rain puddle.
Ok, so maybe he'll get better.
Corden is a bit of a culture shock to Americans not used to
British "Chat Shows" and is best compared to hosts like Graham Norton
or Jonathan Ross than a Jay Leno or Jimmy Fallon. British talk shows tend to have a more circus
atmosphere with hosts more likely to dance on their desks than interview from
them. How that will go over on an
American network remains to be seen.
 |
Graham Norton Show
I didn't suffer any such shock, however, as I've seen plenty
of British "chat shows" and to be honest I find the format dull and
self-serving for the hosts. British talk
shows have always seemed far more superficial to me than their American
counterparts. It was more about having
the famous guest than gleaning any real information from them.
There was a tribute of sorts to Tom Hanks film career with
both Corden and Hanks acting out (badly) characters from his films against a
green screen backdrop. Hanks seemed to
be enjoying himself but then he's got nothing to lose unless someone comes up
with a Cosby-esque scandal.
The show wrapped up with Corden seated at a piano singing us
out which was as uninspiring as his Letterman interview.
So far I give Corden's premiere an F. It was tedious to watch and if I'm honest he
just wasn't that entertaining let alone funny.
There might be an explanation for it, however. His resume is steeped in theater and light
comedic roles meaning he's used to playing at being funny. Pretending to be funny isn't actually being
funny. For the first few months he can
play off his inexperience and a format strange to American viewers but that can
only go for so long.
At this point I'm not expecting anything resembling Craig
Ferguson's Peabody
award winning interview with Desmond Tutu.
On to night 2...
No comments :
Post a Comment