Thoughts on Show #4
Jimmy started the monologue much more confidently Thursday night. Well done, sir.
His opener to greet the crowd: “You sound excited — I guess you missed the first three [shows].” Love self-deprecation. In fact, I think it’d be great for Jimmy to have some self-deprecating crowd greeting each night. We shall see.
Although I thought Jimmy looked less jittery tonight, I did in all honesty think the monologue leaned a little too close to to the “applause line” vs. “laugh line” side.
The noteworthy moments included Jimmy’s afterthought following the Bill Gates joke (he doesn’t let his kids use an iPhone or iPod; they have to amuse themselves by playing with piles of money). He then added, “It’s a fun game.” And then: “Not that I would know.” Heheheh. Jimmy, it’s okay to acknowledge that you’re a wealthy man! We love ya for it!
I was also intrigued by Jimmy’s joke about the New Jersey lottery winners (though he didn’t use mine): He said that the $260 million winners, under Obama’s tax plan, would now owe $300 mil. You don’t hear too many jokes attacking Obama and his policies yet, and I love that Jimmy went there. (Regardless of whether you like the president, which Jimmy and I both do, there’s no sense treating him as a sacred cow during Late Night.)
Jimmy and his writing staff are packing a lot of bits before the interviews. Last night there was a goofy “Flashback Master” skit, a sketch with Donald Trump, the audience president elections, and a follow-up with the new audience president all before Donald was brought out around the 15-minute mark. I love the idea of doing more sketches and bits; my sole complaint is that I thought the monologue got clipped a bit. It felt very short last night.
I’ll be back with joke suggestions for Jimmy’s first Friday show later today.