Fallon's "La La Land"-Spoofing Globes Opener
Monday, January 9, 2017 at 7:12AM Chris here. While we were graced with an overall delightful (if fairly sober) Golden Globes ceremony, I think we can all safely say Jimmy Fallon was a dud. Chief offenses included gross imitations of famous black people, flatline jokes, and returning to the ceremony just when we thought we were done with him. But he did try to set himself up for success by opening the show with a La La Land-lampooning opening number that also featured some of the night's other nominees. Let's do a rundown of the good, bad, and ugly:
- Oy. This must be what La La Land feels like to its dissenters. Or maybe it just fundamentally misunderstands what makes "Another Day of Sun" so thematically interesting.
- Can we also use Fallon's vocals as comparison when Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling receive complaints about their vocals? This is what someone who can't sing sounds like, kids.
- NICOLE SINGS AGAIN! How overly kind of her to conquer those singing nerves for our brief benefit.
- If only Nicole had worn this dress to the Globes (though she did wear it to the Palm Springs Film Festival).
- AMY SINGS AGAIN! *sigh* Dis-Enchanted can't come soon enough. La La Land haters are almost as annoying as Amy Adams haters.
- LOL dancing Arrival hazmat suits
- Sarah Paulson singing is a thing we have been denied for far too long. And in front of a white Bronco - oh, she did that.
- We see you, Harley Quinn backup dancer! Even the Globes can't avoid this mess that seemingly no one liked despite the box office results.
- UGH. What's worse than constantly hearing about the Stranger Things kids? The Stranger Things kids rapping.
- Aside from the general concept, there isn't much La La Land inclusion into the bit, but that outstretched arms moment is a fun nod to one of the most iconic images of the film.
- Ignore the "Room Full of Stars" bit and bask in the glow of Meryl and Denzel.
- Of course Tina Fey would show up only to be wholy underserved. In 2017, we all help Tina Fey see how Fallon is that friend.
- Because they're two straight men dancing and touching! Get It! It's funny because it's super gross. God, I love comedy.
Overall, the bit was at its best when Fallon wasn't in the way - kinda like the ceremony itself. Doesn't it also kind of borrow a bit too heavily from Oscars and Billy Crystal's hosting? The Globes don't really need a host to begin with, but doing a full production number also shows Fallon didn't really know the room he was playing in the first place. A for effort, Jimmy, but see me after class.
What did you think of the opening number?
Reader Comments (18)
chris, i didn't think fallon was that bad. personally i thought fallon-as-chris-rock was ten times funnier than the actual chris rock (worse was the director of the show cutting to every black celebrity during that bit). but i agree i wish his jokes had been better...i thought net/net he was okay.
ultimately, between meryl's speech and isabelle winning...i kind of forgot about fallon altogether!
It's really tacky when you only celebrate one of your nominees.
Preach Chris, but I LOVE the stranger things kids, so it was great to see them and Millie rapping of course. How can you hate talented kids huh? Lol
Once again Jimmy Fallon is THE worst. He can't sing, period.
This cold open is the best of him that night. He can't improvise when the teleprompter failed. And it's ironic that the funniest bit of the monologue is when he imitated a black comedian.
Also RT suzanne. I like La La Land but this just seems too much.
But you can't have everything. Remember Meryl and Isabelle only and always.
Why is everyone having an issue with him imitating Chris Rock ? I don't get it.
Craver - oh lol I don't hate talented kids, but the endless (and boring) talk of the Stranger Things gang is long-since tiresome. I'd love to see Sunny Pawar singing and dancing in this lineup!
I thought Fallon did a terrible job. It was really nice to see Nicole, Amy and Sarah get their singing on though and was a great contrast to how obnoxious Ryan Reynolds and Justin Timberlake's act was. Straight men being lovey dovy to each other used as comedy is a major major insult. No one finds that funny except dude/bros with shit for brain. Stop it immediately!!!!!
Anyways, this awards show proved that in Hollywood the women are infinitely more interesting than the men.
I LOVED the cold open. After that...meh. But he mostly stayed out of the way, I thought, which was a good thing.
oh, I also loved seeing Evan Rachel Wood as her Westworld character (Dolores), especially the trailing-off robotic stutter. Also a welcome reminder that she can actually sing. That whole number, in fact, was a decent reminder of who in Hollywood can actually sing (and who can't).
Fallon is a terrible bratty talk show host but he was an even worst Globes host. It was silly and uninspired.
Kristen Wiig was amazing presenting with Carell last night, she was so amazing with Will Ferrell some years ago, she is one overall badass woman. Why can't she host?
I actually quite liked the opening number (though I hated Fallon for the rest of the night). If only to bask in the glory of LA LA LAND and to hear some of those actors SING albeit too briefly (Kidman! Adams! Paulson! Wood!).
The Fallon-Timberlake bit fell flat. I'm really so tired of guy-on-guy affection being treated as naughty-funny. The concept was stale 7 years ago and it's still being trotted out.
The only good part of the JT bit was when he imitated Fallon and his "I'm high on a drug and it's called show business" hysteria. Between him and Corden, I've come to appreciate the "nuanced work" of Jimmy #3 (Kimmel).
He wasn't great, but I've been saying "Chastain in the Redmayne" all day! Brilliant!
He wasn't great, but he was OK, and my response was that this article was a bit over-negative (when you dissed the "Stranger Things" kids, I think you just revealed your own personal biases, sorry). So using the word "safely" is a gross overstatement.
And what Rami said. There wasn't anything nasty or racist about the impression, he was just taking on Rock's distinct vocal styles. If Chris himself was offended (I haven't read any news this morning), I will listen and reconsider, but that feels just too precious at this stage.
I watch a fair amount of The Tonight Show and thought I should chime in.
1. Jimmy Fallon impersonates Chris Rock regularly (but not frequently) in his monologue. It's usually about one line, for a few seconds, and it works pretty well. The audience laughs, Steve Higgins laughs, The Roots laugh.
Last night's version was not only unfamiliar to many GG viewers, but also too long. Though the line was funny if you picture Chris Rock on stage saying it, Jimmy's impersonation had weakened by then.
2. Whatever his actual orientation -- I know he's married to Drew Barrymore's production partner -- Jimmy has shown over and over again that he has no romantic chemistry with Tina Fey and quite a bit with Justin Timberlake. The cold open acknowledged that.
Fallon is a terrible host/comedian/singer/human being.
I didn't mind the opening considering how obvious it was to guess (and as others have noticed, we can't have the Oscar do this since that'd just be rude), but I liked the names included - even Travolta's "Saturday Night Fever" moment. Hate the Fallon/Timberlake bit. Unlike some others, these two *do* think it's funny to be seen as romantic together. Like, who would ever, right?
Fallon is a terrible host/comedian/singer/human being.
I didn't mind the opening considering how obvious it was to guess (and as others have noticed, we can't have the Oscar do this since that'd just be rude), but I liked the names included - even Travolta's "Saturday Night Fever" moment. Hate the Fallon/Timberlake bit. Unlike some others, these two *do* think it's funny to be seen as romantic together. Like, who would ever, right?
I really think anyone criticizing the Chris Rock impression needs to get a grip and stop being so tediously precious. Criticize it for being a bad impression if you like, but criticizing a white guy impersonating a black guy with the inference that it is somehow slightly racist is completely and utterly insane.