The best part of the Jimmy Kimmel Live show was, hands down, the opening. With Aaron Eckhart and Cat Deeley as the guests it should have been a clear winner. (The musical guest was Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats who performed very well.)
Last night the opening monologue and the requisite “bits” stole the show. Even the chickens in trousers (or pants in American-speak) were funnier than either guest. Jimmy talked about “The Bachelor” and Nick Vyle as the new bachelor. There was a spoof commercial for Vyle.
There was another installment of the “game show” Hostel La Vista With Cousin Sal. A German female tourist competed against a male Aussie tourist. She looked a bit irate when she lost and unamused when she got a chicken with pants as a consolation prize.
Kimmel trotted out “Drunk Donald Trump” and followed that up with a “Drunk Ryan Lochte.:
Trump’s trip to Mexico was mentioned and then the subject of not wearing white trousers (pants) after Labor Day Weekend was brought up. Three chickens dressed in white trousers were brought out on stage.
Aaron Eckhart came out to plug his new film, Sully. Eckhart plays Jeff Skiles, the real life co-pilot along side Tom Hanks’Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger. The Clint Eastwood directed film opens on 9 September this year.
Eckhart spoke of working with Eastwood and how much of a fan he still is of “Dirty Harry.” A clip from the film was shown. Aaron also talked about moving to England with his parents when he was 13. He also talked of visiting Moscow with a friend when he was 15.
The story was amusing but for some odd reason Eckhart was not connecting with the studio audience. Aaron is a brilliant actor who convinces in whatever role he takes on. It is a shame that he could not thaw out the audience.
Cat Deeley came on to talk baby names and the new season of “So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation” and once again, the audience response was tepid to say the least.
Deeley is a personal favorite (She has been since her Ant and Dec Saturday morning kid’s show in Britain.) and she usually is a crowd pleaser. Perhaps two nights on the trot of female celebs talking about their new babies failed to amuse the studio audience.
Cat looked stunning and managed to work in that she is breast-feeding little “Milo.” It also emerged that she and her hubby got into an enormous fight about the baby’s name. The poor child left the hospital as “Baby Deeley” something that did not go down well with her other half.
The show’s finish featured Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats who performed “Wasting Time” on the Samsung stage. There was, of course, no time for Matt Damon.
Jimmy Kimmel Live will feature Winona Ryder, hot off of the Netflix hit Stranger Things and will air 1 September on ABC.
Mikes Film Talk 