Too Soon

Now two weeks into his first season as host of the Late Night, I can say with a clearer mind that Jimmy Fallon is not a great host, though I can't quite put my finger on exactly why that is. It may simply be that he's just not funny enough. Sure if you give him a few days and a pen he can probably write a laugh inducing sketch, but he's not good at being ad-hoc funny or even ad-hoc charming, which were two of Conan O'Brien's strengths. He also rushes his lines a lot and speed reads the cue cards. Nothing he does on the show seems natural, but instead horrendously forced. He seems like he wants to succeed, and he's trying really hard, but maybe that's the problem? Maybe he's trying too hard? I think he might be better served as a writer or a "digital shorts" kind of comedic actor. He's too awkard live.

I'm still rooting for him to figure it out. I'm sure peforming live every night has a certain relaxation learning curve, and I'm hoping that Jimmy can find his niche.

Here's a particularly awful bit: The Wheel of Carpet Samples Part 1
and Part 2

and let's contrast that with an example of where Fallon shows potential: The Gadsden Purchase