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Dana Carvey on Leno: Channeling Robin Williams?
Dana Carvey, known for his spot-on impressions, appeared on "The Tonight Show" last night and shared his comedic gift ... over and over and over.The comic seemed to draw from the Robin Williams school of comedy during his interview (if you can really call it that), interjecting his impressions at random, barely giving Leno a moment to speak. His energy was otherworldly.
While Carvey did get laughs throughout, some might have been offended by his repeated impressions of various ethnicities: Japanese, Chinese, Indian and German, to name a few. The audience also seemed to squirm a little when he did his George Lopez/Mexican bit.
Leno, who handled the non-interview like a pro, also pointed out (when he could get a word in edgewise) that Carvey seemed to gravitate towards the "older" references. Jimmy Stewart, Tom Brokaw, Neil Young and Regis Philbin impressions got some significant airtime. Even Jesus got a shoutout.
Carvey left almost no political impression stone unturned. He did Governor Schwarzenegger, Al Gore (whom Carvey compares to a "gay Forrest Gump"), Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Barack Obama (whom Carvey seems very fond of -- and really nailed the impression. SNL, you watching?).
At the end of the interview, Carvey asked Leno if they made it through all the questions on the list. Leno responded that they didn't even get to the first question.
What did you think of Carvey on "The Tonight Show"? Did he make you crack up or cringe?
To watch Carvey's high octane "interview" with Leno, watch below:
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I don't think they squirmed during the Lopez bit. I like Dana Carvey, but his Lopez joke was pretty lame (and he did one of the worst things a comedian can do: repeat a joke that bombs in the hopes that the audience will laugh the second or third name you say it). I think the audience felt the same.
I think the funniest bit was him asking Leno if they got through all the questions on the list!
Leno is notorious for being a poor interview. He never asks any follow-up questions. He just smiles/laughs/nods and moves on to the next unrelated question. Letterman and Ferguson do a much better job of being "conversational", as they say.
carvey is a big idiot I'm Mexican and all the Spanish words he was trying to say did not make any sense he just mad cuz us Latinos are coming while.... what is he doing again???
Dana Carvey has always been a brilliant impressionist. The way he analyzes a person traits is dead on. His impression of Obama is perfect, and the way he figured out that Obama overstates the obvious instead creating a quick pitch was brilliant. He's right Obama needs a catch phrase.
Look, I'm a minority, so I could be offended by his impressions. But, I wasn't. Yes, the George Lopez one was not really funny. But, I really don't think he was being racist. He was basically making fun of EVERYONE. So, it's all good. Personally, I laughed out loud and think his impressions are great. JMO.
Jay had the last laugh.
I didn't like how the media and his peers ganged up on him.
I thought he was great personally and it just makes me sad to think that no-talent hacks like Adam Sandler make 20 million a movie while one of the most talented and funny performers in SNL history is still plugging away on the standup circuit. Carvey has more talent in his pinky than Sandler or Ferrell have in there entire bodies.
Well said that Leno mastered the non-interview. That's all you can do with someone who is basically just doing a stand up routine while sitting in a chair. Actually he kept standing up because it was just a routine. That's why it was awkward. The second interview was with Kardashian who actually talked about her life which is kind of interesting at the moment, but Carvey kept butting in with non-sequitur interruptions. He actually had to ask the audience for some applause after one of his jokes falling dead-silent flat. When it comes to pre-prepared material, he great, but he can't go with the flow of the show.
I think George Lopez himself is quite offensive. That anyone would find Lopez funny is even more appalling.
Carvey was trying bits of his new standup act and Leno was just feeding him topics to redirect him and keep him going. He was trying material to see what worked (Stewart, Obama, Arnold) and what did not (Lopez). This was no interview. Rodney Dangerfield did the same thing with Carson, interviews were secondary.