Banned from Fox News, John Lithgow’s Rudy Giuliani stumbles onto The Late Show
Lithgow's penchant for playing drunken, off-the-rails public figures in decline careens on
TV News John Lithgow
Esteemed actor of stage and screen John Lithgow seemingly can’t get enough of portraying larger-then-life historical figures. It makes sense, as Lithgow himself has always been the looming, booming go-to guy for garrulously oversized everymen, villains, and comic heroes. After all, who else could provide an imposing foil for everyone from Dexter Morgan, to Buckaroo Banzai, to Queen Elizabeth II, to Bigfoot? But, in recent years, Lithgow has taken his penchant for historical hamminess in a more topical direction, popping up on late-night TV to pillory former Trump administration lawyer, former New York Mayor, and current laughingstock and about-to-be-disbarred cautionary tale, Rudy Giuliani.
Thursday’s Late Show saw Stephen Colbert largely giving the night over to his illustrious guest, as the co-star of upcoming Martin Scorsese historical drama Killers Of The Flower Moon regaled Colbert’s audience with tales of leaving Glenn Close in the lurch on Broadway and some limericks and doodles from the newest book in his best-selling, GOP-bashing poetry side-hustle, A Confederacy Of Dumptys: Portraits Of American Scoundrels In Verse. The rhyme “lardacious baboon” and “took his family off to Cancun” should be clue enough to figure out one such Republican reprobate.
But when Lithgow does Colbert these days, you’re looking out for one right-wing scoundrel in particular, and the Bombshell star was once more up for the challenge of channeling Rudy Giuliani’s latest series of very public self-humiliations. Lumping in the disgraced former mayor’s impending $1 billion lawsuit from slandered voting company Dominion, Giuliani’s new hustle selling incoherent Cameo videos for $325 a pop, his lawsuit-wary ban from even Fox News, and that slurred and rambling public appearance that had everybody assuming Rudy was on the sauce, Lithgow donned the bald cap and huge, slipping dentures once more.
With Colbert playing baffled and slightly concerned straight man, Lithgow’s Giuliani vociferously denied being drunk during his impression-heavy, flop sweat-soaked stand-up set (which was intended to be a September 11 memorial), all while incessantly consulting his “chief of staff,” who looked suspiciously like a glass full of red wine. “I never get drunk! Never, ever, ever!,” asserted this Giuliani, explaining, “I only drink to provide an excuse for the way I act!” Can’t argue with that one, say those praying that Giuliani represents himself in court when the Dominion lawsuit comes around. Sadly, that may not be possible, as Giuliani’s years-long cannonball into the murk of conspiracy theories and authoritarian sycophancy sees noted hotel room shirt-tucker and Four Seasons Landscaping event coordinator Giuliani facing disbarment.
“What? No! You can’t ban me from bars!,” Lithgow’s Giuliani shrieked in horror, quickly consulting his “legal team” (another glass of red), and quickly pivoting to a mid-interview Cameo in order to help pay for his in-progress financial disaster. Sadly, old pal Donald Trump ponied up the fee to have Rudy dutifully debase himself once more, just for old time’s sake. (One can only hope Rudy got Trump to pay up front.) Lithgow clearly loves going over the top with his heavily embellished contempt for the guy who, unprompted, slurred to a bewildered 9/11 crowd that, sure he used to hang out with accused pedophile royal, Prince Andrew. (And was filmed recently shaving in the JFK dining area, something this Rudy dutifully aped by whipping out an electric nose hair-trimmer mid-sentence.) And if it isn’t the subtlest characterization of John Lithgow’s storied career, well, that’s only appropriate for America’s Mayor as he shambles off into historical disrepute.
18 Comments
Aren’t we done talking about Giuliani yet? You can’t really do anything funnier than that Four Seasons press conference. At this point it’s just beating a long dead pile of former horse. Lithgow is better than sad impersonations, or at least I thought he was
Yes it’s beating a dead horse. But sometimes that horse can never de dead enough, so we keep beating away.
Especially on late-night comedy. Just ask Dick Assman.
Why yes, my name is Hugh Jass.
Ask TFG about beating a dead horse—he’s still doing it right now.
I dunno, him bringing up Prince Andrew completely unprompted and going from “I never met the guy” to “except for when I partied with him” in like two sentences was pretty great.
If the dead horse keeps trying to prove that the Kentucky Derby was rigged, it hasn’t been beaten enough. Like you learn from any zombie movie, you keep swinging until the twitching stops.
It’s sad to see the depths Colbert has fallen to.
Pretty good but the Laura Benanti version of Melania Trump is still the gold standard
I did not know that was a thing I needed.
Jump to 2:50https://www.cc.com/video/7qmvog/the-colbert-report-john-lithgow-performs-gingrich-press-release
timely
“larger-then-life”?? Go back to elementary school, Dennis, and this time pay attention.
Lithgow is a national treasure
I know its been said a million times that you can’t effectively satirize or joke about the Trump chumps because everything about them is already too ridiculous, but I think in Rudy’s case you can’t effectively mock him because he’s already too funny. Like, Trump was ridiculous but very rarely funny to me, he mostly made me angry, anxious, and occasionally scared. But Rudy Giuliani is fucking hilarious in his ridiculousness and has probably given me more laughs over the last year and change than any single comedian. I hope we get to see every every last dip and twirl of his flaming tailspin into prison/poverty/the grave.
That’s all because Trump had actual power and Rudy had none.
We can’t talk Lithgow and villains and not mention Lord Farquaad.