Harry Connick, Jr was so tough on Conan O’Brien; it makes you wonder if they are actually good friends or Connick just has a wicked sense of humor? I must say I liked seeing Connick cut the usually egocentric O’Brien off and make him squirm. It was one-upsmanship at its finest. Connick was discussing his kids, finally having to come to grips with the fact that he’s a man and realizing that he needed to give up dressing as a woman for many years on Halloween. Conan said “it took them that long to figure it out?” Connick, slowing and deliberately putting his hand on Conan’s knee and caressing it, said “Didn’t take you that long!” A flustered Conan, after a very pregnant pause and several facial contortions, said “that’s not really my leg,” thinking he had ended it. In perfect stride, Connick topped him with “that’s not really my hand.” By this point, both host and audience were in hysterics.
There to promote his Lifetime film Living Proof, Connick showed a serious side when talking about the importance of this true story and although there was no clip to watch (hello Lifetime?), he made the film seem very compelling.
Connick does have a biting essence and dry delivery, which made for a very enjoyable appearance. His different approach of teasing and harassing the host was such a welcome change of pace that I wish more guests had the confidence to be bold and take control or make a statement and ultimately an appearance worth watching. Bravo.

Shannen Doherty made quite the first impression on Dave Letterman recently…an impression that started before she had even entered the building. Prior to her actual appearance on the show, Dave and Paul watched video of Doherty exiting her car and crossing to sign autographs for fans. Cameras captured her every move, from her short, shiny dress glinting in the sun to her high heels with the red soles, as wolfishly commented on by Dave and Paul in the slow-mo replay. Unfortunately, first impressions don’t always lead to good second impressions or good interviews.  Doherty wasn’t as “put together” this night as is necessary for a successful appearance on the Late Show.  The look and prep that guests put into hair, make-up and fashion goes a long way on Dave’s turf.  Perhaps, a long day of promotion in New York may have taken its toll.

(Note to publicist: I know schedules are tight and big apple hotel rooms mid-week prices are high, but isn’t a good appearance on Letterman worth one more night in town? – she must at least be getting a decent per diem from the CW based on the money they’re saving on Tori!)

Dave and Doherty did chat about her new show, redux 90210, so she achieved that goal. However, while she did have a few funny stories and retorts (several revolving around shoes), overall she was trying too way hard to be provocative.  You got the feeling she had planned the “spontaneous” moments and even though Dave helped when he could, she couldn’t quite pull it off.  Maybe that’s why she hasn’t been on the show in 13 years.

Doherty needs to learn to lighten up, get a little more rest, and be herself. That would leave the right kind of lasting impression.

Jack Black knows how to make an entrance. Just watch him explode onto the David Letterman stage on his recent appearance – puffing his barrel-chest out, he worked the crowd, did a Kung Fu (Panda) inspired kick/turn and shed his black satin jacket, dropping it carelessly on the floor. He then proceeded to sit in the wrong chair…a nice, humorous cap to the wild antics. When Dave pointed out the mistake, Black shuffled like a reprimanded child, picking up his jacket (which, by the way, was now a gold satin jacket, having been turned inside out) and sitting in the proper spot. He went on to explain that his chest-puffing/gut-sucking-in was to test a new theory of his – that if you do something long enough, it will stay that way, like when you mother said “hey, don’t make that face all the time, it’s gonna stay like that.” When Dave asked how long he’d been trying it, Black said it was a brand new technique and then fondled his large pot belly until Dave asked him to stop “please quit playing with that!” Quite the opening salvo.
They went on to discuss his kids, his multi-colored hair (the result of a Ben Stiller film he just finished shooting) and a yak encounter he had, replete with photo.

I will say that I have never seen a talk show appearance where the object of the promotion (in this case Kung Fu Panda) was discussed as much as this. Dave kept going back to it and all aspects of it. They had clips of Black in the studio recording his voices, many of which he did live on the show, too. They even had a bit set up where he said a phrase live on the show and then had a clip of him saying the same phrase in the recording studio as if he had recorded it earlier. When they came back from the clip, he said “Yes! Nailed it.” Not sure it worked as well as they hoped, but they get an A for effort.

Jack Black is a force, full of unharnessed energy, crazy eyes, clever voices and delivery and sloppy, slangy speech, but he is prepared, funny, imminently watchable and, as Dave said in his introduction, “always entertaining.” That is true.

It’s hard to be humble and cocky at the same time, but Robert Downey, Jr. does it very well. Looking quite dapper in a dark suit and rose-colored tie on a recent Dave Letterman show. Downey was self-deprecating, with comments such as “you’ve come along way, baby” referring to his opening of The New York Stock Exchange that morning, modest, telling Dave that getting back to the U.S. and especially his show was the hit of his publicity trip…and meaning it, and arrogant, describing how he repeatedly balled up the script pages of his new movie, Iron Man, and threw them against the wall.

Now don’t get me wrong, he was charming, using a large and small action figure of himself from the film to illustrate the difference in height between him and co-star Gwyneth Paltrow. Funny stuff.

In the end, his matter-of-fact persona and dry sense of humor drew Dave and the audience in and made him a good guest who interacted well with the host and ultimately, made for a good interview… ego not withstanding.

Watching Marisa Tomei on Conan O’Brien’s show was like being at Kitty Hawk with the Wright Brothers – you thought something good was going to happen, but it never really got off the ground. Not only did she dress in a nondescript frock, but the tone of the whole interview was, dare I say it, boring.

There to promote her new movie War Inc., Tomei actually spent more time talking about the film she’s making now with Micky Rourke, The Wrestler, in which she plays a stripper. Now, you would think, and hope, that would lead to some fun, provocative conversation… not so much. She did manage to laugh and giggle a lot (which is often all one can do when dealing with Conan O’Brien), but not much else. She didn’t even know what clip to set up.

It’s a shame, really, because you get the sense she has so much more to offer. Oh yes, she also plugged the play she’s currently doing on Broadway, Top Girls. Come to think of it, maybe she was just tired.