What an efficient "The Tonight Show" Jimmy Fallon hosted on Monday.
Thanks to NBC's ongoing Olympics coverage, it was a special five-minute edition, with guest Paul Rudd, and yet Fallon managed to squeeze every bit of life he could out of it, just as Fergie squeezed every bit of life she could out of the national anthem. We're pretty sure it's dead.
Hollywood and Beyond Ridicules Fergie's National Anthem at NBA All-Star Game
View Story"Thank you, please stop clapping, we only have five minutes," Fallon joked at the top. "The show's already over."
Of course, he simply had to talk about Fergie's performance in his two-minute monologue. "Today is Day 11 of the 2018 Winter Olympics," Fallon said. "While it is Day 12 of Fergie's national anthem at the NBA All-Star game," adding, "I don't want to say it was rough, but even Trump took a knee."
With time so tight, Fallon decided he should challenge himself to conduct a one-minute interview, and luckily Rudd was game. In a single minute, he managed to introduce his guest, show a clip from his upcoming movie "Mute" -- out Friday on Netflix -- and even sang a song with him.
It was all about getting to the kernel of the answer and moving on, which Fallon did several times. He did let Rudd plug his film, though. "Let's talk about your new movie 'Mute.' Can you tell us a little bit about it?" Fallon asked.
Jimmy Fallon Takes Aim at President Donald Trump with Bob Dylan Impression
View Story"It's kind of a sci-fi/noir--"
"That's more than enough," Fallon interrupted.
The weirdest thing is that we were totally satisfied with that "Tonight Show" experience. Who needs those other 55 minutes when we can get to the heart of everything that matters in such a satisfactorily-sized chunk?