Jimmy Fallon – the first four days

The first four days of “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” are in the books, and the first week was somewhere between painful and OK.  On the positive side, it was better than Conan O’Brien’s first week back when he took over “Late Night.”  It’s clear “Fallon” could still use some tweaks, but has potential to develop into a consistent late-night host.  The first four days are available to watch at Hulu.

MONDAY
Guests: Robert DeNiro, Justin Timberlake, musical guest Van Morrison

Show highlights:  Conan O’Brien guesting at the top of the show was a nice bit. Fallon and guest Justin Timberlake have a lot of chemistry, revisiting their “Barry Gibb Talk Show” skit from Saturday Night Live.
Show lowlights: The Robert DeNiro interview was nearly unwatchable, and Fallon’s flop sweat during the interview belied his nervousness.  The monologue wasn’t very strong.

TUESDAY
Guests: Tina Fey, Jon Bon Jovi, musical guest Santigold

Show highlights: A fan sings along with Bon Jovi, accompanied by The Roots, on “Wanted: Dead or Alive.” Tina Fey was funny just being Tina Fey; in fact, she was more comfortable onscreen than Fallon.  A Castle Grayskull reference is always good, as selected by Fallon as background for a photo with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Show lowlights: The monologue still lacks home run material.  The audience fake Facebook updates should have been funnier; Steve Allen pioneered this bit (without, of course, the Facebook logo), and Fallon’s didn’t live up to that.

WEDNESDAY
Guests: Cameron Diaz, Billy Crudup, musical guest Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Show highlights: The interviews with both Diaz and Crudup flowed pretty well.  The dance contest between Fallon and Diaz was funny and fun to watch.  The best monologue of the bunch, with Fallon miming a bowling strike after a successful joke.
Show lowlights: The fake “bromance” novels skit didn’t do anything for me.  While asking for questions for Cameron Diaz from Twitter was a neat idea, in execution it didn’t work.

THURSDAY
Guests: Donald Trump, Serena Williams, musical guest Ludacris