S16.E02: Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Luke Evans, Lenny Kravitz

[maraleia]

 

Together on Graham's sofa: floppy-haired heartthrob Hugh Grant, starring in romcom The Rewrite; Oscar-winning actress and writer Emma Thompson, talking about her new Peter Rabbit book; rising star Luke Evans, currently starring in Dracula Untold; and musician Lenny Kravitz, who performs Strut.

 

[peeayebee]

Great show, as expected. Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant. They should have been the only guests. Heck, Emma on her own would have been enough. 

 

Loved that she appeared on the set of Clash of the Titans as Nanny McPhee. Loved all the photo-bombing. Loved her response to Graham's question about how she cries in her scenes. I didn't know she's written some Peter Rabbit books. I'll have to check them out.

 

I don't know Luke Evans, but I guess I saw him in one of the Hobbit movies, of which I only saw part of one. He told some good stories.

 

I FF'd thru Lenny Kravitz's song.

[theatremouse]

I already loved Emma Thompson but when she was talking about the crying, for me that's basically the best response anyone has given to any question on a chat show ever.

 

Did it bother/distract anyone else when the fly landed on Graham's wine glass behind him?

[Quof]

Did it bother/distract anyone else when the fly landed on Graham's wine glass behind him?

 

 

Have you seen the episode with Steve Carell, Kristin Wiig and Chris O'Dowd????   That stuff is comedy gold.

[theatremouse]

Yes, I have. But that one they noticed, and went with it. This time it was behind Graham. No one noticed/commented (on camera). I kept worrying I'd see a shot later of him drinking from said glass after the fact.

[loriro]

loved the episode! Emma Thompson is always hilarious (the episode with her and Robby Williams is a riot!), and Hugh Grant was also charming.  

 

On a shallow note:  Lenny Kravitz is FIFTY YEARS OLD? Wow... Emma, I don't blame you for drooling a bit over his abs.  

[attica]

Emma's dry delivery of "I'm pretending to be somebody else who is in a state of distress" had me rolling, and good on Hugh for being all 'f'realsies? fwoah'.

 

Basically, every time I think I can't love Emma more, she brings out more to love.

[dubbel zout]

Emma Thompson had a very good couch. She and Hugh Grant have great chemistry. I also loved her squeeing over Lenny.

[TexasGal]

Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant were everything I hoped they would be! They are both so stinking charming and Emma is just hilarious. And Hugh in his glasses...swoon!

[dusang]

I want to be Emma Thompson when I grow up.

[peeayebee]

Me too, and I'm 3 months older than she.

[Mumbles]

I really like Emma, I think she's a great actress and writer, and would love to be at a dinner party with her - but she often exhausts me because she has that trait that many actors have - she's always *ON*. Which could explain her photobombing tendencies. Meanwhile, Hugh Grant is so understated and droll, which is why they are a great pair of guests together.

 

Ah, Hugh. I actually think Hugh re-invented and saved his career after getting caught with the prostitute. He stopped getting the aw-shucks stammering doe-eyed comedic-romantic roles that he had been typecast in, but started getting cast as, and now thrives in, the more fitting irascible rogue roles. (He would have aged out of the ingenue stuff eventually, but rogues can be old). And I actually think he's getting more handsome as he ages. He's probably a dick in real life, but he makes for a fun guest on this show.

 

Lenny Kravitz tries too hard. The vest, the sunglasses, come on already.

[dusang]

Ah, Hugh. I actually think Hugh re-invented and saved his career after getting caught with the prostitute. He stopped getting the aw-shucks stammering doe-eyed comedic-romantic roles that he had been typecast in, but started getting cast as, and now thrives in, the more fitting irascible rogue roles. (He would have aged out of the ingenue stuff eventually, but rogues can be old). And I actually think he's getting more handsome as he ages. He's probably a dick in real life, but he makes for a fun guest on this show.

 

It wasn't really until Bridget Jones's Diary in 2001 that he moved to the "bad boy" roles -- six years after the arrest.

 

Although I do find him strangely delightful, I can't help but recall that Jon Stewart has named Hugh the absolutely worst guest ever on The Daily Show -- Jon noted, "we've had dictators on the show" and Hugh was still more of an asshole.

Edited October 21, 2014 by dusang

[dubbel zout]

Hugh was promoting Did You Hear About the Morgans?, which he knew was a stinker. He didn't hide it, and he didn't want to talk about it. I think Jon was doing a bit of trolling, which doesn't excuse Hugh's behavior, of course. That show was interesting to watch for all the hostility.

Edited October 21, 2014 by dubbel zout

[attica]

Hugh's turn on Inside the Actor's Studio might be my favorite. He was so SO snarky and subversive to Lipton, and Lipton lapped it up, either oblivious or thinking it was praiseful. Which may indicate HG's a dick IRL, but it was certainly a refreshing palate cleanser on a show that is mostly too too sugary.

[JustaPerson]

I was surprised to hear that Luke Evans had done theatre, but I guess I shouldn't have been considering he's British (Welsh to be exact.) Loved Hugh's defensive moment when asked if he had done theater lol

[catray]

This was a great episode!! Emma Thompson definitely overshadowed all the guests but I thoroughly enjoyed them all. I'm behind and catching up but I think this will definitely be one of my favorites from this season. Even enjoyed the story in the red chair.

[paramitch]

Loved this couch and thought it was the most fun in a long time. And the way they made fun of the rainy romantic Four Weddings declaration with Graham and Hugh was so damn funny, especially watching Graham and Grant try so hard to keep their composure under buckets of water.

 

Emma's dry delivery of "I'm pretending to be somebody else who is in a state of distress" had me rolling, and good on Hugh for being all 'f'realsies? fwoah'.

 

Basically, every time I think I can't love Emma more, she brings out more to love.

 

I love that she and Hugh are so honest. They both bring this kind of dry, wry, funny lack of bullshit that I really love. (Another favorite Emma "Graham" moment is still the one where Graham asked her if Arnold Schwarzenegger could act and she blurted out, "Oh, God, no!")

 

Although I do find him strangely delightful, I can't help but recall that Jon Stewart has named Hugh the absolutely worst guest ever on The Daily Show -- Jon noted, "we've had dictators on the show" and Hugh was still more of an asshole.

 

Yeah but I'm divided on this one. Jon and Hugh both seemed to be having converging No Good Very Bad Days here, and Hugh was in addition promoting a movie he was not really happy to be promoting (and was actively ashamed of). I have no doubt he can be an ass, but Grant also apologized publicly almost immediately, something Jon has never really acknowledged. I like that about Grant -- he always seems pretty quick to acknowledge and own his less than stellar moments.

 

Hugh was promoting Did You Hear About the Morgans?, which he knew was a stinker. He didn't hide it, and he didn't want to talk about it. I think Jon was doing a bit of trolling, which doesn't excuse Hugh's behavior, of course. That show was interesting to watch for all the hostility.

Yeah, this.

 

Hugh's turn on Inside the Actor's Studio might be my favorite. He was so SO snarky and subversive to Lipton, and Lipton lapped it up, either oblivious or thinking it was praiseful. Which may indicate HG's a dick IRL, but it was certainly a refreshing palate cleanser on a show that is mostly too too sugary.

 

I loved this episode so much. Hugh's appearance on ITAS is my favorite appearance by anyone, ever, on that show (closely followed by Tom Hanks and his blatant eye-rolling and Kevin Spacey's gentler snark). And I love it precisely because Hugh never for a moment bought into any of Lipton's ass-kissing or bullshit and seemed honestly nonplussed at what Lipton chose to spotlight (basically, a greatest hits list of all the movies Grant was least proud of doing).

 

And, as here, one of the things I really enjoy about Grant is that he's honest about his own work. He has never kept it a secret that he finds Four Weddings and Love, Actually overpraised and that he doesn't think they're very good movies (and since I agree with him, and I'm pretty much constantly alone in this opinion among friends and family members, I adore this). So for instance, back on ITAS when Lipton was going oonnnnn and oonnnnn about "Tell us about your remarkable experiences making that classic film Four Weddings and a Funeral and Hugh kind of shrugs, like, "Um, it was okay," I was rolling. My other favorite moment was Lipton going onnnnn and oonnnnn about "We just adore Julia Roberts here, as we've had her on this very stage, can you tell us how amazing she was to work with?" and Grant, again, was like, "Um. Well. She was okay, I guess. Not really all that."

 

Meanwhile, my favorite moment here was when Emma realized Graham had been a waiter at one of the parties celebrating her stage appearances (I think she was talking about "Me and My Girl"):

 

Emma: "I didn't try to shag you, did I?"

Graham: "No, oh, no no no --"

Emma: "Oh, thank God:"

Graham: "--But I would have if you had!"

 

Just so funny!

[peeayebee]

I just rewatched Hugh Grant's appearance on TDS, and I thought he was funny and charming. It was Jon Stewart who came off badly. I know Jon said that Hugh had been an ass around the studio, so that's probably why Jon handled the interaction poorly. I'd love to see Hugh on ITAS again.