S18.E10: Chris Hemsworth, Ron Howard, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Bridges, Blake, Dame Shirley Bassey

[Athena]

Joining Graham on the sofa are Thor star Chris Hemsworth, spearheading the new whaling movie In the Heart of the Sea, and its Oscar-winning director Ron Howard (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind). Plus great American comedian and actress Lily Tomlin, Oscar-tipped for her role in Grandma, top comic Kevin Bridges, and music from Blake and Dame Shirley Bassey, who perform their Christmas single.

[attica]

Gosh, my coal-black heart warmed to see how much Graham respects Lily Tomlin.

 

Ron Howard is a good storyteller. There's something about his accent and demeanor that seems so not-hollywood, even though he is dyed in the wool.

[theatremouse]

For some reason I was surprised Lily had trouble with Kevin's accent since I think of her as someone who studies accents and voicework and whatnot.

[SmithW6079]

This episode was hilarious! I haven't laughed like that in a while. My closed captioning got a workout with Kevin Bridges, but that clip Graham showed of his stand-up made me laugh out loud.

The guests all worked well together, although Lily did seem a little out of it.

At first glance, I wondered who the wizened old man was on the couch until I realized it was Ron Howard. I liked his stories. Graham was wrong, though. We first met Ron Howard on the old "Andy Griffith Show," not "Happy Days."

[peeayebee]

Yeah, I was saying, "No, we first met him as Opie!"

 

I got exhausted trying to understand Kevin Bridges, and then I stopped trying. I felt bad about it, but there you are.

 

I loved those cocktail glasses that Shirley brought out, or maybe the show provided. Anyway, they were very cool.

 

I was surprised when Graham said in the intro that the movie (In the Heart of the Sea) becomes about the men being in a lifeboat and resorting to cannibalism. The previews don't touch on that at all. It looks like the whole movie is just about a battle betw the whalers and the whale.

[attica]

Yeah, I was saying, "No, we first met him as Opie!"

 

I had the same thought, but then I wondered if the Andy Griffith Show ever aired in the UK.  A cursory google doesn't show that it did, fwiw.

 

I would like to go drinking with Shirley Bassey. I bet she'd start belting from the bartop after a couple of rounds.

[SmithW6079]

I had the same thought, but then I wondered if the Andy Griffith Show ever aired in the UK. A cursory google doesn't show that it did, fwiw.

I would like to go drinking with Shirley Bassey. I bet she'd start belting from the bartop after a couple of rounds.

Yeah, but a Google search on Ron Howard would have shown he was a child actor.

I liked when Shirley Bassey started singing "Silent Night" as an example of why her record company wouldn't let her record a Christmas album. Blake were cute.

Did Graham make Dame Shirley snort her drink, with his comment "If you're quick?" when she offered the audience a sip?

[dusang]

Yeah, but a Google search on Ron Howard would have shown he was a child actor.

 

So?  That wouldn't change the fact that the UK audience to whom Graham was speaking first "met" Ron Howard on Happy Days.

 

I haven't seen the episode, I started watching a clip titled "Chris Hemsworth talks about going to prison" (or something to that effect) but within the first few seconds of the clip Lily Tomlin cuts off Chris Hemsworth and redirects to Kevin Bridges in (what I considered to be) a super-awkward way which made me uncomfortable and wary of watching the rest of the episode.  But I guess it works out so I should give it a try.

[peeayebee]

Everyone was laughing about Lily not understanding Kevin, everyone but Lily. As I said, I too was having trouble understanding him, but her seriousness about it made me uncomfortable. She wasn't serious ALL the time, and she's a legend, so it really wasn't a big deal.

[attica]

I took a vacation to Scotland a little while ago, and after a few days in Edinburgh and amongst that musical and delightful accent, I went to Glasgow. By comparison, it sounded like Glaswegians are gargling rocks. It's an amazing difference; the two cities are only an hour's drive apart!

Edited February 24, 2016 by attica

[Mumbles]

 

I liked when Shirley Bassey started singing "Silent Night" as an example of why her record company wouldn't let her record a Christmas album.

 

I think Shirley is great - Goldfinger gives me chills, and love "Jezehel", which Public Enemy samples in "Harder than you Think"- but most Christmas songs require a light touch and not suited for a belter. I felt the same way about the Christmas Song she sang on the show.  Way overproduced, esp for a song celebrating simplicity and small but authentic pleasures.