Jimmy Fallon of The Tonight Show has his fair share of games for his guests, but he may have surpassed himself in a sketch that aired on October 5. In a mini trivia game show that he calls “Phone Booth,” Fallon stuffs two celebrities into respective phone booths to answer questions. The catch? Each wrong answer results in a celebrity being joined in his phone booth by another person. The premise alone is silly enough, but throw in Shaquille O’Neal and Hugh Jackman as contestants, and the entire affair becomes ridiculous in the very best way. Check it out!
Yes, the epitomes of handsome and huge were the latest contestants on Fallon’s “Phone Booth.”
The game did seem to be rigged, which was a twist unfortunate both for Shaq and the folks behind the curtain waiting to contribute their size to the game. Not only were they squished into a phone booth with the gargantuan athlete with numerous NBA championships to his name, but unfortunately they were also denied the opportunity to squish themselves in with Hugh Jackman. Honestly, it would have been hard to blame any of them if they had decided to flub the sketch and switch booths.
Well, maybe not the Mets mascot. How much could he really see in that head anyway?
Mr. Met of the New York Mets was certainly not the only famous face to join in the fun as baggage for the two contestants. Alex Trebek kicked off the consequences by joining Shaq in his box, which was actually fortuitous for Mr. O’Neal. Who better to have on your side in a trivia matchup than the long-running host of Jeopardy? Jackman was not quite so lucky when he was joined by a silent member of the Blue Man Group.
Joining the Met mascot, Alex Trebek, and the Blue Man were Megan Boone of Blacklist, Chef Ilan Hall of Knife Fight, and twin brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott of Property Masters.
The one celebrity on stage who did not join in the vertical pileup that was Shaq’s booth or the roomy interior that was Hugh Jackman’s was host Jimmy Fallon himself. Some defense must be given, as he was dealing with hosting duties, but we can’t help but wonder if he would have been able to stop giggling long enough to banter in-booth with either of the contestants.
Indeed, Jimmy Fallon’s trademark contagious giggles that made him so much fun to watch on Saturday Night Live have definitely followed him to The Tonight Show, and his inability to keep a straight face may have been the highlight of the sketch. Sure, Shaq was enclosed in a crowded glass case, and Hugh Jackman looked like Superman who just happened to forget his suit, but Jimmy Fallon cracking up at his own game show tipped the clip over the edge into one that must be re-watched a couple of times.
