George Clooney was the high point of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert premiere episode. The actor came without anything to promote so Colbert concocted him a fake movie titled Decision Strike. Clooney played the United States Secretary General, who holds the fate of the country and other things in his hands. Each scene consists of him briefly emerging from the same room and delivering exposition as to the exciting events occurring on the other side of the door including defusing a nuclear bomb and making love to a beautiful woman. He insisted there was no CGI.
“I did my own sex. I did my own sex,” Clooney bragged. “In fact, I do all of my own stunts. I think the audience deserves it.”
Clooney demonstrated with another clip showing him hanging onto the same door now labeled airplane door. He attempts to deliver a piece of paper with launch codes into the break of a bird on stick while a fan blows in his face. It’s a level of special effects not seen since his starring role in Return of the Killer Tomatoes.
The rest of the show was relatively low-key, perhaps intentionally saving something for future shows.
“We’ve been working so hard, so very hard to get the show ready for you,” Colbert said. “And I have to say, as long as I have nine months to make one hour of TV, I could do this forever.”
The host said the show would reveal the “real Stephen Colbert” but remnants of the Colbert Report remain. It opened with the host singing an ever-changing duet of “Star Spangled Banner” with Americans from around the country. There was even a little Colbert Report political commentary but without the sarcastic sycophancy. All of it aimed at the easy target Donald Trump. Still guest Jeb Bush came out the loser. Bush seem as boring as ever and even interrupted his own applause. Hillary Clinton reportedly turned down an appearance on the premiere for fear of getting roasted by the fake Stephen Colbert but he seems to be mostly telling jokes at his own expense at least of now.
