Larry David fights with Jiminy Glick on NBC’s Maya & Marty
By Hector Cruz
Larry David tussles with Martin Short’s Jiminy Glick in Maya & Marty premiere on NBC.
Martin Short may be best known for his time on SNL, but one of his most well-known characters derived from his short-lived series The Martin Short Show — the obnoxious celebrity interviewer Jiminy Glick, who later spawned a Comedy Central series, feature film and Broadway play. Short recently reprised the character on his new NBC variety show with Maya Rudolph, Maya & Marty, facing off in a hilarious skit against beloved curmudgeon Larry David during the show’s debut episode.
Glick begins his latest edition of “Celebrity Sensations” by confirming to the “always angry” and “curmudgeon about everything” Seinfeld creator and that his real name, is in fact, Jiminy, as he was “born to people from the Baha’i faith.”
The journalist quickly needles David for always ranting about something, before pointing out that his smile is “like getting an email from my grandparents — it’s all caps.” This leads the comic to comment that Glick looks like “a fat tub on TV” and mocks his obnoxious way of talking, before calling him a moron.
“This is the famous Larry David anger. And are you filled with anger?” Glick asks.
“Rage, Jiminy. Rage,” David responds.
Things quickly escalate from there after Glick makes some anti-Semitic remarks that really get David riled up. “Is it because – and please let me phrase this correctly – because you’re a Jew? Because Jews have rage. I read that somewhere,” Glick says, referring to David’s anger issues. He later remarks: “I didn’t know that you were one-quarter Indian… I bet you’d be Sioux. Because you people sue each other.”
Things take more of a bizarre turn when Glick asks the Curb Your Enthusiasm star whether “urinal dividers take the fun out of urinals.”
“I think it was more fun when there was no wall… to glance over and see what your friend from another land might be sporting,” the interviewer remarks.
Glick even manages to get a dig in at Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, whom David portrays on SNL, comparing him to Statler and Waldorf from The Muppets.
One of the funniest parts of the sketch is when the pair start to throw candy at each other and physically fight, as David intermittently giggles.
“I haven’t really enjoyed one second in talking to you,” David declares at the end of the interview.
Watch the entire clip below:
Related Story: Rudolph, Short warm up for Maya & Marty on Fallon
Although the variety series attracted solid ratings – drawing 6.26 million viewers and a 1.5 demo rating – it received mixed reviews from critics, with the Boston Globe calling it a “bland, pointless and creatively empty endeavor.” The premiere also featured a spoof of the network’s Little Big Shots featuring Kenan Thompson and Jimmy Fallon, and performances by Miley Cyrus and the cast of the Broadway show “Shuffle Along,” but the interaction between David and Short’s Glick was by far the highlight of the episode.
Tune into Maya & Marty this Tuesday at 10 p.m. on NBC with special guests Steve Martin and Tina Fey.