I’ll be frank, I’m not the biggest fan of the Oscars, which is a weird thing to say considering I write about movies and TV shows for a living. I just don’t get much out of watching the ceremony itself, and I’d rather learn who won each category after the fact and maybe play some of the acceptance speeches. But with Conan O’Brien hosting the 97th Academy Awards, I now feel much more inclined to watch, as he’s one of my favorite comedic talents. Today marks exactly four weeks until this special day on the 2025 TV schedule, and it just occurred to me that there’s a long running gag from O’Brien’s talk show years that I hope is incorporated into the show.
The world knows Paul Rudd as a talented actor from movies like Clueless, Anchorman, The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, as well as TV shows like Parks & Recreation, The Shrink Next Door and Only Murders in the Building, not to mention the fact that he still looks ageless in his mid-50s (which he attributes to sleep, weight, diet, weights and cardio). But longtime fans of Conan O’Brien are also well familiar with Rudd’s penchant for showing the same clip from 1988’s Mac and Me when chatting with the multi-hyphenate.
What Is The Mac And Me Gag?
Here’s what happens: Paul Rudd sets up a clip from some project he’s promoting, but it’s actually just a scene from the critically-dreaded ET ripoff when a boy named Eric loses control of his wheelchair, rolls down the side of a cliff and falls into the lake below, with MAC looking shocked about this at the end. Rudd has been doing this since 2004, when he was playing Mike Hannigan in Friends, as seen below:
Rudd would break out that clip when he was appearing on NBC’s Late Night with Conan O’Brien and TBS’ Conan, and sometimes he’d even tweak it in amusing ways, like when he spliced Ant-Man footage into it in 2015. He even played the clip when appearing on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast, which was hilarious since, as O’Brien pointed out, it’s “a visual joke.” I have to share that one, too:
I can’t get enough of the Mac and Me gag after all these years, and I know I’m not alone. And it’s not just the use of the clip itself that’s funny, it’s how much Rudd has committed to this and plays it as straight as possible both before presenting the clip and even afterwards. It’s so beautiful in its simplicity.
How I Want The Mac And Me Gag Incorporated Into The Oscars
I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me when Conan O’Brien was announced to be hosting this year’s Oscars, but for whatever reason the Mac and Me gag popped up in my head recently, and it didn’t take long for me to draw a line from Point A to Point B. So yes, I absolutely want that clip incorporated into the ceremony. Here’s the thing, though: Conan can’t know about it.
Here’s what I envision happening: Paul Rudd is brought on the stage to set up a clip, perhaps for one of the Best Picture nominees, like The Brutalist or The Substance. Or maybe he can do this while presenting one of the categories, either on his own or with an onstage partner. In rehearsal, everything goes as it’s supposed to, but when O’Brien’s not around, the team putting the Oscars together secretly arrange for the Mac and Me clip to be shown. You know Rudd would absolutely be game for this, and that’s assuming he hasn’t already contacted people about making this happen. And the thought of a camera pointed at Conan’s face as he realizes what’s happening is priceless.
The 97th Academy Awards air Sunday, March 2, so whether I watch it live, be it on ABC or with my Hulu subscription, or watch portions of it afterwards, I’m hoping Paul Rudd gets to bring his Mac and Me shenanigans to the upcoming awards show. This would be the biggest platform yet to show the gag, and thus way too good of an opportunity to pass up.
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