As rumors swirl that Jay Leno may finally depart The Tonight Show so that Jimmy Fallon can take over, you'd think things between the two of them would be tense, at best. But somehow-- whether through corporate wrangling or a genuine desire to get ahead of the news cycle-- the two have actually teamed up for the first time ever, producing this very silly but weirdly soulful parody of West Side Story's "Tonight" that addresses all those rumors.
Of course, they don't actually manage to confirm anything within the duet, because it would be a little too cutting-edge for a viral video to actually break news. But in case anyone thought that the rumors about The Tonight Show's future were just press nonsense, Fallon and Leno's participation in this means it really is happening, and that it's highly likely Leno has accepted the transition this time. Leno was reportedly bruised by how badly he came across when NBC attempted to move him to primetime pre-empt Conan O'Brien's short-lived Tonight Show tenure, as documented in the book The War for Late Night. If Leno came across badly opposite the genial but prickly Conan, it's hard to imagine what a monster he'd seem to be fighting the ever-cheerful Fallon; even if he doesn't want to give the show over to the new kid, Leno surely knows he can't win the PR battle.
Which is how we get weird videos like these, with both men's voices dubbed over (Fallon can sing, but not quite like that) and Leno really giving his all in the performance. I was entertained by it, since I have a soft spot for musicals in general, but I have no idea how it's supposed to bridge the gap between Leno's older audience and Fallon's younger one, given that it's from a musical made half a century ago. But if musical parodies are becoming a new thing among late-night hosts at NBC, I can't wait for Seth Meyers to show us his version.
