How Hilarious and Awkward was the Larry King Live Finale?: A Movieline IM Discussion

Which cousin or coworker did you call during the traumatizing Larry King Live finale? You called someone. You didn't make it alone. That I know. Personally, I jumped on IM with Movieline's Julie Miller. Together, we decided Larry King's swan song was the tri-gamete lovechild of CNN Newsroom, Night of a Thousand Stars, and A Clockwork Orange. Scary. Join us and suspender your disbelief.

Louis: Julie! Larry King's special last night was almost the anti-special, no?

Julie: It must have been special for someone. I'm still trying to figure out who that would be though. Maybe Larry's King's son? That was pretty much his SNL tryout.

Louis: And thank God, because Fred Armisen is so fired after last night. His Larry King impression might've just been his Barack Obama with jolted shoulders. But anyway, let's start from the beginning. Weren't Bill Maher and Ryan Seacrest a ridiculous pair to bring on? Did Larry think they'd bond over... shared histories of blondness?

Julie: Yes! I was trying to figure out why Bill Maher and Ryan Seacrest were the warm-up crew. I get that Ryan is kind of Larry's wingman. Or flyman. Or whatever they rambled about for 20 minutes.

Louis: But if you bring in the pandering Seacrest, you can't sit him next to the scoffing Maher. That is bad Guest Shui.

Julie: Observation: I get that most of the people on the show last night had some kind of relationship with Larry, but I was disappointed that movie stars weren't taking advantage of the free publicity. I expected Reese Witherspoon, Elle Fanning or Justin Timberlake to stop by, send Larry off and then slip in a plug. I expected more celebrity, less awkward satellite moments.

Louis: And more silly suspenders and glasses!

Julie: Important trivia: Larry tweeted that the red suspenders he wore last night were a gift from Bon Jovi.

Louis: Uh, where was he last night? We were stuck with Barbara Walters and Brian Williams. They were boring shills and it was too late in the day for Larry to remember them.

Julie: My favorite satellite moment was when Regis Philbin appeared, talked for five minutes about how he and Larry bonded long ago over their mutual love of all WWII songs. Then Regis proceeded to break into song, throw to Larry --- and Larry did not know the words.

Louis: Oh, lol. And Regis tried compensating with his, "Larry! C'mon, old boy! I'm gettin' the cane here!" thing.

Julie: Yes.

Louis: And Larry was just like, "I. Am. Hungry."

Julie: Second favorite satellite moment: Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that it was Larry King day in California. And Larry responded by growling, "Say hello to your wife."

Louis: HA. I loved that Arnold had a Larry King Day certificate. You know, to make it official. He pointed at it too, for extra effect. Maria was probably stringing up the tinsel for Larry King Day. But wait, wait: I just had a revelation.

Julie: ?

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