Jamie Lee Curtis and Jimmy Fallon brought a satirical twist to late-night television on Wednesday night, parodying A24’s documentary You Can See Everything in a sketch that saw the actress take on the role of disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.
During an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Fallon channelled comedian Nathan Fielder, while Curtis adopted Holmes’ distinctive mannerisms and voice, complete with a blonde wig and an intense gaze directed at the host.
The sketch centred on an awkward exchange in which Fallon’s Fielder-inspired character repeatedly questioned Curtis about her reasons for appearing on the programme.
“Now, be honest. Do you really want to be on the show tonight?” Fallon asked.
“Of course I do. I love talking to you,” Curtis replied in a Holmes-like voice.
Fallon then pressed her on whether she had appeared merely to promote her new show, Newlyweds.
“No, I’m engaging with you as a human being,” Curtis responded. “Why would I deceive you? There’s no reason for me to do that. There’s nothing for me to deceive you on.”
After briefly concluding the conversation with “Good chat,” Fallon delivered one final question: “You’re being real right now?”
“I’m always being real,” Curtis answered.
As Fallon prepared to leave, Curtis broke character with an exasperated outburst, shouting, “Thank God! Fuck, what an asshole!”
The exchange provided a comic take on the uncomfortable interactions and psychological tension associated with Fielder’s documentary, which examines Holmes and the controversy surrounding her former blood-testing company, Theranos.
Curtis promotes new NBC sitcom
The appearance also gave Curtis an opportunity to promote Newlyweds, her new NBC sitcom, which premiered on October 23.
The series, starring Téa Leoni and Tim Daly, is described as “a later-in-life love story about a free-spirited woman and a buttoned-up professor who marry impetuously after a whirlwind courtship.”
Curtis is set to appear in a recurring guest role and also co-created the series alongside Gail Lerner. Lerner was reportedly fired from the production earlier this month over “creative differences”.
In a statement following the news of her departure, Lerner described her time working on the programme as “the most joyous TV experience of my life.”
Documentary draws critical and commercial attention
You Can See Everything, which opened in cinemas on October 16, has attracted considerable attention from critics and audiences, with the film reportedly grossing $45.1 million domestically at the time of the report.
Fielder and co-director Lance Oppenheim worked on the project in relative secrecy for more than three years. The documentary offers an unconventional and unsettling examination of Holmes in the period leading up to the start of her 11-year prison sentence for defrauding investors.
Holmes became a prominent figure in the technology and healthcare industries through Theranos, the company she founded with the promise of transforming blood testing through technology that could perform numerous tests using only small amounts of blood. The company later collapsed amid revelations that its technology did not perform as claimed.
The documentary’s unconventional approach, combined with the public fascination surrounding Holmes’ rise and fall, has helped make it a talking point in entertainment circles.
Fallon and Curtis’ parody brought that cultural conversation into late-night comedy, using exaggerated performances and uncomfortable questioning to poke fun at the documentary’s themes of authenticity, deception and the difficulty of determining whether someone is telling the truth.