James Corden, like Jimmy Fallon, is someone I like though I'm not a fan of either gent's talk show. To me, Corden's show is burdened by the ambiance of every moment having to be super awesome and every guest having to be the most fabulous person in the world and aren't we having the most smashing, unbelievable time every single second and isn't that dress you're wearing the most spectacular dress in the universe?
Also, they've been sending him out on these remote segments, many of which strive to be in the Letterman tradition…but Corden is not Letterman and I don't just mean in terms of talent. James, unlike Dave, oozes a "nice guy" vibe and a desire to be liked that's in conflict with dragging unsuspecting people into his routines. They do this bit where he goes along on pizza deliveries and gives the people their choice of the pizza they ordered or another pizza which may have something unexpected in the box. Corden seems almost apologetic to be bothering the people with his little game.
When Letterman invaded someone's home, as he did in his earlier days, the segment was about his comments and interaction. With Corden, it's about how the people react to playing the game and not particularly remarkable.
They did one remote recently though that I thought was pretty good, though a bit long. It's all about Corden taking on a role for one evening in a touring company of Phantom of the Opera. He plays a rather petty, self-absorbed version of himself and it's quite a departure from his usual persona…
