Currently touring to promote Mission: Impossible–Rogue Nation, Tom Cruise stopped by The Tonight Show last night to talk about the movie, discuss the famous plane scene from the trailer, and also get super goofy. Even though Jimmy Fallon’s Lip Sync Battle game has made its way over to Spike TV as a standalone TV show, that does not mean Fallon has abandoned the concept for his main gig. So of course, he challenged Cruise to show off his lip syncing chops in front of a live audience.
Cruise seemed rather perplexed at first, even remarking how ridiculous the whole things is, but damn if he didn’t play to win. He came out swinging with what he, and many others, have dubbed the song of the summer, “Can’t Feel My Face” by The Weeknd. I would never pin Tom Cruise as a Weeknd fan, and he seems a little reserved in his presentation, but you don’t become a major movie star by having shame. It seems it was all a hustle to draw in Fallon and make him think he had it locked up. Cruise’s second song, sadly is not “Old Time Rock n’ Roll” as he teases, but instead happens to be the duet section of Meat Loaf’s “Paradise By The Dashboard Light”, and you better believe he Jekyll-and-Hyde’s that duet. Fallon fought back by calling in Cruise to help him recreate the famous bar scene in Top Gun by singing “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” by The Righteous Brothers, but it isn’t enough to seal a win.
There really is nothing more fun than seeing celebrities act against character, against ego, and against public perception, and I think that is what Fallon does so well on his show. Some may criticize Fallon because his talk show has become more of a random game show, but it really is a nice respite to the constant monotony of celebrities doing press appearances and answering the same questions. Being able to get Tom Cruise to play with him just proves that guests get to have fun on Fallon instead of just sit there and talk about how fun it was making whatever movie they’re in.
Who would you want to see take on Jimmy in a Lip Sync Battle? Let us know in the comments below?
