You gotta hand it to the Late Show makeup department. John Lithgow as Rudy Giuliani is perfection.
And Lithgow hamming it up as "America's Mayor" is on a par with his Buckaroo Banzai character Doctor Lizardo.
Why not start with a total nonsequitur? “I demand a recount. This is massive Rudy fraud!” Lithgow shouts to Colbert.
Realizing he is not making sense, "Rudy" then has a confab with his chief of staff—a large glass of wine.
“Wait, so it’s true that you sometimes get drunk before speaking in public?” Colbert asked.
“What? I never get drunk! Ever, ever, ever! I only drink to provide an excuse for the way I act. Legally, that’s plausible deniability."
In the end, Lithgow's Rudy is reduced to recording yet another Cameo, this time for his former boss, Donald Trump: “Hello, Mr. Former President, this is Rudy Giuliani speaking. Thank you for requesting me on Cameo. I’m excited to, once again, be getting paid to say whatever you want me to. Here we go: I’m a total clown who you’ve never met and I’m a dumb loser, an absolute turd in a cheap suit..."
While the real Rudy shaved in public in an airport restaurant, Lithgow plucks his nosehairs. We don't doubt that the actual America's Mayor will be defying parody that way soon.
