Laughing at himself... for a change
Ryan Seacrest is known as a lot of things slick American Idol ringmaster, hotshot radio deejay, ubiquitous E! channel host, but funny guy's not one of them. Which makes his scene-stealing cameo in Knocked Up such an amusing surprise. Even more so because he's the butt of the joke.
Seacrest sends up his pompous image, in the Judd Apatow directed comedy about an ambitious entertainment reporter, whose life is flipped when she learns she is pregnant. She takes her job seriously at E! Entertainment Television but not as seriously as the film version Seacrest, who launches into a riotous rant during a scene that lasts barely two minutes.
Seacrest, playing himself, becomes ticked off on the set when Jessica Simpson throws off his busy schedule by arriving at her leisure for an interview. He angrily suggests that maybe he'll retaliate by asking for her thoughts on an 'exit strategy' in the Middle East.
''I don't understand the young talent in this town,'' the movie Seacrest goes on. ''It doesn't make any sense. I got four jobs hell, I'm more famous than half the people we talk to anyway!''
The rant then escalates into an R-rated diatribe with Seacrest dropping the F-bomb and denouncing the superficial workings of the entertainment industry. The apoplectic host finally has to be ushered into the green room with a promise of a cookie in an effort to calm him down.
Seacrest is not nearly as divalike in real life. ... Or is he?
At the beginning of a telephone interview with the Associated Press, the 32-year-old took a moment to jokingly exercise his authority. ''Hang on one second Linda, 'WHERE'S MY LUNCH?' ... Sorry, just kidding,'' he deadpanned, back on the phone.
