

Will Arnett, playing a thickheaded suitor to Blair in the Facts of Life episode, offered a brief ad lib while speaking to Jon Stewart that scored better than most of the scripted punchlines (Stewart was playing Carl, a geek who also liked Blair). Indeed, the best moments of the night came when stars broke character briefly or found a way to bring new interpretations to old material. And the night's best bit of surprise stunt casting – rapper Snoop Dogg as Willis' friend Vernon – was inspired, mostly because Snoop is a much better comic actor than many realize. ("Even though he looks 45, he's just 8," Wayans deadpanned about Hart's Arnold in one moment). Damon Wayans, taking over Todd Bridges's role as Arnold's brother Willis, was another surprise, setting up Hart's punchlines as a consummate straight man before landing his own sly jokes.

Hart wrung out every bit of physical comedy he could manage, pretending to struggle while climbing down from a bunk bed and copying Coleman's distinctive gait.

Drummond – you felt the absurdity of the casting bring new laughs. Watching a bearded Hart, running around the stage in a superhero outfit, jumping into the arms of John Lithgow – playing Arnold's wealthy adoptive father Mr. Kevin Hart in 'Live in front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes.'Ĭasting for maximum humor, rather than mimicry
