Fridays on The Late Show are a sneaky grab-bag of laughs, where Stephen Colbert plugs in some leftover or stored-up bits from previous shows and skives off after the monologue, that sly boots. On Friday’s show, Tuesday’s guest Emilia Clarke miraculously popped back in to play some Game Of Thrones-themed Friday puppy adoption games, while Hank Azaria had to be reminded mid-appearance that their pre-taped interview would actually be airing two days after the third season of Brockmire premiered on Wednesday. Azaria also revealed that his myriad Simpsons voices slot in perfectly when reading The Wizard Of Oz to his young son. Moe is the Scarecrow, naturally.
But Colbert appears to have reached all the way back to Jeff Goldblum’s typically memorable February 15 appearance for Friday’s bit (Goldblum’s wearing the same black-on-black tie/shirt ensemble), a tax-time-sensitive commercial for a live tax preparation service—featuring Jeff. In the bit, which starts off suspiciously like a bit of product placement for a certain real-life tax service, the fictional competing company puts harried taxpayers in touch with, not a certified tax expert, but a charmingly scattered movie star whose advice trends more toward Jeff Goldblum trivia and scat singing. And while tax season is both confusing and financially stressful for those not plutocratic enough to receive some unneeded Republican largesse, wouldn’t it be more helpful to have Jeff Goldblum riffing that “life insurance finds a way” instead of some stuffy CPA patiently explaining every boring detail that might keep you from getting audited? At least for a while. Then call a CPA. As adorably eccentric as he is, Jeff Goldblum will not keep you out of jail.