Does Bill Maher Think Jiminy Glick Is Real?

Jiminy Glick is a character created and played by Martin Short. He has a full backstory, created by Short both specifically for Glick’s show (and movie) and developed through Glick’s various interviews with celebrities. One look at Glick, his backstory, or his over-the-top delivery should make people aware of his inauthenticity. Most interviews he has with celebrities involve them breaking at the silliness. They are in on the joke, usually. I’m explaining all this because I don’t know if Bill Maher knows it.

I can’t think of many people as smug as Bill Maher. He has turned it into an art. The comedian has always been that way, but the older he gets and the more set in his ways, the sooner he would rather smirk and crack a “joke” than simply admit he’s wrong about something. This attitude extends to how he handles jokes about himself. He doesn’t totally lack self-awareness. He does ooze, “I need to get the last word,” with every fiber of his being. Not the best kind of personality for a Glick interview.

Regardless, Maher invited Glick onto his show last week to interview him about his upcoming book. Glick fires a classic one-liner immediately, “This is going to be so exciting for me! Really because I’m used to interviewing celebrities so this is a nice change of pace.” Maher laughs. Everything is going according to plan! This is what Glick does! Then, within minutes, Maher can’t take the jabs at him in jest.

Glick makes a crack about Maher smelling of weed and cheap cologne, and Bill has to point out how it isn’t cheap. After that, Maher tries to take a shot at Glick with a homophobic joke. Then Glick jokes that Maher bashes Harriet Tubman in his book and Maher quickly has to get serious and say that isn’t in there. It’s classic, “guy who can’t handle getting roasted,” behavior.

Maher is laughing for most of the “interview,” but you can still tell when he can’t handle it. Some of the best Glick interviews are when people roll with Jiminy’s schtick. Maher seems almost incapable of doing that. He’s trying to give serious answers instead of letting himself be vulnerable in the moment. I know Bill Maher is not an idiot. He references SCTV at one point, clearly acknowledging Martin Short’s history, and yet he still reacts to Glick in such a bizarre way.

He brought Short there. His hair and makeup team got him prepared with the proper prosthetics. Maher’s writing staff must have written some of the jokes Glick spouts because there are several moments where he is clearly reading them off cue cards. It could have been a segment where Maher could convince people that he has a sense of humor about himself. Instead, it proves the opposite.

Glick’s humor is mean. That’s his brand. However, there is a wink and a nod to it as well. There is a presentational value. When Maher tries to snipe back, it feels more like someone trying to get a cheap shot. There is a callousness to it. A defensiveness that isn’t necessary. It feels like a direct result of Maher’s undeniable smugness, but could it be something more? Could Bill Maher not know that Jiminy Glick isn’t a real person?