With the Democratic National Convention barely begun, the “Daily Show” mostly skipped the United Center politicking in the first of its four Chicago-based episodes.
The focus instead was the host city, ribbed by a procession of jokesters who included Gov. JB Pritzker.
In a taped segment, the governor smoothly parried tough questions (“Is ‘The Bear’ a comedy or a drama?”) from Jordan Klepper as the “Daily Show” regular (and former Chicagoan) kept diverting their tour of Wrigleyville into his favorite watering holes.
Their stops included the GMan Tavern, where they sampled Malört, a spirit with an aftertaste Klepper compared to “sucking on the leg of a wet dog.”
In another bit, Klepper condemned political pandering while, like a true hypocrite, shamelessly goosing applause with his references to the Bulls, giardiniera and various brand-name pizza chains.
That one he delivered in front of a green screen, part of the gleaming, brightly lit, star-spangled set miraculously installed amid the worn boards and peeling paint of the 113-year-old Athenaeum Center for Thought & Culture.
The bits of DNC-related material dealt with various sideshows, notably the Planned Parenthood van offering free abortions and vasectomies. “If I’m gonna get my [genitals] operated on,” host Michael Kosta said, “it’s gonna be in a structure that’s 100% not gonna get towed.”
Correspondent Grace Kuhlenschmidt reacted to the display of a giant inflatable I.U.D. near the convention site by confusing a picture of Millennium Park’s “Cloud Gate” sculpture with “a giant clitoris.”
“That’s The Bean,” Kosta corrected.
“Aaaah …. yeah,” she shot back.
The night’s guest, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, kept the vibe light in her exchanges with Ann Arbor native Kosta, who observed that one of Chicago’s great assets is a lake named after her state.
Whitmer urged the host to move back to Michigan “so you and I can re-create the Pritzker-Klepper bar crawl.”
“The Daily Show” airs at 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central and streams on Paramount Plus.
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