Film + TV

Jimmy Fallon almost ruined the 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air' theme song

by Mark Teo

If you’re a ’90s kid of a certain vintage, then you absolutely know every single word in the Fresh Prince of Bel Air‘s theme. Indeed, card-carrying ’90s fetishists hail the theme as the best thing Will Smith has ever created (though much respect to his under-heralded banger, “Switch”), and for good reason: It’s as sacrosanct as slap bracelets, World Famous knapsacks and Frogstomp. All of which brings us to Jimmy Fallon.

Listen: Fallon does a lot of things well. We love, for example, when be brought together Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart for a lip sync contest. When Fallon hits, he hits. But when he misses, he misses spectacularly.

Take, for example, his spoof on the Fresh Prince‘s theme, which was meant to commemorate the Tonight Show‘s return to L.A. At first glance, this makes total sense: The Fresh Prince‘s is all about relocation. He recruited Alfonso Ribeiro, who performs the Carlton dance, and DJ Jazzy Jeff for the skit. And his crew assembled the correct wardrobe, right down to Smith’s neon striped tee and upturned cap. Still, the embarrassing misses begin right as the video begins: Wait, is this skit titled The Fresh Host of Tonight? Did he drop the line, “When a couple of guys who were sick of the cold / Said that maybe I should take the show on the road?” Did he knock on the door of Universal Studios, armed with a shit-eating grin?

The answer to those questions is, sadly, yes. All of which leads us to our comment: NO, JIMMY, NO. BAD FALLON.

Watch the video below.