That's ONE Opinion

Friday, September 16, 2011

TELEVISION REVIEW

Cooper at his best when he is less playful


Kathy Griffin was a recent guest on Anderson Cooper’s daytime show. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters)

By Matthew Gilbert
Globe Staff / September 16, 2011



There was a question hovering in the air during Anderson Cooper’s new daytime talk show on Tuesday, as he hung out with his pal Kathy Griffin during a “Summer Hot List’’ episode.

The fiery Griffin took the happy, high-ceilinged set of “Anderson’’ by storm, teasing him relentlessly as is her wont. She loves to make the CNN star motor up his now-famous giggle, which sounds miraculously like Wilma Flintstone and Betty Rubble all at once. The two cozily recalled their summer weekend together, and we saw footage of them in the kitchen of Cooper’s summer home, eating hot dogs for breakfast.

During the segment, we also glimpsed Cooper topless as they frolicked together in his swimming pool. Or, I should say we glimpsed Cooper topless again, because the Silver Fox removed his shirt to reveal his pale, worked-out bod at least three times in the course of the episode. Sans T-shirt, he went mud bathing in Colombia, and he paid a visit to a tanning-salon with another guest, Nicole “Snooki’’ Polizzi.

The hovering question became more pressing each time the episode pressed against Cooper’s personal side - when he confessed that he doesn’t like to be touched, for instance, or when he laughed goofily as Griffin asked him, “Do you want to touch me in my no-no place?’’

The question was, Who is this guy?

There is something about Anderson Cooper that is simultaneously likable and unknowable. And I’m not just making a reference to the gossip columns that question his sexual orientation. In the newsier context of CNN, he fits in perfectly and naturally, but in the more touchy-feely world of daytime TV, he comes off like a man from nowhere. Positioned smack-dab in the “Oprah’’ hour, every day at 4 p.m. on Channel 25, he seems out of place.

The show (which Fox repeats the next morning at 11 a.m.) has a reality-show influence, as Cooper opens each hour with his face in the camera as if he’s vlogging. But he projects none of the full-on openness that marks reality TV. This week, he has gone through all the Cooper personality quirks we already know about, via Griffin’s visit and an interview with Gerard Depardieu. The French actor inspired Cooper’s “Gigglegate,’’ his uncontrollable laughter on CNN when he reported that Depardieu had peed on the floor of an airplane near other passengers. What quirks will Cooper riff on next? Hard to imagine.

Cooper’s less playful moments on “Anderson’’ were his best. On Monday, he welcomed members of Amy Winehouse’s family and talked about the late singer’s life and her final days. There was nothing revelatory, but Cooper managed to bring his guests through to the end without compromising his or their dignity. I prefer him when he’s not trying to share himself and make us love him, when he’s focused on others. In those moments, he seems a lot easier to understand.

Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com.