Amelia Dimoldenberg made Andrew Garfield disappear into oblivion

The best Date at the chicken shopIt's the ones with guests who endure being forgotten by Amelia Dimoldenberg.
Photo Illustration: Vulture; Photo: Amelia Dimoldenberg via YouTube

Well, it happened. Andrew Garfield came by Date at the chicken shopAmelia Dimoldenberg's comedy interview show on YouTube, in which she subjects celebrity guests to a simulacra of awkward first date conversations and well-staged scolding. There's a fair bit of lore leading up to this encounter: Garfield and Dimoldenberg shared two fleeting public meetings that were brimming with chemistry — he is a fan, she is a fan; They both exchange cat-and-mouse flirtations on the red carpets where she works as a correspondent — that it almost made too much sense to actually bring him on the show, especially now that he has a movie to promote. The buildup meets the payoff when Garfield finally experiences the full Dimoldenberg experience, and as you'd expect, the resulting encounter is suitably charming. (Dimoldenberg: “I knew you would do that.” Garfield: “What, be aware of all your 'moves'?”)

It's a smart turn from Garfield, as he's an actor who's currently proving his reputation as a vulnerable guy, despite keeping his personal life highly private since splitting from Emma Stone almost a decade ago. The actual date is (like most) uneventful Chicken shops), and Garfield plays the whole “We could have actually had a real date” card a little too often for my taste. But the appearance ultimately illustrates something about Dimoldenberg as a public figure. She is now ten years and almost 100 installments old Date at the chicken shopand as this entire Garfield news cycle shows, she is preternaturally good at crafting narratives around the show. Whenever a Date at the chicken shop As the arc runs its course, she's proven herself to be the kind of performer who can survive it and, like a romantic comedy of sorts, Hydra, produce a whole lot more in its place.

Dimoldenberg continues to play a certain game Chicken shop DateThis usually involves running the gauntlet of questions to guests that one might expect on a real first date (horoscope, pets, “What's your type?”, etc.). Except, of course, that everything on the date is designed a little off-center. Instead of a cafe or restaurant, Dimoldenberg meets her guests in “chicken shops,” the quintessentially British genre of low-rent, greasy food outlets, and rather than portraying the interview in a straightforward manner, she adopts a heightened, spikier version of herself. What unfolds usually follows the rough form of flirtatious banter, but Dimoldenberg's gambit is largely to create the conditions for awkward moments that destabilize her guests. When it's really on you, the effect is like a knife stab. So you get that viral aspect of Jack Harlow's spot, in which she responds to his banal expression of interest in Little Free Libraries – “I've never done it before, I just like walking past it” – with “Can you read?” It's a delicious beat, made even funnier by the fact that Harlow already seems like a guy Really into yourself.

Dimoldenberg's approach is to elicit memorable moments from most guests through a personality refined to a T: a dry, feline interlocutor who constantly vacillates between disinterest and exasperation, enthusiasm and annoyance, curiosity and acrimony. (To baby-faced Manchester rapper Aitch, who she actually dated for a while: “You look a bit like a prawn.”) Over the years, as Date at the chicken shop has grown in stature, as has Dimoldenberg's development as a character on the show, as she attracts guests who don't necessarily fit the fantasy template of a date. When he works with Cher, Dimoldenberg immediately slips into the role of a younger person who asks an elder stateswoman for dating and life advice. (She: “I once had a really terrible kiss with a guy…” Cher: “English?” She: “Yes.”) Along with Sabrina Carpenter and Jennifer Lawrence, she laments the misery of dating. But the show retains its true tension when the guest sticks to the generic fantasy template of a date; that is, straight, younger guys. It is debatable as to how “good” Chicken shop Guests are the ones who can effectively challenge Dimoldenberg when it comes to outdoing her character – or, as in Eric André's case, completely derailing the show. But I've always thought that the best guests are the ones who are forgotten. The show really becomes a blast when it towers over its guests, as in the case of Paul Mescal, the Irish hunk whose public persona is marked by a desire to disappear. Mescal, who exudes a shy energy on camera, doesn't seem to quite know how to deflect Dimoldenberg's jabs so effectively; Barely a minute into the episode, he's caught choking on his drink from nervousness.

Dimoldenberg has spoken elsewhere about her influences, which are easy to see in the show itself. Date at the chicken shop has the flat comedic aesthetic of mockumentaries This is Spinal Tap And Best in show. Leslie Knope, Amy Poehler's character in Parks and Recreationis an important point of reference, and you can tell that in part because her persona is someone who is as much in on the joke as the joke is on her. Zach Galifianakis Between two ferns is perhaps the most direct analogue in terms of conceit, but there is a notable difference in how Galifianakis is at her funniest as a grumpy troll who knocks others in the knees, while Dimoldenberg is at her most interesting when it's hard to tell whether she's adhering to kayfabe or actually being herself. This permeability runs through Garfield's entire appearance and contributes to the fantasy kick of the episode. He repeatedly tries to steer the conversation to focus on Dimoldenberg's experiences with the show and her personality, to which she responds alternately with a serious answer and a redirecting characterization. All of this once again illustrates to what extent Date at the chicken shop is somewhere in the late stages: there's enough mythology within and around the show's conceit that the meta-show is just as interesting as the show itself.

Garfield's episode marks the end of this particular narrative arc for Dimoldenberg, which also plays out in places far beyond Date at the chicken shop. It probably won't be the last of its kind, but it raises the interesting question of whether the YouTube show could run long-term. To Date at the chicken shopDimoldenberg plays a character who is fearless and uncompromising in her search for a partner, and here we end up with Garfield, who emerges as one of many possible Mr. Bigs in the fictional sitcom universe she has cultivated for years rejected entirely, but not quite promoted to primary love interest either. (“I think we should be friends,” Dimoldenberg says at the last minute. “Okay,” Garfield replies sheepishly.) The show can and will last beyond this point because there will be more and more celebrity guests with projects, which needs to be realized, but as far as the Dimoldenberg character is concerned, it's fun to think about where she can go from here. It's not a fantastic thought experiment, as the line between Dimoldenberg as a person and as a persona is already quite thin. In many ways it reminds me of how Stephen Colbert played his incorrect-right personality The Colbert Report Years: Relaxed, with a wink, but with determination. When he finally shed the cover to take power Late at nightIt seemed like a long time coming, but it didn't feel that long either.