During his time on Saturday Night Live, Fallon was known for his amusing roles as well as his tendency to break character. Fallon was seen laughing copious times during SNL sketches, a phenomenon that, while showing him failing to keep full composure in these comedy segments, also endeared audiences to him. After developing a fanbase on his Saturday Night Live days, Fallon transitioned into the film acting portion of his career. The result of this process, however, would turn out to be underwhelming.

Taxi Was The First Of A Few Underwhelming Jimmy Fallon Roles After He Left SNL

Taxi Has A 9% Critic Score On Rotten Tomatoes

Fallon’s first role after leaving SNL was in Taxi, wherein Fallon played a cop named Andrew, or “Andy,” Washburn, who has to work on a case with a taxi driver played by Queen Latifah after losing his driver's license. Taxi received dismal reviews, getting a 9% on Rotten Tomatoes with over 100 critics. The Chicago Reader had a particularly distasteful view of Fallon, saying “Fallon seems incapable of playing an actual character.” This marked a sour moment in Fallon's transition to film acting, as it was not met with the same immediate warmth as his SNL roles.

Unfortunately for Fallon’s movie career, Taxi’s negative reception was not a one-off occurrence in his filmography. Taxi was followed by a slew of roles that were lackluster at best. This included parts in Fever Pitch, Doogal, and Arthur and the Invisibles. The common thread between a lot of these roles is that they failed to capture the same level of charm and draw that Fallon had as a character actor on SNL.

Jimmy Fallon’s Late Night Debut Joked About His Poorly Received Movies

Fallon's Transition Into Late Night Was Humorous About His Movie Career

Fallon approached the reception to his films with humor ahead of his Late Night debut. One of the promotional ments for his Late Night debut boasted “You loved him on SNL. You hated him in the movies. Now you’re ambivalent. Please welcome…Jimmy Fallon!” The fact that the network promoted Fallon in this way showed just how much Fallon’s less-than-stellar film reviews had bled their way into the cultural milieu.

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Luckily for Fallon, his career did recover after his Taxi days. Fallon was on Late Night for nearly five years before debuting on The Tonight Show in 2014. Now, Fallon has been on The Tonight Show for over a decade, an impressive milestone given the cultural significance of the show. Fallon’s niche may not have been carved in film acting specifically, but his success on The Tonight Show suggests that it was for the best.