This Julio Torres Stand-Up Set Is the Most Hilariously Creative Thing You'll See Today
The Fantasmas creator and former SNL writer's comedy mixed the silly and the surreal in his The Tonight Show performance.
Julio Torres is an absolute master of absurdist comedy, and this "My Favorite Shapes" performance from his eighth appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon is proof.
Even if you haven't seen the comedian's Fantasmas TV series, or his 2023 film, Problemista, you're likely familiar with his work: Torres was a writer on Saturday Night Live from 2016 to 2019, occasionally returning to contribute as recently as Season 49. Other fan-favorite sketches penned by Torres include "Wells for Boys" starring Emma Stone, and "Papyrus," which featured Ryan Gosling as a man tormented by sci-fi blockbuster Avatar's font choice (Torres also wrote the cut-for-time sequel).
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With the use of a few unexpected props and his singular point of view, Torres made Jimmy Fallon and the Tonight Show audience howl with laughter.
Julio Torres' airplane curtain impression killed on The Tonight Show
On August 10, 2019, Torres starred in his first comedy special, My Favorite Shapes. Days earlier on August 6, the former Tonight Show special correspondent performed a preview in Studio 6B.
"I have a lot of shapes and not a lot of time, so let's just get started," Torres told the audience, as he sat behind a purple podium onstage. He then proceeded to pull out a series of items that we won't spoil here, but they range from a rectangle that's "having a really bad day" to wee chairs and desks for his crystal collection.
And don't even get him started on the "nasty" little airplane curtain that separates first class from coach.
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Torres has had a lifelong love for shapes — he even wrote a book about wanting to be a vase.
“I’ve always liked objects. They’ve been funny and stimulating to me,” he told Vulture in 2019. As for the items used in his 2019 special, Torres revealed that a few have a history with his former SNL co-workers.
“Some of them were gifted to me. The little glass birds that live in the loft, for example, those were a Secret Santa gift from a friend at SNL," he revealed. "The crystal that sits on the chair was a gift from Aidy Bryant. Jessica, the PR girl who’s a pink jewel, I found in a dollar store in L.A."
When Torres appeared on The Tonight Show in September 2022, he talked about another obsession of his: Hand acting.
"I've seen a lot of actors out there 'acting,' but then I look at their hands, and their hands aren't quite performing," he told Jimmy Fallon before he acted out different scenes using only his fingers and hands.
Watch Julio Torres perform his "My Favorite Shapes" excerpt above, and watch The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon weeknights at 11:35/10:35c on NBC, streaming next day on Peacock.
