Drew Barrymore's Paramount+ 2024 Super Bowl Commercial Is A Wild Ride
Star-studded 2024 Super Bowl commercials have already hit the internet, garnering lots of attention. For instance, Kris Jenner's Oreo commercial reminded us who the OG momager is. Paramount+ shared one of their own Super Bowl commercials ahead of the big game, and although Drew Barrymore doesn't want to return to acting to focus on her family, she lent her talents to their advertisement. It's a wild ride that also stars Sir Patrick Stewart, quarterback of the Miami Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa, and many more. In the ad, "Sir Patrick Stewart Throws a Hail Arnold," a group of entertainers are stuck trying to figure out how to scale the next stretch of the imposing Paramount Mountain — a location explored in prior Paramount+ commercials.
When Tagovailoa is unable to throw a grappling hook high enough, he laments, "If it were a football, I'd be able to reach the top." That inspires Stewart to look at the titular cartoon character from "Hey Arnold!" and remark, "What about a football-shaped head?" Arnold seems nervous, and Stewart adds, "We throw the child."
Although Knuckles the Echidna from "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" and Lieutenant Jim Dangle from "Reno 911!" (played by Thomas Lennon) are on board, Barrymore shuts down the idea since "You can't throw a child." Stewart snaps, "Barrymore, shut your face! Unless you prefer to freeze to death."
There's a musical guest appearance
Drew Barrymore and Tua Tagovailoa make their anti-throwing Arnold stances very clear in the commercial. Still, Sir Patrick Stewart overrules them and rips off his jacket, showing off a personalized, vintage football uniform. As he prepares to throw Arnold, Creed band members Scott Stapp and Mark Tremonti begin their song "Higher." Stewart throws Arnold toward the top of the rock face and sings his own lyrics to the song. Thomas Lennon as his "Reno 911" character and Jeff Probst from "Survivor" perform air guitar, and Barrymore hesitantly sings along.
Sadly, Arnold doesn't make it over the mountain. But he flashes a thumbs up and provides a weak, "I'm good." Another cartoon, Peppa Pig, looks uneasy when she becomes the next candidate to be thrown.
The wild commercial's reception has been positive so far. One fan on X, formerly Twitter, replied to an upload of the commercial and remarked how the advertisement needed Uncle Rico from "Napoleon Dynamite" (played by Jon Gries) at the end due to his character's insistence that he can throw a football that high. Another said, "First time Picard has come up short," referring to Stewart's "Star Trek" character. In the YouTube video comments, one fan pointed out a possible plot hole: "I'm surprised no one brought up the fact that Knuckles is a climber who could easily scale the wall in seconds."