There are moments in this wild, crazy life that just feel right, somehow, as though everything comes together to create an instance of perfect harmony. One such moment: this humble writer asking Rob Riggle if a hot dog is a sandwich while standing next to a fake mermaid at a poolside party in Beverly Hills, California.
Riggle was promoting Rob Riggle’s Ski Master Academy, a Crackle series that... well, just watch the trailer. This is definitely a person to whom such a question can be easily volleyed.
The show looks nutty, and stupid, and like it’s probably pretty damn funny—maybe very funny, depending on what’s going on with Brian Urlacher’s hair. (Chicago billboard joke!) Riggle being funny is not news—he was one of The Daily Show’s most reliable bright spots during his tenure as a correspondent for the show. What is news is the roster of regular and rotating performers he and the folks at Sony Crackle have enlisted for this oddball venture. (Hey, Eliza Coupe! You’re amazing! Hope you’re well!)
Rob Riggle’s Ski Master Academy premieres Aug. 23 on Sony Crackle. Rob Riggle’s answer to the hot dog-sandwich question premieres now, below.
The Takeout: Is a hot dog a sandwich?
Rob Riggle: Wow, this is a question. This goes back to Plato, I believe. I don’t think it is, but I know people who are absolutely adamant that it is a sandwich.
TO: So why is it not a sandwich?
RR: I don’t even know what category to put it in. It’s easy to say it’s a sandwich, because then it’s part of a family, if you put it in that category. So if it’s not, then what is it, is the next question. And there’s no good answer there, because there’s no good category for it. Unless you put it in the summer sausage category, but there again, we’re skating on thin ice.
TO: So if forced to choose, you say, no, not a sandwich.
RR: No.
TO: No overlap in the Venn diagram at all.
RR: I really don’t think there is. Now, I know, I know. Bread, meat, bun, fa la la la la. But by the way, I am open-minded. If someone can present me with a quality argument, I could change my mind. I can be swayed. But as I stand here before you now, I will have to say that I don’t see it as a sandwich. I see it as a standalone entity.