Martin Short

Martin Short is today's Sammy Davis Jr. (''Paul Shaffer told me that too,'' he says); he's all showbiz all the time — especially in Jiminy Glick in Lalawood (R, 91 mins., 2005, Sony), his ''improv film noir based on a David Lynch fantasy'' that felt to him like ''taking a risk at something bizarre.''

What's the key to unlocking Jiminy?

The analogy I always use is that he wouldn't say to Bill Clinton, ''Why did you do that with Monica Lewinsky?'' He'd say, ''Should Tyne Daly work more?''

Were there any genius moments it hurt to cut out of the movie?

There was the Ouija board scene where Jan Hooks and I were conjuring up Princess Diana.

There are rumors that in the bedroom scene with Hooks, you actually had sex.

We definitely did. It was hand sex, but that's still sex.

I know Jiminy likes the ladies, but I sense ambivalence.

What's going on? Maybe you're reading your own thing into it. Jiminy is all boy. He's a horny bastard.