27 Xs Followed By An L

June 22, 2011 10:56 AM

Billy puts on some new clothes and looks nice for once.

By Erik Fensler, director, writer on the Tim and Eric show, inventor of the Rachel Ray Drinking Game and the original creator of the classic GI Joe re-dubs.

posted by Potomac Avenue (76 comments total)

Okay, that's my second workplace incident today involving barely muffled laughter.
posted by kinnakeet at 11:04 AM on June 22, 2011

I'm sorry, that was stupid.
posted by oddman at 11:06 AM on June 22, 2011 [9 favorites]

Sorry should have labeled it NSFW:Guffaws
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:06 AM on June 22, 2011

JINX
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:07 AM on June 22, 2011

The shorts on that man were HUGE and also he busted right through that door.

/hug /hug /hug
posted by everichon at 11:09 AM on June 22, 2011 [2 favorites]

That really was stupid. Not good, not funny.
posted by cashman at 11:11 AM on June 22, 2011 [3 favorites]

Well-made, stupid, and unpredictable. Me likes.
posted by Rory Marinich at 11:12 AM on June 22, 2011 [2 favorites]

I enjoyed it. Take THAT squares!
posted by jnnla at 11:14 AM on June 22, 2011 [4 favorites]

I would be interested in hearing why people didn't like it.

"Phhhhttt. That sucked!" rarely encourages further conversation.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:15 AM on June 22, 2011 [6 favorites]

That kid looks like a young Paul Bellini.

Maybe it's the towel.

That is all.
posted by chambers at 11:16 AM on June 22, 2011 [8 favorites]

I liked it because it's true. HBS rule.
posted by BeerFilter at 11:19 AM on June 22, 2011

I would be interested in hearing why people didn't like it.

Too much CGI I bet.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:19 AM on June 22, 2011 [2 favorites]

/hug /hug /hug

I read this in that "...swag...swag....swag" voice and it was funnier than that video.

I would be interested in hearing why people didn't like it.

It wasn't funny? The parents hugging 5 times was mildly funny. There was just nothing else funny. It was off key in a poor way, the song was weak, the graphics were stupid (not so poor they were hilarious and not done in a humorous way), the 3 of them were just useless and really the whole concept just isn't even funny to begin with.

Also, ya momma.
posted by cashman at 11:20 AM on June 22, 2011 [2 favorites]

I would be interested in hearing why people didn't like it.
His short are too big.
posted by bonehead at 11:20 AM on June 22, 2011 [11 favorites]

My favorite part was when the pyramid caught on fire.
posted by MrMoonPie at 11:20 AM on June 22, 2011

Also, capris by any name look dumb on men.
posted by bonehead at 11:21 AM on June 22, 2011

I thought they were saying, "douche basketball shorts."
posted by StickyCarpet at 11:24 AM on June 22, 2011

This post reminded me to watch the GI Joe shorts again, so I'm for it.
posted by penduluum at 11:29 AM on June 22, 2011 [2 favorites]

For my permanent Metafilter record: I liked this pretty well.
posted by everichon at 11:32 AM on June 22, 2011

Was this trip really necessary?
posted by crunchland at 11:33 AM on June 22, 2011

the original creator of the classic GI Joe re-dubs.

Shit those were re-dubs?!
posted by shakespeherian at 11:34 AM on June 22, 2011

This is precisely my style of silliness. The off-key singing is what clinched it for me. Thanks for posting!
posted by jbickers at 11:35 AM on June 22, 2011

This was extremely great and I thank you for posting it!
posted by Greg Nog at 11:37 AM on June 22, 2011

Also why is the name 'Billy' so much funnier than any other name?
posted by shakespeherian at 11:39 AM on June 22, 2011

Here's my two cents:

This was almost good up to the point where the kid breaks out of his closet in the shorts. I liked the triple hug, but that truly was the only funny bit.

This got stupid when the kid started to sing because there wasn't any funny reason for him to do it. And just a kid rapping (weakly) isn't funny period. And the ultra-high res graphics with the trumpet has been done to death and better in other videos. Just putting in ridiculous graphics for their own sake is sure-fire comedic death. It's a cop-out.

What would have been funnier would have been to have some real reason for the kid to wear the shorts, like the way UCB had the kid with the enormous penis and all the problems he faced.

Oh, and having the kid break out of this closet like he was coming through a WWF wall was not worth the effort.

In short (basketball short): things are funny the more believable they are. Humor comes from the tweaking of what we know as our daily reality, not full-blown weird overdone special effects and sudden graphic shifts. It takes more effort to take something simple and make it funny than just throw the kitchen sink ADD style at a video. This is why the triple-hug is the funniest part of this piece.

I'll be here for another 20 minutes to take a short Q and A Session before the next speaker, thank you.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 11:42 AM on June 22, 2011 [9 favorites]

things are funny the more believable they are

It is weird that you reference Little Donny-- a kid with a disorder that gives him a penis the size of horse's while rendering him unaware of the size of his penis-- right before saying this.
posted by shakespeherian at 11:45 AM on June 22, 2011 [1 favorite]

I would be interested in hearing why people didn't like it.

I must officially be middle-aged, because I didn't find anything about this interesting or funny. I watched to the end, thinking there would be a punch line I could comprehend or relate to. But no.
posted by Western Infidels at 11:45 AM on June 22, 2011 [1 favorite]

Q: Are you an overweight male? If not you may not realize how amazing HBS are and that this video is in fact pure and delicious realism. Now get off the stage-- Kevin Smith's thighs have the room for the next 3 hours.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 11:48 AM on June 22, 2011

Well, I've watched it three times now and it keeps getting better. And it was very relatable! Could be a documentary straight out of my junior high years.
posted by naju at 11:48 AM on June 22, 2011

Also why is the name 'Billy' so much funnier than any other name?

Sorry, but I'm sure everyone will agree that 'Kevin' is way funnier.
posted by StickyCarpet at 11:50 AM on June 22, 2011 [1 favorite]

PORK CHOP SANDWICHES!!!!!!!
posted by TheBones at 11:50 AM on June 22, 2011 [6 favorites]

Ahem. It's 22 Xs in a row. Get it right.
posted by koeselitz at 11:54 AM on June 22, 2011

This was horrible!
posted by item at 11:59 AM on June 22, 2011

This was great!
posted by item at 11:59 AM on June 22, 2011

This was o.k.!
posted by item at 11:59 AM on June 22, 2011 [4 favorites]

things are funny the more believable they are

It is weird that you reference Little Donny-- a kid with a disorder that gives him a penis the size of horse's while rendering him unaware of the size of his penis-- right before saying this.
posted by shakespeherian at 11:45 AM on June 22 [1 favorite +] [!]

True - but the reason Little Donny is funny at all is not because of his enormous penis, but how realistically everyone treats his ailment. The frustrated, caring parents, the way they turn it into a fundraiser - all of that is the funny. And anyone's who's witnessed any kind of disease telethon can relate and then get the joke.

That's what I meant by that. Next question.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 12:02 PM on June 22, 2011 [1 favorite]

I enjoyed the overwrought use of camera language, soundtrack, and melodramatic direction in the first half to repeatedly miscue the plain-faced banality of the action. I thought that was genuinely nice, well done commentary on the language of cinema and by extension a critique of the cheap domestic dramatics of e.g. the Lifetime channel.

I enjoyed the second half because it was likeably stupid the way a lot of Tim & Eric stuff is likeably stupid; that Fensler writes for them is news to me but utterly not a surprise all things considered.

I don't feel like the two halves were well married. It was two ideas with abrupt transition, and that transition in a different piece of work might have killed but here it just felt like a handwave segue. Eh.

I liked Fensler's GI Joe bits better than I liked this, but I love those things more than just about anything else anyone has ever made so that's not really a very meaningful comparison.
posted by cortex at 12:04 PM on June 22, 2011 [6 favorites]

I agree with item.
posted by Dr-Baa at 12:05 PM on June 22, 2011

I disagree with item.
posted by Dr-Baa at 12:05 PM on June 22, 2011

Also, what Cortex said about bad transitions.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 12:07 PM on June 22, 2011

What these people needed was a voice coach. And a fashion consultant. Maybe a special effects supervisor. Definitely a script editor. And a cameo or two from The Lonely Island. The acting and sound were great though. I liked the cinematography.

What I'm trying to say is, it sucked, but in an acceptable way.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 12:08 PM on June 22, 2011

I feel like the conflict between Billy and his parents was left unresolved.
posted by device55 at 12:08 PM on June 22, 2011 [3 favorites]

great job!
posted by demonic winged headgear at 12:10 PM on June 22, 2011 [2 favorites]

This is yet another sign that AMC is in trouble.
posted by storybored at 12:14 PM on June 22, 2011 [2 favorites]

> I feel like the conflict between Billy and his parents was left unresolved.

No way! By the sheer spectacle of his HBS his parents were automatically reduced in their roles to subservience to him. His mother sang praises while his father played backup. It was like the HBS were an icon of the sum total of all initiatory, rite of passage ceremonies of all cultures combined. Think of HBS as a liberating Bar Mitzvah multiplied by a West African manhood initiation dance with chest hair liberally sprinkled on top. Billy is now on equal ground and moving ahead of his parents thanks to HBS.
posted by Horselover Phattie at 12:19 PM on June 22, 2011 [2 favorites]

I thought the hugging should have gone on for longer.
posted by storybored at 12:21 PM on June 22, 2011

This really goes a long way towards instilling a feeling that I truly do not grok this society. What... um... I... What?
posted by Dodecadermaldenticles at 12:40 PM on June 22, 2011

Regardless of our diverse opinions about the shorts, I think we can all agree that a turquoise shirt on a teenage boy is generally an invitation to disaster.
posted by paulsc at 12:44 PM on June 22, 2011

Just by way of what I believe they call a "data point", I most enjoyed the part where I went off and watched a different video.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:53 PM on June 22, 2011 [1 favorite]

Argh, this is the worst kind of earworm: something I did not like the first time around which is now stuck in a loop in my head. Damn you.
posted by murphy slaw at 12:54 PM on June 22, 2011

It's no "Nice catch, blanco niño", but then again what is?
posted by the painkiller at 12:55 PM on June 22, 2011

Regardless of our diverse opinions about the shorts, I think we can all agree that a turquoise shirt on a teenage boy is generally an invitation to disaster.

Wasn't it cerulean?
posted by fish tick at 1:20 PM on June 22, 2011 [5 favorites]

No teen boy has ever worn a towel that way. Ever.
posted by Catfry at 1:37 PM on June 22, 2011 [4 favorites]

I disliked this video.
posted by mippy at 2:00 PM on June 22, 2011

Boys who wear t-shirts swimming might wear a towel that way.
posted by BeerFilter at 3:31 PM on June 22, 2011 [2 favorites]

Some friends sent this around a few weeks ago on Facebook and I just didn't get it! I can see why it's funny to some people, so I wouldn't call it "bad." But I feel like I just don't get the humor, apart from the frequent hugging, as others have mentioned. Also I felt like the bits of dialogue didn't really fit together. Why was the father going to go into the bathroom? Why did Billy burst out of it? Ugh, head hurts, don't get it. I'm feeling square!
posted by sweetkid at 3:40 PM on June 22, 2011

I have never understood the appeal of Tim & Eric. I understand that their shtick is making things deliberately bad, awkward, and unappealing to the point it makes the viewer uncomfortable. I don't consider that absurd or surreal humor... it's just lame, and intentionally lame at that.
posted by Robin Kestrel at 4:59 PM on June 22, 2011

Lame is a genre with seriously deep aesthetic possibilities, is the thing.
posted by cortex at 5:17 PM on June 22, 2011 [4 favorites]

Yes, the first act is clearly why this is worth watching. I love the triple hug and the countdown. All the way through, I couldn't help but see the side-by-side with another video:

"One!" = "Alright, Mister."

"Two!" = "What do you think you're doing?"

"Two and a half!" = "You call this a room?"

[look of disgust by wife] = [snickering from younger brother at dinner table]

"Three!" = "Whadda you wanna do with your life?"

[breaks through closed door, repeated horn bleats] = "I wanna rock! [dad out window]

Oh, and the second act kind of sucked.
posted by klausman at 5:20 PM on June 22, 2011

I would welcome the opportunity to debate with Cortex over the "consciously lame vis a vis Tim and Eric comedic vibe" vs. "humor comes from simple, everyday living tweaked vibe" I proffered upthread on the Metafilter podcast.

Also: beer would happen.

oh yeah, I proffered. Bring it.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 5:45 PM on June 22, 2011

Lame is a genre with seriously deep aesthetic possibilities, is the thing.

"...Now to add some crusty chromakey, and... Voilà!"

Meh.

"Okay, so we'll throw on some '80s aerobicize music."

Hm.

"Oh! I forgot to dub it onto VHS!"

I'm still not feeling it. Am I just out of touch?

"Yeah, probably."

Huh. I guess deep down I always knew that someday---

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait... Dude, are you even high?"
posted by Sys Rq at 7:37 PM on June 22, 2011 [1 favorite]

The best part is the kid almost falls on his ass bursting through the door. I find the rap to be very Kool Keith-esque, which is also awesome. Overall, not amazing but solid video. I like.
posted by stifford at 7:40 PM on June 22, 2011

I would be interested in hearing why people didn't like it.

Cool! I didn't like it because I didn't find it funny or well-made. The acting was poor and uneven, the casting weird (with the towel thing making me wonder if "Billy" was going to turn out to be a girl, and the over-arching confusion of having him be clearly of different ethnicity from his parents, but whatever, I can move past all of that.) The bit with the hugs almost worked. It was the closest the thing came to humor, but even there it was too inept to truly land it. And the transition didn't work because the set-up didn't properly build tension and the "pay-off" shot was a split-second which didn't give us a moment to revel in it before going into a tired and trite bad-effects-ridden shit-rap thing that was painful in the bad way, and not the funny way.

And all of that is compounded by the fact that none of the idea in this were worthwhile in the first place. The whole thing smelled like two or three guys who thought something was really, really funny when they were baked, and if you don't agree then you're square. That smell is very similar to patchoulli, and I hate the smell of patchoulli.

I'm normally not this guy, but this video's a special case. I'd be curious to see possible justifications for why people liked this.
posted by Navelgazer at 8:37 PM on June 22, 2011 [2 favorites]

love it. Can't explain why, but I love it.
posted by beau jackson at 8:42 PM on June 22, 2011

All the way through, I couldn't help but see the side-by-side with another video:

I actually thought that's kinda what this was -- instead of "acts," the first part was the Twisted Sister-like setup to the HBS music video.

Also I think Billy was adopted.

I find the rap to be very Kool Keith-esque, which is also awesome.

I don't know about the rap, but he's done entire albums with beats not much better than this.
posted by Hoopo at 8:42 PM on June 22, 2011

"Boys who wear t-shirts swimming might wear a towel that way."

*Favorited by The Coalition of Boys and Former Boys Who've Worn T-Shirts Swimming and Towels That Way.*

TCoBaFBWWT-SSaTTW: Stop Looking At Us! Just Stop It!

posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:40 PM on June 22, 2011 [4 favorites]

Not funny? It's like some of you aren't high!
posted by klangklangston at 9:47 PM on June 22, 2011

I didn't like it because he was wearing a polo with his ugly basketball shorts.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 10:24 PM on June 22, 2011

I find the rap to be very Kool Keith-esque, which is also awesome.

I don't know about the rap, but he's done entire albums with beats not much better than this.

It was his singing-his-own-chrorus that reminded me of Kool Keith (and to be clear, I meant that anything being like KK was "awesome", not that this video was as awesome as KK).

Ofcourse, the towel might have just reminded me of... (nsfw)

posted by stifford at 10:42 PM on June 22, 2011

Huge basketball shorts.

It seems like that needed to be said.
posted by mrgrimm at 7:19 AM on June 23, 2011

I'd be curious to see possible justifications for why people liked this.

I generally don't like Tim and Eric, but I liked this a little more than I usually don't like their stuff.

The kid was funny. Huge basketball shorts are funny. I just don't like the whole "so awkwardly bad it's good" approach in general.
posted by mrgrimm at 7:22 AM on June 23, 2011

Thank you for linking to that Rachael Ray drinking game. I know what I'm doing tonight.
posted by d1rge at 12:48 PM on June 23, 2011

To this day just thinking of the words "Pork chop sandwiches?" is enough to make me chuckle to myself.

I'll have to look at this when I'm not in the office.

And I had no idea Eric Fensler was the Eric in Tim & Eric.
posted by daHIFI at 10:09 AM on June 24, 2011

To be clear, Eric Wareheim is the Eric in Tim & Eric. Eric Fensler is a writer who is also named Eric.
posted by cortex at 10:24 AM on June 24, 2011

If you like Tim & Eric, then you'll probably get (at the very least) a chortle out of the video. If you don't like them, or god forbid haven't even heard of them, then you won't like the video. It's a strange taste, but me likey.
posted by secondtolastresort at 5:08 PM on June 28, 2011

Too bad his ass got saaaaaaaacked
posted by not_on_display at 5:53 PM on July 13, 2011