From YouTube.com user: awkwardpictures

Whatever you do, don’t watch the Awkward Pictures Welcome Video before you enter the genre-bouncing, irreverent library of Awkward Pictures. You might, at first, get the wrong impression.

If you must begin with the Welcome Video, be in on the joke. Just as you start to gaze past the well-honed mud-toned home video stammer of writers/directors Payman and Sean, Payman yawns. Ostentatiously.

A few increasingly lifeless seconds later the video literally takes a sharp upturn and it closes with a lovely view of the eggshell ceiling, from the perspective of a mischievous tripod.

But while the Welcome Video goes down in the carefully crafted ruins of amateur video recording, the other Awkward Pictures films are very clearly productions of two clever young men, learned scholars of the slow, building narrative and the satisfying punchline.

On the other hand, it isn’t so easy to pigeonhole Awkward Pictures; aside from a life-sized banana suit that appears in at least two of their films, the sketches can be drastically different. Three-minute social satire may not be so uncommon these days, but Awkward Pictures sometimes seems to be producing social satire of social satire.

And just what is their position, anyway? Is “Online Piracy Public Service Announcement” mocking online piracy law enforcement, those who mock online piracy law enforcement, or people who appear in public service announcements?

In “Payman 'n Me,” “pilot episode in a series that the team apparently cancelled without producing additional episodes, is about roommates who found each other via Craigslist. I was unclear: were they making fun of mundane roommate squabbles in general, a la “you drank all the milk”? Or is it an inside joke, making fun of one specific roommate from someone's past? Does anyone else think it’s creepy when Payman hoists his roommate up by the armpits and demands to know, while staring into the roommate’s eyes, when was his last gig?

Awkward Pictures is smart, and they know what they’re doing. They also seem to have a lot of resources and talented associates.

One of the most absurd of the Awkward Pictures films and one of the few that uses drawings, “Delicious Tropical Party” (see top video) was created solely from Microsoft Paint and features two self-righteous middle aged men (one with a British accent, for some reason) who engage in an argument about who’s going to Hell. Conveniently, the bus they’re riding slams into a tree and erupts into a surprisingly large – but actually gorgeous (pause at 2:02) – burst of flames, and the two men split up, one to Heaven, one to Hell (which, apparently, is accessible by down-escalator).

Heaven, it turns out, is a lot like a parochial school dance, complete with out-of-date hip hop and bad clothes; Hell is a bit too warm but not unbearable, with beer, hot celebrities, Sea Biscuit, and Hawaiian shirts. It’s a classic morality tale but much more entertaining and with Microsoft Paint portrayals of famous people.

Like many of their other films, which are all worth checking out, “Delicious Tropical Party” teaches faithful YouTube viewers that Hell just might be awesome after all.

Labels: Abby Gross, Awkward Pictures, awkwardpictures, comedy, heaven, hell, satire

From YouTube.com user: awkwardpictures

We have all gotten so mad at those that we love when they are being jerks that we want to leave them on the side of the road, except that most of us don’t actually do it. The girl in this film does though! She leaves her boyfriend out in the middle of nowhere when he makes her mad.

There was a lot of thought and effort that went into editing this film. The dialogue is perfect.

Labels: awkwardpictures, Becker, comedy, entertainment, funny, girl, guy, kim, kim stevens, Sean, short, superman, YouTube

From YouTube.com user: awkwardpictures

We don't always want to admit that we can not do something. The characters in this film have disablities and they are finally coming to realize their limitations. The video makes light of the realization of limitations and the fact that the characters do not want to face them and actually accept those limitations ... until they do. God Dammit!

Labels: awkwardpictures, disability, kim, kim stevens, payman

From YouTube.com user: aconover

This short video clip makes fun of those loud, in-your-face TV ads; the ones with the bad acting and the repetitive, inane questions, "Don't you wish vomit stains were a thing of the past?" ... They go on and on until it's annoying. Well these guys manage to make the repetitive questioning funny. And that's the point of this one. "We actually don't have anything to sell you, we're just asking a bunch of stupid rhetorical questions." They go on so long that you have to laugh.

The editing - with the wipes and fades is done in that slick way that you only see in TV ads and infomercials. Well done. I was sold.

Labels: aconover, advertisements, aitkins, comedy, commercial, Olde English, parody, questions

From YouTube.com user: aconover

It is an animated soap opera and it's a mathematical soap opera. This video clip is hilarious. You don’t have to be a mathematician to enjoy this one, but it does help to know a little about pi, e, and imaginary numbers.

Labels: aconover, animated, cartoon, comedy, English, kim, kim stevens, math, Olde English, soap opera

From YouTube.com user: behnfannin

Here’s a commercial about an amazing wonder-product called “The Thing.” It does everything but satisfy the little lady, and for some reason this random and quirky little spoof commercial elicited a few guilty chuckles out of yours truly. Well done, Behnfannin… well done.

Labels: behnfannin, comedy, commercials, entertainment, ethan, the thing

From YouTube.com user: behnfannin

The people of Behnfannin productions have left me scratching my head once again. Maybe I have an undiagnosed case of head lice, but more probably it’s that sometimes I just don’t get the joke they’re telling.

This video is for a mock music video by a man called Umbilical Bif, and it’s of a song about a missing television remote called “Remote Control.”

Labels: behnfannin, comedy, entertainment, ethan, music video, remote control

From YouTube.com user: grosbouff

I don’t envy the man or woman given the task of putting this glorious piece of video together. On second thought, something this fascinatingly well done could only have been a labor of love.

Faced with its prospects, anyone else but the video’s creator, Benoît Gréant, would have surely chosen to be lobotomized rather than sift through the endless hours of black-and-white old-timey movie film it took to put this exquisite piece together.

The video’s description calls it “a video clip based upon an electro music from DJ SLADE and made with old footages. Check it, enjoy and please comment !!!”

Well I’ve checked it, enjoyed it, and am passing it on so that you can appreciate for yourself.

You're welcome.

Labels: Benoît Gréant, dj slade, entertainment, ethan, grosbouff, music, music video

From YouTube.com user: sweetteafilms

This short video will have you rolling. It is hilarious. Kelvin shows you “quick cookout tips.” These tips are especially for those who are "on the run."

Sweetteafilms has added music that goes really well with the video. Also the sound is of excellent quality.

Labels: comedy, cooking, eating, humor, kim, kim stevens, park, sweetteafilms, trailer

From YouTube.com user: theresidents

Timmy has a dream about his dog Mr. Pinky and a talking car, and then he is a teenager driving a car, and then there is a terrible accident. Hmm, Timmy thinks it might have been a nightmare or something. I wonder what Mr. Pinky thinks. I wonder if Mr. Pinky had the same nightmare.

The Residents' videos in which they use vintage educational films (this one was on safe driving) with Timmy's hilarious voice-over are all twisted and so delightful.

Labels: animals, dog, dreams, penny watkins, pinky, theresidents, timmy

From YouTube.com user: Happyslip

Charisma and the versatility are the first characteristics that strike you about Happyslip (Christine). She knows how to direct too! There is a smooth transitions between her characters -- never choppy like someone jumping back and forth between scenes. Well done.

She also knows how to butter her bread. You Tube is her subject in this one, and in many other videos that she's created. What better subject matter to talk about (act) on? None other than YouTube! Without spoiling the fun of watching her clips, just notice that this gal can really act. I'm impressed.

In this one she does an impersonation of Ann Curry, of NBC's Today show, interviewing Christine about how one gets an "Idea".

Labels: Ann Curry, Christine, comedy, filipina, filipino, happyslip, NBC, pinay, pinoy, revver, T A Taylor, Today Show, YouTube

From YouTube.com user: sweetteafilms

This video by shorttea films is just plain funny. It's every college advisor's nightmare: the student you know ain't going to make it. And maybe he's scary enough that you don't even want him to get into college in the first place, at least not this one.

Nathaniel is an exaggerated Napoleon Dynamite ... with an Arkansas accent, we think. He's got twice the hair, twice the teeth and twice the dorkiness.

But Nathaniel goes beyond dorky to spooky. I loved it when the interviewer said, "We're gonna cut the interview a little short here. Got lots of other freshmen to talk to." You bet. Get him outa here, dude.

Labels: college, college freshman, comedy, Napoleon Dynamite, nathaniel pikkard, penny watkins, sweetteafilms, teeth

From YouTube.com user: theresidents

The Residents bring us several very short videos about episodes in the life of little Timmy.

This one is filmed in the sepia tones of an oldtime "talkie" and has Timmy telling the story as a voice-over. The videography is outstanding.

In this one, the video and the annoyingly tuneless accordion music create a dramatic sense that something tragic is going to happen. But the conflict is quickly resolved and "everybody lives happily after."

It's a bit random but completely entertaining.

Labels: eyeball, penny watkins, theresidents, timmy

From YouTube.com user: sweetteafilms

Hey, hey, hey, boys. You're steppin' on toes here. I used to live in a "MANUFACTURED HOME" park. And we didn't have men like you-all there. No way. Our men were all over 55 and they wore their hats frontwards. And they couldn't jump out the bedroom window when the cops came, they had to crawl.

You will definitely enjoy this great trailer trash exercise video from sweettea films. It's a rib-tickler, right down to the end. "Wardrobe by Salvation Army, rummage sales and hand-me-downs."

Labels: comedy, exercise, kelvin duball, penny watkins, sweetteafilms, trailer park, workout

From YouTube.com user: Gr8Shotz

Gr8Shotz is responding to his own previous video asking if we believe in the paranormal. He says, that initially, he did not, but he has been convinced. Then Russ relates two incidents from his life that are difficult to explain. He says they are coincidence, or a memory lapse, but he shares them because they are strange. Since then, however, he has been convinced that the paranormal is real. It does exist.

FOR PETE'S SAKE, GR8SHOTZ!! YOU LIVED IN A HAUNTED HOUSE AND YOUR DAD HAD A COMMUNICATION FROM THE DEAD! And, yes, I'm yelling. Do you know what finally convinced this skeptic? An article in the Weekly World News. Yellow journalism from "The World's Only Reliable Newspaper." Irrefutable proof from this rag, this scandal sheet, this gossip weekly; a headline screaming, "New Race of Space Aliens Discovered."

Who am I to be critical? As Tommy Lee Jones said in Men in Black, it's the "best reporting on the planet."

Labels: bigfoot, blog, chupacabra, esp, Gr8shotz, news and blogs, paranormal, penny watkins, ufo, vlog

From YouTube.com user: gregkennedy

Greg Kennedy presents a new video from his Las Vegas act every week. This short clip is an aerial peformance by two women on a framework Kennedy has manufactured. It's pretty, and the music is perfect. The women aren't well synchronized during one portion of the demonstration, and it would have been more effectve if they were. Other than that, this is very nicely done.

Labels: aerial, frame, framework, greg kennedy, Innovative, Juggler, penny watkins

From YouTube.com user: jessicapeanut

jessicapeanut does such a wonderful job with these animal videos.

"Afternoon Delight" is the perfect background music for images of animals cuddling. Cats and dogs, kittens, puppies, giraffes, even penguins and camels -- everybody likes a little cuddling in the afternoon ... a little afternoon delight.

Labels: animals, entertainment, jessicapeanut, kittens, penny watkins, sick puppies