YouTube has become a veritable haven for the dregs of the stand-up
comedy circuit. Painfully unfunny stand-up
routines that might have been relegated to BET’s ComicView back in the day have been converted into equally unfunny web
content in the modern era. However, a
genuine talent can sometimes rise through the muck to offer something truly off
beat and special. Earlier this morning,
a friend sent me a YouTube video titled Brotherly
Love by Maurice Kain Carter. It started
off as the typical comedic webcam rant.
Somewhere along the way, things took a detour into the Twilight Zone. 5 minutes after clicking play, I emerged from
the rather bizarre ride in a state of bemusement.
As it begins, Maurice offers a hilarious yet patently true observation:
Many of the most popular video games of the eighties revolved around a hero
having to save a seemingly ungrateful damsel in distress. He then draws a parallel to all of the
proverbial “Captain Save a Hoe” types who inhabit the real world. He concludes that such experiences must have
been the inspiration for classic video games like Super Mario Brothers. The
clip then suddenly detours into an imaginary scenario in which Mario finally
refuses to answer Princess Peach Toadstool’s cries for help.
As Luigi suits up for yet another mission to rescue the fare
maiden, Mario casually sits on the coach texting someone on his smart phone. Luigi reminds Mario of duties. Mario then informs Luigi that he has no
designs on helping the princess, as her “Damsel in Distress” Routine has become
tiresome. Luigi spazzes out on his
brother and decides to rescue the princess on his own. Incensed, Mario pulls rank on Luigi,
reminding him of his second banana status.
This proves to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, as the situations
soon escalates to violence. Could this
be the end of the most fruitful partnership in video game history?
The craziest thing about Brotherly
love is how it switches gears at the halfway point. The premise is already funny to begin with,
but Maurice’s deadpan commentary brings the inherent silliness of the concept
bubbling to the surface. The hilarity
reaches boiling point once the actual sketch starts. Maurice plays both Luigi and Mario. He sports a fake mustache that looks like it
was fashioned out of shiny construction paper.
The thing is so thick that it covers his whole mouth. His bottom lip is just barely visible when
speaks. The visual is so ridiculous as
to be surreal. Hearing the Mario
brothers confer with each other via profanity and street slang is equally
wild. It’s at that point that things
take a turn for the dark side.
An actual musical score suddenly appears and its volume
gradually rises as the exchange between Mario and Luigi becomes more
heated. Things aren’t so funny anymore
despite the outrageous production values and dialogue. The sketch starts taking on the overtones of
a melodramatic gangster epic. . By the
end, I was on the edge of my seat. After
the credits rolled, I laughed at myself for getting caught up in something so
inherently silly. I was convinced that
the guy behind this thing had to be some sort of comic genius.
No comments:
Post a Comment