Via Jezebel, this is so spot-on it’s incredible:
I know this woman. I adore this woman. I have friends who will be this woman (and, were if not for the Long Island accent, I probably would be this woman, too — the “because he’s an asshole!” sounds a little too familiar, except I’m usually walking down the street on my cell phone).
Someone needs to put this kid on SNL, stat. Other good ones:
The Christmas Tree:
My son is gay:
Love it.
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I really like “My Son is Gay”: “He moved into the City and now he’s gay.”
ya gay, ya gay!
“All right, stay outside.”
it’s funny how in the first one, the phone cord is a central character in the whole shebang, but we see when she hangs up the phone at the end that there’s a cordless phone on the counter.
ha-ha, a man pretending to be a woman. Isn’t that clever? Boy, get him a paying gig, quick. It’s so funny and clever and original for a man to pretend to be a woman! I know I’m flattered every time some man treats my gender like a minstrel show.
I do have to wonder, when is it okay for a man to play a women w/o it seeming as a “minstrel show”?
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve seen performances where it was clearly that…but I just don’t see it here? Could you help me out?
Yeah, I don’t see him making fun of women here. It seems affectionate to me. And what a good voice. If I heard it and didn’t see him I would think it was a real woman; with a fake accent, but still.
The last piece especially struck me as an expression of admiration and love – it almost made me cry it was so sweet.
“Yeah, I don’t see him making fun of women here. It seems affectionate to me.”
I thought so, too, especially in the “my son is gay” piece. The vibe I got from “my son is gay” was the strength of a loving mother to start with something unexpected and superficially horrifying, and end up back in a place of unconditional love. And the meta-vibe was the love of a son for such a mother.
PhysioProf, that’s the same vibe that I got.
You know, I’ve been stewing on this all day, and I have to say I’m kind of put out by this. It kind of reminds me of when right-wing white politicians get attacked in the media and refer to it as “lynching.”
Because this isn’t even remotely close to the level of hatred displayed in a minstrel show.
As I see it, it’s more about the character. The character herself is funny. He’s not dressing up as a woman b/c apeing woman is funny.
Why do I suspect this has more to do with the whole “man in a dress in the ladies’ room” thing than with this performance?
Ha! That’s almost as clever as trying to appropriate an emotionally charged and racially offensive practice in order to manufacture outrage.
Hattie, I didn’t see that, possibly because what I saw was the humor in the character and the ‘day in the life of the fictional character. I saw the character as a representation of an individual, not an entire gender.
The humor I think was more directed a poking fun of certain stereotypes — the first one showed the character fully engaged in work while at the same time managing a phone conversation throughout. The stereotype last I knew was that women who stayed at home had nothing to do but watch the tube and talk on the phone.
The second made more fun of middle class values than anything; the significance of the tree lost to the work and social obligation of having of one.
The third most invariably as many have noted has more to do with the flexibility of love in the face of shock and disappointment.
Perhaps I’m willing to allow some freedom with female stereotypes in that, since I don’t allow myself to be restricted by them, portrayals seem well, nothing more than portrayals. Guess I’m getting too liberal in my old age.
Might I also add that as soon as someone like this is put through the grinder of show-biz, all subtlety is lost and then it would in fact become a minstrel show used to confirm rigid misogynist stereotypes. SNL has no capacity to handle humor like this.
Back in the day it did. I’m thinking of some of Gilda Radner’s characters.
These pieces seem to be a loving tribute to, I bet, his mother. The last one was particularly cute.
Seriously. A prime example of why so many WOC want a refund from feminism.
Too bad I’ve lost my receipt.
That’s me with the Christmas Tree.
Aw.
Why do I get the feeling that these are all about that kid’s mother? Reminds me so much of some of my relatives, especially that last part – “Ya hungry?”
That’s the vibe I got, too. It didn’t seem like he was making fun of her; rather, it seems like he’s poking at her good-naturedly, but there’s a lot of love behind it.
Oh, and yeah, these videos are hilarious. Just a hair over the top of my own mother, who famously stated one time, “you eat too many carbs. Here, I brought you a lasagna.”
Vanessa, that reminds me of my dad’s mom. Every time I’d visit, she’d be, “Ooohhh, you put weight on” while pinching some part of my body. Then she’d practically force-feed me ice cream or pie.
Oh my god. Seriously, this is like half of the women in my family, only replace the Long Island accent with Southern accents. “You’re gay, you’re gay!” “Hey! My son’s gay. Watch it!”
I can see how some people would see it as making fun of women just for the sake of easy humor – I did when I watched the first one the first time, but I came back and watched it again a day or so later, and something in the second one just reminded me of the women in my family, especially my aunt.
Thanks for posting these. They’re adorable. I’m going to go call my aunt now.
These video’s made me laugh more than anything. Yes.. I found myself shaking my head because at times, I thought the message was offensive towards women… but when I watched the last one, it seemed more clear that maybe he was doing it for his mother, instead.
Anyway, it put a smile on my face.
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