Drunk History

Have you seen the drunk history videos on YouTube [1]?  Actors and actresses (including Michael Cera, John C. Reilly, and Jack Black, among others) perform in costume and lip sync their lines, which are actually delivered by a very intoxicated person who has been asked to describe a historical event.  (Sidenote: that's right, A historical event.  I'm not British, I don't drop my h's, so it's a hhhhistorical event rather than an 'istorical event).  It is enjoyable to see an actor you know dressed as George Washington or Paul Revere, slurring their hiccup-riddled speech about "whatever" or "blahblahblah." 

There are occasional breaks in the narrative while the speakers' bodies purge themselves, fighting off alcohol poisoning.  That and the potty mouths on some drunkards really make this a series you might refrain from sharing with your grandparents, assuming yours are anything like mine.

(Don't click play if you're unsettled by the pukin' and the cussin')



And now, I must apologize for being somewhat deceptive.  I'm not blogging about Drunk History at all (well, maybe a little), but about Wholphin 12 [2], the "DVD magazine" produced by McSweeney's featuring all manner of short film, from comedies like Drunk History Vol. 3 (starring Danny McBride as George Washington in a story about George and Martha's favorite slave, Oney Judge) to documentaries like Here Comes Greatness (about backyard wrestling). Other interesting titles include Mi Amigo Invisible, a fiction short about uncommunicative Tomas whose invisible friend helps him imagine a world where he can talk to others, and Dynamic Tom, a documentary short about a self-proclaimed 68-year-old Indianapolis playboy.

Watch the whole disc straight through, or pick and choose shorts from the menu--watch it like you'd read a magazine.  Catch a fascinating short from a filmmaker who you, upon seeing him or her receive and academy award for a feature, can say you saw first back when he or she was making short films.  Maybe that sounds pretentious, but if you're authentic in your enthusiasm for future-famous-director's short films, you can avoid sounding snobby.  And don't use "An" before history, historical, etc., if you pronounce the h when you say it, you snoot.

An link list:
1. Drunk History's YouTube Channel

2. Check out Wholphin 12 from the library
    See what else is on Wholphin 12 on the official site

blpost