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Picnicface: Near Death Experiences
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2 votes)
Next to alien abduction, the "near death experience" is probably our culture's most potent example of self-delusion on a grand scale. For the funny folks over at Picnicface -- a sketch comedy troupe based in Halifax, Canada -- the sheer number of passionate "survivors" of the phenomenon (and their oddly similar accounts of what happened to them) also make it a great subject for satire.
Near Death Experience begins as a fairly typical parody of a bad documentary. We see three young, attractive people who have each experienced a near death experience. As the camera cuts between the unlucky trio (with cheesy dissolves accompanied by even cheesier sound effects), we discover that each of them have undergone the same exact traumatic experience in the limbo region between life and death. Not to spoil the joke, but it involves some pretty painful business with a large member (literally) of the animal kingdom.
Inspired by a BBC documentary, the video was shot and edited in about four hours. "We had to get it out quick, [since] it was part of one of our live shows performed a few days after it was shot," says Picnicface's Scott Vrooman. "We shot it very true to the original [documentary]."
Picnicface first gained attention thanks to the Powerthirst, a commercial parody that has been seen more than 2 million times on YouTube. (They've since signed with talent agency UTA.) And they've kept busy -- more than 17 of their videos are available for view on their Web site, and they already have a few more in post. Two more shorts will soon be released as College Humor exclusives.
"We seem to be getting a lot of attention, but the challenge is to come up with a show that will appeal to a largish audience, so that we can actually make enough money to quit our day jobs and concentrate on making more funny," says Vrooman. "It's a tough business to crack into, but we're optimistic. We're all working our asses off (and having fun doing it), so hopefully it pays off.
-Matthew Ross
Picnicface (directed by Andrew Bush)
Comedy
3:29
$40
Halifax, Canada
Total Package : Kyle Dooley
Student : Evany Rosen
Enthusiast : Bill Wood
Narrator : Mark Little
Andrew Bush
Mark Little, Scott Vrooman
