Do You Remember? Crazy Asian Mother by Erick Liang

Once upon a time, back when YouTube was just born, a highly memeable 3 1/2 minute long sketch debuted onto the platform. This sketch would slowly but surely make its rounds in the years that followed. Through other friends on social media, I discovered the "Crazy Asian Mother" sketch for the first time a few years after its debut. This is a strange beast to analyze from the start. It's clear when you first watch it that "Crazy Asian Mother" has a "so bad, it's good" vibe to its execution that it's hard not to laugh at the sheer inconsistencies in plain sight.

The text says 2:38 a.m., a time that's known to be in the middle of the night, when you can clearly see daylight in the background via the glass sliding door. The actor playing the "mother" in and out with the quality of the delivery. When I first saw this, I thought the "mother" was supposed to be a quirky father or something. At times, the actor's line delivery is monotone and just barely passable for an entry level actor. At the same time, that's mostly the intent and part of the fun and hilarity no less. One odd line or action after another in this sketch.

The premise is that a kid has to show his latest report card to his mother, and she's alarmed when he receives a B+ in English. He gets straight A's in all his other courses, including chemistry and AP classes. But B+ in English, that's pure treason apparently. If I got straight A's at any time in my years at school and college, they were often rare to come by. From the moment this kid hands the report card over to "mother" while randomly sounding like Batman choking on a Cheeto, I knew this sketch would be memorable against all odds.

When "mother" lists off all the courses her kid gets an A on until she reaches English, the hilarity of this sketch comes from the overdramatic response. The best part is when she tells her son to looks at her face and says, "Does this look like a happy face?", while holding in laughter resulting in a smirk. That's not how it should work, and yet that's where the hilarity comes from. It's the exact definition of doing it wrong and yet doing it right both at the same time. This is a prime example of the ultimate guilty pleasure in my book.

It's clearly made by people who are using this field for the first time and learning their ways. It wears its special niche charm right on its shoulders though. And I feel that's why people still remember this sketch years later. But would you believe that in reality, this sketch is actually part of a bigger 20 minute video? I was doing some digging since I needed to get the exact source of the video. I found out that this is part of a strange video about some students coming together to basically make a rap based on Macbeth.

Yes, it's available on YouTube and it has a moment or two that amused me, all dealing with the actors messing around with each other. But you're not missing much on the other 16 minutes or so. Half of it is set to a montage complete with "Rocky" and "Star Wars" music in the background before we see one shot with the cast sitting down on a couch and performing their rap. The bigger video can be skipped. Just see the small 3-minute sketch and that will give you the best satisfaction. Anyone else remember this sketch? Let me know in the comments.