Of course, more details are left unmentioned. It’s hard to imagine a better crew of folked up comedians portraying the over emotional faux-folk rockers of Mumford & Sons, and for that I am proud of the four for recognizing this and being on board for it. No one man in particular steals the show, they are all equally hilarious in my book. More hilarious than the instrument smashing itself is Ed Helms’ face during the instrument smashing as you see here.
Also just like the real M&S.Īnd then one of my favorite moments: Ed Helms pounding full fists on his piano keys out of shear overwhelming passion!Įnter my most favorite moment: The instrument smashing. Just like the real M&S right?Īs well does this … Will Forte humping his bass. Speaking of emotion overcoming: making out also ensues. The over exaggerated instrumentation as well as the singing is relentlessly hysterical. Note that two instruments actually the same. Immediately we recognize exaggeration is key with the overloading of instruments as I mentioned. But what really makes it hilarious is the extent these four lads go to to make sure we understand exactly what is going on, as well as the attention to the small things that I would love to take a moment to point out: It’s not just four great comedians impersonating a bunch of hipster folk-rock wannabes to a perfect degree … well yea, it kind of is. Since I’ve already gone and spoiled the big reveal, I feel like breaking this baby down just a bit more and really highlighting how hilarious this video really is. Sweet relief, this isn’t trying to be serious! Sure enough as the camera pans to a widened shot, we see that this group actually consists of four great modern comedians rather than the beloved M&S. Although upon first sight I hadn’t put it past the Mumf & Sons to be pretentiously boasting the amount of instruments they surely play (although quantity is surely not a sign of quality), something told me this was a bit of a jest. One instrument being the upright piano being pushed down the road, another being an actual bass kick drum, and one musician has two banjos as well as a guitar hanging from his shoulder. We see a shot of the musicians lower bodies now as they are all walking down this dusty road, carrying two-three instruments a piece. The video transitions to what appears to be a piano on wheels being rolled down a gravel/dirt road. Just as you are about ready to throw up in your mouth a little bit, you catch a glimpse of what just might be a bit of subtle humor. The hair of their beards glistening in the sun light, yet their faces are shadowed enough to not just not quite be distinguishable. After a brief sepia soaked title card introducing the song and band that looked as if it was from the beginning of a silent film from the early 1900’s, we see a few hairy musicians tattered in olden/worn clothing with instruments hanging from their bodies as they softly play the intro to the song in a grassy field in the golden hour of the dusk. The video begins just as you would expect any Mumford video to begin.
But the fact that these hopeless wankers are actually able to poke fun at themselves a bit, really helps me swallow the fact that this overplayed garbage they saturate our ear holes with on a daily basis (because lets get real, it’s impossible to not hear one of their songs on the regular) is some of America’s most listened to music. Don’t get me wrong, the song is still dreadful. Which is exactly why their new music video for “Hopeless Wanderer” (another tune that so predictably follows the same writing pattern I discussed previously in this article) is actually incredibly on point. Rightfully so, the band is a mess of beards, clothes from the 1800’s, and over-dramatic as well as blandly formulaic tunes. We at LxL have done our lion’s share of Mumford & Sons bashing. In other Bateman news, his directorial debut, the dark comedy Bad Words, is heading to the Toronto film festival in September.Cast of Sons: Ed Helms, Will Forte, Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis And away we went."īateman says he's grateful that what seems like everyone - most importantly, the band itself - approves. I happened to have a beard on my face at the time. I'd never done a video before and had never picked up a guitar, let alone a banjo. Plus, he says, "The idea of goofing around for the day was exciting.
Jason said he was reaching out to Ed and Will, as well. "Sudeikis called me one day and said (director) Sam Jones reached out to him saying he was toying with this idea of doing a mock video and would I be interested.
In the clip, actors Bateman, Ed Helms, Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis play the band, over-emoting throughout. Oh yes, that's Jason Bateman in the Mumford & Sons Hopeless Wanderer video.