I remember that I was watching Gottfried with Norm Macdonald, his roast on Bob Saget's special when that thing was uploaded... I couldn't last five minutes watching that insult. James was able to ruin a guy who thrived on awkwardness... Gilbert's appearance on "Married with Children", for example, perfect.
Screenwave brought one microphone to the set where they filmed Gilbert... One BROKEN microphone. After letting him wait for some time until he told them he had another appointment to get to, the poor guy had to speak extra loud so they could pick up his voice just enough to use while quickly going through his lines. James dubbed over all of his lines for that episode at home.
Poor Lloyd deserves better. I think his episode was the best cameo, largely due to being pre-slob era. I like how it seems to be mostly unscripted and Lloyd's energy is on point, but James seems really awkward and nervous and drags it down. Like you said, James is obviously not an improv guy. Edit: Josh, if you're unfamiliar with Troma I recommend checking their stuff out if you're into schlocky B-movies. Class of Nuke 'Em High is a great one to start with.
Dude, Lloyd is like that ALL THE TIME! I worked with him a bit in the past. He would constantly say random crap, he just likes reactions - it does get pretty annoying though. We had asked him to say some scripted stuff and he just went off and just did what he wanted lol. It was a wrestling-cosplay show and he was asking if he could bleed and all this crap, it was pretty ridiculous it's hard to figure out if he's making a joke or he's actually senile.
Lloyd Kaufman once offered to "buy" a script I wrote... And by buy I mean he offered to take it for free and vaguely mentioned "possible future reimbursement" if it ended up being made. Hard pass.
This video needed to be made because I never re-watched any of the celebrity episodes while I re-matched some early episodes many times over. There was creative spark that just hasn't been there in many years.
Haha, the transformation to ”socially acceptable” at the start was gold. I think Rolfe’s personality is too awkward for a lot of these folks, and then there’s probably a bad script and directing, too. Whatever the reason, it’s clear that it doesn’t work. As to RLM doing it right, it’s wise to remember two things: 1. RLM’s guests aren’t forced to do skits or characters, they’re mainly there to just have a casual chat. It’s far more relaxed. 2. The people of RLM seem intelligent enough to know what works and what doesn’t. They know their limitations and play up their strengths, which is what one should do.
They should’ve gotten the actual Fred Fuchs to cameo. It’s great they got Gilbert, but I wasn’t a fan of his character. I would’ve liked to see him in a video based on the Aladdin games.
I always assumed the poor acting was due to the low standards of amateurism that is to be expected on 'do-it-yourself' quality of UA-cam. Therefore, I didn't expect those cameo celebs to be in their usual Hollywood level polished selves and were trying to or gelling with the usual layman vibes that is to be expected on typical UA-cam videos. But you viewed those celebrity episodes as 'cringy', Mr. DANCIN'? To each their own, I guess. OMAR GOSH, JOSH!!
The difference in his demeanor is palpable. His role in the AVGN episode seemed like he was counting minutes to the paycheck, but with RLM they just sorta vibe like he had been their friend already for years, if not so. Otherwise I suspect it could be like Corey Taylor appearing in Nostalgia Critic's The Wall only because his son was a huge NC fan and begged him to do it.
Can understand the hate for the Keith Apicary episode, but I loved it, though I do have a very strange sense of humor and I was already familiar with the character. But anyway, it was just so over the top and not really in the spirit of Christmas, I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of this guy coming in and just making a mess of everything.
Gilbert Gottfried episode is practically unwatchable. And this is not his fault. He was highly professional entertainer, but the dudes who hired him just wanted to show off and also written way too many lines for such slow talker. And the game is actually not funny but boring and shockingly, not entertainingly bad. Also LOBT is a game from PS5, how about that? It's not AVGN's time period to say the least.
I actually liked his delivery. Fitted to the unhinged lonely man in the jungle. My biggest problem was his character is how painfully the jokes were and how underwhelming it is that after so many years this is Fred Fuchs. A dude who.cant stfu about tiger piss. This is the best they could come up with
I dunno, I enjoyed the Home Alone one. I appreciated how they leaned into the fact that Culkin is sooooo over being known for playing Kevin. It seemed like he actually had a bit of fun with it all because of that.
Kaufman was fun simply because that's what the dude is like in real life. He's purposely cringe or offensive simply for the sake of it, to drum up attention. This is a guy who encourages people to pirate his movies and only buy them if you really like them: for him, all attention is good and he's looking for lowest-common denominator customers. He definitely didn't gel well with the Nerd character, but I actually enjoyed when James was on the verge of breaking character from the crazy shit Lloyd was saying. Of course, it was more fun to imagine that James was simply so nonplussed: not as entertaining when you realize that's James' reaction to any spontaneity. My favorite episode, with my favorite "guest" appearance, is Ikari Warriors. Kyle Justin has effortless charisma and his jamming while James played felt like genuine friends having fun - because it was. I'm so sad that James and Mike drove him away, because I always thought it would be ideal to just have him riffing and making up music while James tries to play a game in a variation of J&MM.
yeah true.. and i figured kaufman was probably that kind of guy but it was still hard to watch and yeah i liked the ikari warriors episode, another classic. It is sad what ended up happening to the gang.
Yes - Ikari Warriors episode with Kyle Justin always comes to mind as AVGN’s golden era which genuinely makes me laugh. But that Tom Cruise impersonator cracks me up too!
I fully agree. I hate these episodes. To me, the one with Macaulay Culkin was the only one remotely watchable, probably because he's not a terrible and annoying old man, or maybe it's just because I loved him as Kevin The thing is, even James Rolfe's talent seems to get sucked out of him in these episodes
Or just watch Best of the Worst episode with Spookies. You've reviewed current-day Cinemassacre, so you are probably already familiar with Redlettermedia. The Slobs' Rental Reviews show is inspired by (or rip-off of) Redlettermedia
Now that I see it in writing some of my least favorite or most disappointing videos were the ones with celebrities. I loved the ones with Mike and Kyle etc. Aka pre 2015
Great video concept, well executed. I was such a Nerd fan that I finished episodes I didn't like - I think the Gilbert episode is the first episode that I just stopped watching midstream (and I love Gilbert) and I'm pretty sure the Lloyd Kaufman one I wanted to stop.
Very good video! The criticism is very fair. Without his formers friends, James can't write and act on the same level as before. But in my modest opinion even that had a decline. For me, the turning point was after the Silver Surfer game.
AVGN videos still get around a million views. It's a decline from its heyday, but I don't agree when others say it's a downfall. 99 percent of UA-camrs never get anything close to that number, and you can guarantee that if Dances with Ghosts got that number on a video, he'd be doing cartwheels, and rightly so. Doing a series for as long as James has, it's inevitable it's going to get stale. I think that's a bigger problem than Kyle or Bootsy leaving the channel.
I hate to be too real here but i think its more than obvious Macauley was another victim of creepy hollywood. There is underlying trauma with that dude and it sucks because he could have done so much more with himself if he just would have gotten help. It sounds like he's atleast doing better now with his new family but i doubt he'll ever act again.
For Culkin, it's almost certainly a combination of a terrible script and a lack of adequate rehearsal time. Dude can act in recent things I've seen. Combine not really meshing with the Nerd and how stiff James' acting can be... yeah, recipe for disaster. Same with Gottfried - it's like Gottfried had no time to rehearse, work with the script and polish his delivery. This is 100% on Cinemassacre because there is no way seasoned actors should sound so stilted and unprepared.
The thing about Gilbert Gottfried is that he was the king of cheesy awful 80s movies. He was the host of USA Up All Night! That’s where I saw all these movies everyone obsesses over. Yet nobody seems to remember this? Am I the only one who watched it?
@@DancingwithGhostshe had a long career but in the 80s-90s he had a 4 hour movie show on Saturday overnights. He literally played Toxic Avenger and other Troma films as well as other campy and /or violent comedies. sometimes they borderlined on serious horror. I must have seen Evil Dead and Killer Tomatoes 10 times on there. Gilbert did the skits between commercials. It was hilarious and I loved it. None of these slobs seem to acknowledge it even though they act like they live and breathe this stuff. How else can you get your fix when all this stuff was rated R and you couldn’t rent it?! There was also a Friday version hosted by a women where they played more racy comedies like Porky’s and Zapped, starring Scott Baio. Of course those were censored.
I remember, watched Up All Night religiously. Gottfried and Rhonda were great, and the movies were perfect for a pre teen nerd doing fuck all on the weekend in the early 90s. Wished someone caught more footage of the bumpers they were in, never thought they'd just disappear. To the video, 100% agreed. Love the Nerd, but real life James has about as much charisma as I do. Which is none.
He also was on SNL for one season, yeah it was the season before Eddie Murphy came on but he was on there, he did not come back after he supposedly got fired from it.
I agree with most of em, but I’m alright with the Loyd Kauffman episode. If you’ve seen any of the Troma films or any of his interviews, he’s exactly as you’d expect him to be.
I liked the Black Tiger episode. I dont know why but Gilbert's weird delivery sort of made his version of Fred Fuchs weirder amd more unhinged which made me laugh a few times.
I knew about Keith back in the Screw Attack days, and I do like the Keith episode. Also, I agree about Gotfried. Lloyd Kaufman was par for the course. Especially if you were a Troma fan.
I rewatched this because it's true, these episode's are the worst. I honestly think a big part of the issue is that they might be a little uncomfortable or feel out of place because they're in this gaming dudes house, his friends and family are in the same room, and they obviously aren't gamers. They don't have a professional script, and they're reading off cue cards. If they improvise then they definitely won't do well because they don't know anything about gaming lol Either way, they're awful and should never be seen by anyone lol
I remember liking the Keith Apicary episode when I first saw it, I ever showed it to my friends but I honestly don't remember them laughing at all. Can I use the excuse I was only 25 and didn't know any better?
I mean, James got RLM's sloppy seconds with Mac. He had MUCH better chemistry with those guys - but the RLM crew seems like a lot of down to earth types who'd make anyone feel at ease immediately. I think James's awkwardness creeps people out who would ordinarily warm right up in this sort of situation. Maybe he should've brought Max Landis on...then again, that guy probably would've just started bullying James straight out.
Mac was alright on Red Letter Media and American Horror Story. He can still act, I just dont think James is the easiest guy to work with upon receiving little context or actual direction. I feel James might've been a little star struck for these and didn't want to over criticize his once famous guests.
Nice job with the video. I definitely agree with all of these episodes being total cringe. I absolutely forgot how bad MacCaulay Culkin was in the Home Alone games episode.
The stripped down look is very Norma Jean front man vibes, i dig it. Never liked any of the celeb videos had to tap out like a minute in on each when they dropped, good on you for suffering through them for us.
As a longtime fan of James, I actually really like the Keith Christmas episode, but I'm also a big Keith Apicary/Nathan Barnatt fan. But I agree that their styles don't really mix well. The Nerd is nuanced chaos with light slapstick here and there. Keith is complete chaos all the time with slapstick out the ass.
@DancingwithGhosts me neither. I know you get sick of covering AVGN but you make valid observations. But the slobs seem to have been protective lately. Thanks for the video dude.
I feel the people that came on, usually showed up for their own self interest of promoting something. People who aren't really in the limelight anymore. I watched his last gaming neighbor buddy video, it was painful. Friday the 13th, which they played on JMM, but obviously mike isn't there this time. It felt like I was watching someone who never played a game before, play a game. lol His friend laughs from what I gather is being uncomfortable or its him showing no interest in what is said and just laughing as a response to it.
I always hated these episodes too. And they progressively got worse & worse. The only tolerable one was with Kaufman, but because I don’t mind his kind of humor. And he said some pretty fun lines, so that one gets a pass for me. The rest of these were truly awful no matter the era.
Thank you for feeding us trolls of the a hole variety. I loved you on the res cow podcast btw, i subscribed to their patreon exclusively for your fist interview. Keep up the amazing work man
7:00 in the commentary of the episode James claims it cost 1k for the breakaway props, $3,614 total (including half of the air fare for Keith) to make that episode. And Kyle built the set, so we can take a wild guess if he got paid. "I took a hard hit, but it was for the art" The Commentary is a interesting watch. "If I did 140 episodes of the same thing that would be boring, atleast I would get bored, and you would notice, the videos would suffer" "I would feel no satisfaction if every video was me sitting on a couch talking about a game" ua-cam.com/video/LRSMq_QNvOA/v-deo.htmlsi=-0NfP8QzKf-xIKCX
@@DancingwithGhosts No problem, it's interesting to hear his thoughts and work process. With the massive contrast of the difference with him before he started to get lazy/devolve as a content creator. Especially post the Behind The Scenes 2001 video err film, where his transformation to full on Bimmy was complete.
i did honestly like the lloyd kaufman cameo. i think it was his energy and the complete insane off-the-wall shit he said. i laughed a lot during that episode. the ending was cringe tho.
I must know... did you see Pat the NES Punk's Bohemian Rhapsody video? Or his (very short) impersonation of Sylvester Stallone as Rambo? Those are gems!!
Shawn depasquale worked with Macaulay on the bunny ears podcast, which is johns brother, the guy on neighbor nerds. That's the connection of how they got in contact.
Gottfried is so good at riffing, his appearance makes you wish James could do something a little looser, like how they can drift in and out of character on Half in the Bag. But it's just awkward scripted content handcuffing Gottfried to unfunny jokes that an unfunny slob thought sounded like something he would say.
I actually thought Kaufman was a choice pick for AVGN. James loves B-movie trash like Troma produces, they're still a smaller company in the grand scheme of things, his brand of humor can be a little much but I think it fit
The Christmas episode of AVGN with "Kevin Apicary" was one I completely forgot about until I saw Nathan Barnatt, or "Dad," box in Creator Clash, and then pretended to not know who Sam Hyde was that resulted in some beef between the two on Twitter.
i felt if i didn't at least try to de-cringe, the trolls would focus on my hair too much and would miss the much more interesting cringe of macaulay culkin
I've only see the Culkin one and, yeah... It was pretty cringe. Honestly, the clips of the Gottfried one make me think that it'd be worth watching just to watch Gilbert act like a loon for a while. Overall, I think the problem with these episodes is that James doesn't dig the Nerd character anymore. The cameos suck because there's no character for the guests to interact with because, more and more, the Nerd feels like James wearing a cosplay outfit. The writing isn't the same, the rage isn't there, and honestly... maybe the gimmick has been stretched too far. Watching the chemistry with others usually feels like James just invited someone over and filmed it with nobody being particularly in character. Old school? The nerd could have someone else on to be the over-the-top nutjob while the Nerd himself plays the comedic straight man, scowling away and throwing out expletives now and again. TL:DR? It's hard to have on screen chemistry when there's no anchor and the Nerd isn't a consistent anchor anymore.
c'mon, "universally hated"? Keith was great in ep. 143. You're not fun. I just don't care about the episodes after. Culkin was ok, Gilbert was...not good and Lloyd was passable.
These episodes were def the most skippable ones, especially during binge watches. Always hate when that christmas one comes on and my controller is across the room lol. That one sticks out most to me bc its earlier on. At least feels earlier like its on a season i like. Luckily the other ones are in seasons i dont like anyways so never rewatch them. Culkin was awesome on rental reviews. Just being himself and not trying to match james goofy humour. Big Frankie fan btw
The Lloyd Kaufman episode was surprisingly early on, before Screenwave. I was definitely disappointed in the script, but I do think the ending makes it worth it, where the Nerd literally pukes on a pile of... James has talked about the Keith episode being his favorite, and most expensive episode. I think it's a great episode, but I'm a fan of slapstick comedy. In fact, I think this is the best cameo episode by a long shot. It looked like it was fun to make. Plus, the line, "You turned off Sonic. That's a Christmas offense." resonated with me, as having gotten a Sega Genesis with Sonic the Hedgehog bundle one year for Christmas. My only real problem with the Macaulay episode is that they put his credit in the opening and take all of the surprise out of him showing up as the pizza boy. Overall, I enjoy this episode quite a bit too. I was already familiar with Macaulay's current day acting, so I wasn't surprised by the awkwardness. The first time I saw the Gilbert episode, I thought they did the entire thing remotely with green screens, and later composite back together in post. They barely have any interactions with each other and it almost looks like they aren't even in the same room. I do love the part where Gilbert goes on a tangent about ear infections, but this is a fairly weak episode. It was nice to get an indie performance out of Gilbert before he died, and I still get laughs out of his "cringe" performance. I doubt he got paid much to do it and they probably made him improvise almost everything. I had no idea that guy in Mission Impossible was anything other than some random friend of his. That episode is pretty weak all around, imo. Maybe even one of the worst on the channel.
The Gilbert Gottfried one is the most baffling . On paper he would be an absolutely perfect fit for AVGN.
Gottfried was notoriously cheap.
It's difficult to imagine he agreed to do an AVGN cameo without some sort of financial gain.
I remember that I was watching Gottfried with Norm Macdonald, his roast on Bob Saget's special when that thing was uploaded... I couldn't last five minutes watching that insult.
James was able to ruin a guy who thrived on awkwardness... Gilbert's appearance on "Married with Children", for example, perfect.
I think age got the best of him.
@@memaimuHe’s dead tho… 😢
Nope the Gilbert episode was not baffling and all of the celebrity cameo episodes are great
Screenwave brought one microphone to the set where they filmed Gilbert... One BROKEN microphone. After letting him wait for some time until he told them he had another appointment to get to, the poor guy had to speak extra loud so they could pick up his voice just enough to use while quickly going through his lines. James dubbed over all of his lines for that episode at home.
He probably roasted their asses the entire time.
Poor Lloyd deserves better. I think his episode was the best cameo, largely due to being pre-slob era. I like how it seems to be mostly unscripted and Lloyd's energy is on point, but James seems really awkward and nervous and drags it down. Like you said, James is obviously not an improv guy.
Edit: Josh, if you're unfamiliar with Troma I recommend checking their stuff out if you're into schlocky B-movies. Class of Nuke 'Em High is a great one to start with.
I didn't think the Lloyd cameo was that cringe. James was fulfilling the Margaret Dumont role aka the uptight matron.
Agreed. James's lack of personality clashed with Kaufman's funny n frantic behavior. Kaufman is a treasure!
Tromeo & Juliette
If it weren't for the avgn plug, we would never have been exposed to 8 years of Pat the nes punk's braindead podcast.
He's such a poser. Wears skater wrist bands and black T-shirts and claims he's punk lol.
I would rather have been given a cancer diagnosis
@@marthisonyoutube737I have cancer and can attest to this. Pat’s podcast is worse.
@@manmadeaidsI hope that you recover my friend.
@@Jaestarexplodes thank you. I’m on my way to being whole again.
He even changed his look for the video. The absolute legend. 😅
Dude, Lloyd is like that ALL THE TIME! I worked with him a bit in the past. He would constantly say random crap, he just likes reactions - it does get pretty annoying though. We had asked him to say some scripted stuff and he just went off and just did what he wanted lol. It was a wrestling-cosplay show and he was asking if he could bleed and all this crap, it was pretty ridiculous it's hard to figure out if he's making a joke or he's actually senile.
oh wow that's nuts.. i would hate to work with someone like that
@@DancingwithGhostsThat's why Lloyd is a legend & in 20 years no one will remember you.
Lloyd rules haha
If someone can't handle working with the Kaufman then you don't deserve to work the the Kaufman!
Lloyd Kaufman once offered to "buy" a script I wrote... And by buy I mean he offered to take it for free and vaguely mentioned "possible future reimbursement" if it ended up being made. Hard pass.
This video needed to be made because I never re-watched any of the celebrity episodes while I re-matched some early episodes many times over. There was creative spark that just hasn't been there in many years.
Bbbbb but you need express VPN!
Haha, the transformation to ”socially acceptable” at the start was gold.
I think Rolfe’s personality is too awkward for a lot of these folks, and then there’s probably a bad script and directing, too. Whatever the reason, it’s clear that it doesn’t work.
As to RLM doing it right, it’s wise to remember two things:
1. RLM’s guests aren’t forced to do skits or characters, they’re mainly there to just have a casual chat. It’s far more relaxed.
2. The people of RLM seem intelligent enough to know what works and what doesn’t. They know their limitations and play up their strengths, which is what one should do.
Caulkin is cringe and annoying on RLM too, though.
I thought the Culkin one couldve been way better if the episode was written better.
I feel like RLM did a better job with his cameos
I mean good writing usually does produce that effect.
I blame the writing and direction for all of these (or lack thereof).
Culkin had nothing to work with: no script, no James, no possibility of improv...
@@donnylurch4207It feels like James directed his guests like he directed his movie.
They should’ve gotten the actual Fred Fuchs to cameo. It’s great they got Gilbert, but I wasn’t a fan of his character. I would’ve liked to see him in a video based on the Aladdin games.
Yeah James seriously dropped the ball, what in the actual fuck does Gilbert Gottfried have to do with Fred Fuchs???? James and his crew are idiots.
I have a feeling they tried, but he wanted nothing to do with it.
He is still alive.
no he died in april 2022.@@holdingpattern245
I 100% agree on Jimmy Fallon. Him and Horatio Sanz ruined a ton of sketches due to them corpsing in the background. It was lame.
I enjoyed the home alone one. Even that "why did they do this to me" reaction gets a laugh out of me.
I always assumed the poor acting was due to the low standards of amateurism that is to be expected on 'do-it-yourself' quality of UA-cam. Therefore, I didn't expect those cameo celebs to be in their usual Hollywood level polished selves and were trying to or gelling with the usual layman vibes that is to be expected on typical UA-cam videos. But you viewed those celebrity episodes as 'cringy', Mr. DANCIN'? To each their own, I guess.
OMAR GOSH, JOSH!!
I've always thought Lloyd K. was like a poor man's Mel Brooks
This guy had access to Gilbert Gottfried and that’s what he comes up with? I hope Edward furlong doesn’t fall into this den of slack.
You guys should watch Red Letter Media's episodes with Macaulay Culkin. They have a great chemistry together.
that's what i've heard
He's not too different from how he is in AVGN, really.
The difference in his demeanor is palpable. His role in the AVGN episode seemed like he was counting minutes to the paycheck, but with RLM they just sorta vibe like he had been their friend already for years, if not so.
Otherwise I suspect it could be like Corey Taylor appearing in Nostalgia Critic's The Wall only because his son was a huge NC fan and begged him to do it.
Yeah, Mac seems like a really nice guy in the RLM videos. In AVGN he was just... weird.
Can understand the hate for the Keith Apicary episode, but I loved it, though I do have a very strange sense of humor and I was already familiar with the character. But anyway, it was just so over the top and not really in the spirit of Christmas, I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of this guy coming in and just making a mess of everything.
Keith makes fun of autistic people, how tf is that funny?
Keith Apicary is great. He will always have my attention. Plus he and James go back to the Screwattack days.
Same, i like physical comedy and absurd humor so i don't mind this episode at all.
The Keith Apicary video is when I said goodbye to the nerd. It’s one of the only internet videos I’ve genuinely regretted watching.
hahah
He did fall off then but he has a few good seasons around 2018 to 2020
you should donate your hair to bimmy rolfe so he can have more time to rearrange tripods on his ceilings
"why all of this actors are bad on nerd episodes?" Thas kids, is why a good director metters.
very true
Lloyd Kaufman always acts like that in interviews and behind the scenes clips
Gilbert Gottfried episode is practically unwatchable. And this is not his fault. He was highly professional entertainer, but the dudes who hired him just wanted to show off and also written way too many lines for such slow talker.
And the game is actually not funny but boring and shockingly, not entertainingly bad. Also LOBT is a game from PS5, how about that? It's not AVGN's time period to say the least.
I actually liked his delivery. Fitted to the unhinged lonely man in the jungle.
My biggest problem was his character is how painfully the jokes were and how underwhelming it is that after so many years this is Fred Fuchs. A dude who.cant stfu about tiger piss. This is the best they could come up with
I've yet to even finish that Sega Menacer episode.. just so unfunny and Apicary does not appeal to me. He's fckn annoying.🤷🏻♂️
I am sorry but I personally enjoy it.
I dunno, I enjoyed the Home Alone one. I appreciated how they leaned into the fact that Culkin is sooooo over being known for playing Kevin. It seemed like he actually had a bit of fun with it all because of that.
Agreed 👍
I’m dying for more glitch gremlin cameos in avgn. I enjoyed your bit at the beginning. Big Frankie fan too.
The word "cringe" is cringe
Kaufman was fun simply because that's what the dude is like in real life. He's purposely cringe or offensive simply for the sake of it, to drum up attention. This is a guy who encourages people to pirate his movies and only buy them if you really like them: for him, all attention is good and he's looking for lowest-common denominator customers. He definitely didn't gel well with the Nerd character, but I actually enjoyed when James was on the verge of breaking character from the crazy shit Lloyd was saying. Of course, it was more fun to imagine that James was simply so nonplussed: not as entertaining when you realize that's James' reaction to any spontaneity.
My favorite episode, with my favorite "guest" appearance, is Ikari Warriors. Kyle Justin has effortless charisma and his jamming while James played felt like genuine friends having fun - because it was. I'm so sad that James and Mike drove him away, because I always thought it would be ideal to just have him riffing and making up music while James tries to play a game in a variation of J&MM.
yeah true.. and i figured kaufman was probably that kind of guy but it was still hard to watch and yeah i liked the ikari warriors episode, another classic. It is sad what ended up happening to the gang.
Yes - Ikari Warriors episode with Kyle Justin always comes to mind as AVGN’s golden era which genuinely makes me laugh.
But that Tom Cruise impersonator cracks me up too!
I fully agree. I hate these episodes. To me, the one with Macaulay Culkin was the only one remotely watchable, probably because he's not a terrible and annoying old man, or maybe it's just because I loved him as Kevin
The thing is, even James Rolfe's talent seems to get sucked out of him in these episodes
You realize how bad it is when Pat's pinnacle of acting was that collab Highlander review with Spoony
The podcast was the best thing that Pat ever did
@@ducko5404 and even then, the podcast can be very bland sometimes... when they start going on and on about WATA or wrestling i groan audibly
Natural hair, flannel, glasses Josh looks like he's ready for his solo in the Mortal Kombat x AC/DC cover at the next Rex Viper concert
Macaulay Culkin is doing just fine, bozo. He's became a Red letter media legend
yer pretty
@@DancingwithGhosts Mac is a pretty person. Go watch all his Redlettermedia appearances
@@sueblantin5966 only because you told me to
@@DancingwithGhosts *Please
I shouldn't have been so salty
Or just watch Best of the Worst episode with Spookies. You've reviewed current-day Cinemassacre, so you are probably already familiar with Redlettermedia. The Slobs' Rental Reviews show is inspired by (or rip-off of) Redlettermedia
Now that I see it in writing some of my least favorite or most disappointing videos were the ones with celebrities. I loved the ones with Mike and Kyle etc. Aka pre 2015
yeah his actual friends gelled much better than the dumb celeb cameos
the kyle ones are improv, and still have some really good bits
@@holdingpattern245 The Ikari Warriors episode is one of my favs. Kyle's improv songs and James' genuine laughter are hilarious.
Great video concept, well executed. I was such a Nerd fan that I finished episodes I didn't like - I think the Gilbert episode is the first episode that I just stopped watching midstream (and I love Gilbert) and I'm pretty sure the Lloyd Kaufman one I wanted to stop.
Very good video! The criticism is very fair. Without his formers friends, James can't write and act on the same level as before. But in my modest opinion even that had a decline. For me, the turning point was after the Silver Surfer game.
AVGN videos still get around a million views. It's a decline from its heyday, but I don't agree when others say it's a downfall. 99 percent of UA-camrs never get anything close to that number, and you can guarantee that if Dances with Ghosts got that number on a video, he'd be doing cartwheels, and rightly so.
Doing a series for as long as James has, it's inevitable it's going to get stale. I think that's a bigger problem than Kyle or Bootsy leaving the channel.
That moment when Mara Wilson in a Nostalgia Critic video is better realized and better written than the AVGN celebrity cameos.
I hate to be too real here but i think its more than obvious Macauley was another victim of creepy hollywood. There is underlying trauma with that dude and it sucks because he could have done so much more with himself if he just would have gotten help. It sounds like he's atleast doing better now with his new family but i doubt he'll ever act again.
For Culkin, it's almost certainly a combination of a terrible script and a lack of adequate rehearsal time. Dude can act in recent things I've seen. Combine not really meshing with the Nerd and how stiff James' acting can be... yeah, recipe for disaster. Same with Gottfried - it's like Gottfried had no time to rehearse, work with the script and polish his delivery. This is 100% on Cinemassacre because there is no way seasoned actors should sound so stilted and unprepared.
Yeah i dyed my hair blue one time....when i was 15😅
Dude, I’m so glad you talk about all this lame shit the AVGN did, and everyone gave him a pass on.
to be honest I don't see how people think this guy is cringe, I like his dry "I hate everything" delivery, it's pretty neat
That was a great intro, lol, well thought out and executed
It has to be bad script. Culkin was actually pretty good in American Horror Story Double Feature.
The thing about Gilbert Gottfried is that he was the king of cheesy awful 80s movies. He was the host of USA Up All Night! That’s where I saw all these movies everyone obsesses over. Yet nobody seems to remember this? Am I the only one who watched it?
i just know him as a stand-up and as a voice actor
@@DancingwithGhostshe had a long career but in the 80s-90s he had a 4 hour movie show on Saturday overnights. He literally played Toxic Avenger and other Troma films as well as other campy and /or violent comedies. sometimes they borderlined on serious horror. I must have seen Evil Dead and Killer Tomatoes 10 times on there. Gilbert did the skits between commercials. It was hilarious and I loved it. None of these slobs seem to acknowledge it even though they act like they live and breathe this stuff. How else can you get your fix when all this stuff was rated R and you couldn’t rent it?! There was also a Friday version hosted by a women where they played more racy comedies like Porky’s and Zapped, starring Scott Baio. Of course those were censored.
I remember, watched Up All Night religiously. Gottfried and Rhonda were great, and the movies were perfect for a pre teen nerd doing fuck all on the weekend in the early 90s. Wished someone caught more footage of the bumpers they were in, never thought they'd just disappear.
To the video, 100% agreed. Love the Nerd, but real life James has about as much charisma as I do. Which is none.
He also was on SNL for one season, yeah it was the season before Eddie Murphy came on but he was on there, he did not come back after he supposedly got fired from it.
jontron had a good episode with maculley
I agree with most of em, but I’m alright with the Loyd Kauffman episode. If you’ve seen any of the Troma films or any of his interviews, he’s exactly as you’d expect him to be.
I liked the Black Tiger episode. I dont know why but Gilbert's weird delivery sort of made his version of Fred Fuchs weirder amd more unhinged which made me laugh a few times.
I think the one with Lloyd Kaufman was pretty good
big DwG and Frankie fan btw
EDIT - just noticed Kid A in the background. classic album!
The chance is its the writing and they dont really want to be there. The first guy i think though was just intentionally cringy
I knew about Keith back in the Screw Attack days, and I do like the Keith episode. Also, I agree about Gotfried. Lloyd Kaufman was par for the course. Especially if you were a Troma fan.
Lmao "I'm not even flaccid" Jesus
yeah that statement made no sense.. Lloyd was trying too hard
@@DancingwithGhosts i see what you did there :O
Hey The Teal Hair Was Cool, Don't Let People Tell You What To Do Mang
it's too distracting to the trolls, i don't want to distract them. But thank you! I'm keeping it don't worry.
I rewatched this because it's true, these episode's are the worst. I honestly think a big part of the issue is that they might be a little uncomfortable or feel out of place because they're in this gaming dudes house, his friends and family are in the same room, and they obviously aren't gamers. They don't have a professional script, and they're reading off cue cards. If they improvise then they definitely won't do well because they don't know anything about gaming lol
Either way, they're awful and should never be seen by anyone lol
I remember liking the Keith Apicary episode when I first saw it, I ever showed it to my friends but I honestly don't remember them laughing at all. Can I use the excuse I was only 25 and didn't know any better?
lol yeah that's probably how old i was when i first saw it as well and i was just like.... why?
I mean, James got RLM's sloppy seconds with Mac. He had MUCH better chemistry with those guys - but the RLM crew seems like a lot of down to earth types who'd make anyone feel at ease immediately. I think James's awkwardness creeps people out who would ordinarily warm right up in this sort of situation. Maybe he should've brought Max Landis on...then again, that guy probably would've just started bullying James straight out.
lol never saw him on RLM, i don't really watch their channel but god the mac appearance on the nerd was a swing and a miss
Mac was alright on Red Letter Media and American Horror Story. He can still act, I just dont think James is the easiest guy to work with upon receiving little context or actual direction. I feel James might've been a little star struck for these and didn't want to over criticize his once famous guests.
Well, he IS a dirty grandpa
Nice job with the video. I definitely agree with all of these episodes being total cringe. I absolutely forgot how bad MacCaulay Culkin was in the Home Alone games episode.
yeah that ear-ached my eyeballs
I enjoyed Llyod Kauffman's episode. I think he is actively TRYING to be cringe, and it kind of works for him. I agree the others were head scratchers.
Lloyd Kaufman and Macaulay Culkin are the only ones I heard about.
The stripped down look is very Norma Jean front man vibes, i dig it.
Never liked any of the celeb videos had to tap out like a minute in on each when they dropped, good on you for suffering through them for us.
As a longtime fan of James, I actually really like the Keith Christmas episode, but I'm also a big Keith Apicary/Nathan Barnatt fan. But I agree that their styles don't really mix well. The Nerd is nuanced chaos with light slapstick here and there. Keith is complete chaos all the time with slapstick out the ass.
I need to watch this before the Slobs start copyright striking.
i hope they don't do that with this video that would piss me off a great deal
@DancingwithGhosts me neither. I know you get sick of covering AVGN but you make valid observations.
But the slobs seem to have been protective lately. Thanks for the video dude.
Slobwave are scumbags
Big Ryan fan btw
I also had no idea some of these people even were.
I feel the people that came on, usually showed up for their own self interest of promoting something.
People who aren't really in the limelight anymore.
I watched his last gaming neighbor buddy video, it was painful.
Friday the 13th, which they played on JMM, but obviously mike isn't there this time.
It felt like I was watching someone who never played a game before, play a game. lol
His friend laughs from what I gather is being uncomfortable or its him showing no interest
in what is said and just laughing as a response to it.
I always hated these episodes too. And they progressively got worse & worse. The only tolerable one was with Kaufman, but because I don’t mind his kind of humor. And he said some pretty fun lines, so that one gets a pass for me. The rest of these were truly awful no matter the era.
There were a few times in modern Irate Gamer episodes where he'd have Cameo videos of celebrities like Ernie Hudson and Peter Weller
Speak your mind brotha, haters gonna hate! Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I definitely appreciate your honesty!
Lloyd Kaufman struck me as a nice dude when I met him back in 2017
"In fact nothing freaks James out more than making shit up on the fly"😂😂😂
You are a truther, I like that, instant sub and like
i'm around the Reddit's from time to time
Yeah the A in AVGN actually stands for autistic.
The clock in the background.... That time cannot be a coincidence
damn i didn't even notice the time now im gonna have to rewatch my own video
Thank you for feeding us trolls of the a hole variety. I loved you on the res cow podcast btw, i subscribed to their patreon exclusively for your fist interview. Keep up the amazing work man
why thank you! I am honored that my complaining has gained an audience!
7:00 in the commentary of the episode James claims it cost 1k for the breakaway props, $3,614 total (including half of the air fare for Keith) to make that episode.
And Kyle built the set, so we can take a wild guess if he got paid.
"I took a hard hit, but it was for the art"
The Commentary is a interesting watch.
"If I did 140 episodes of the same thing that would be boring, atleast I would get bored, and you would notice, the videos would suffer"
"I would feel no satisfaction if every video was me sitting on a couch talking about a game"
ua-cam.com/video/LRSMq_QNvOA/v-deo.htmlsi=-0NfP8QzKf-xIKCX
thank you for providing the commentary link and more context to the inner workings of bimmy
@@DancingwithGhosts No problem, it's interesting to hear his thoughts and work process.
With the massive contrast of the difference with him before he started to get lazy/devolve as a content creator.
Especially post the Behind The Scenes 2001 video err film, where his transformation to full on Bimmy was complete.
i did honestly like the lloyd kaufman cameo. i think it was his energy and the complete insane off-the-wall shit he said. i laughed a lot during that episode. the ending was cringe tho.
I must know... did you see Pat the NES Punk's Bohemian Rhapsody video? Or his (very short) impersonation of Sylvester Stallone as Rambo? Those are gems!!
Shawn depasquale worked with Macaulay on the bunny ears podcast, which is johns brother, the guy on neighbor nerds. That's the connection of how they got in contact.
Gottfried is so good at riffing, his appearance makes you wish James could do something a little looser, like how they can drift in and out of character on Half in the Bag. But it's just awkward scripted content handcuffing Gottfried to unfunny jokes that an unfunny slob thought sounded like something he would say.
Macaulay works on RLM, so I’m disappointed to see him fail on Avgn.
oh cmon, you can clearly hear mike break down laughing in the loyd kaufman video off screen
McCauley was an AVGN fan, he ordered AVGN DVD's back in the day, and Screwattack thought it was a joke when they read the customer name they said.
I actually thought Kaufman was a choice pick for AVGN. James loves B-movie trash like Troma produces, they're still a smaller company in the grand scheme of things, his brand of humor can be a little much but I think it fit
The Christmas episode of AVGN with "Kevin Apicary" was one I completely forgot about until I saw Nathan Barnatt, or "Dad," box in Creator Clash, and then pretended to not know who Sam Hyde was that resulted in some beef between the two on Twitter.
Macaulay’s acting was better in American horror story surprisingly
Lloyd is basically if Mel Brooks was raunchier and a horror much and that's very just the g-rated description of him.
The de cringe segment wasnt needed but goddamn you look very different with no died hair and glasses
I twas extremely cringy
i felt if i didn't at least try to de-cringe, the trolls would focus on my hair too much and would miss the much more interesting cringe of macaulay culkin
He turned himself into Matt Walsh.
I've only see the Culkin one and, yeah... It was pretty cringe.
Honestly, the clips of the Gottfried one make me think that it'd be worth watching just to watch Gilbert act like a loon for a while.
Overall, I think the problem with these episodes is that James doesn't dig the Nerd character anymore. The cameos suck because there's no character for the guests to interact with because, more and more, the Nerd feels like James wearing a cosplay outfit. The writing isn't the same, the rage isn't there, and honestly... maybe the gimmick has been stretched too far. Watching the chemistry with others usually feels like James just invited someone over and filmed it with nobody being particularly in character.
Old school? The nerd could have someone else on to be the over-the-top nutjob while the Nerd himself plays the comedic straight man, scowling away and throwing out expletives now and again.
TL:DR? It's hard to have on screen chemistry when there's no anchor and the Nerd isn't a consistent anchor anymore.
I agree
Will you be going over the Friday the 13th Rex Viper Concert?
Feel the bite! **HISS**
Honestly the best cameo he had was the fat dude from the old Pepsiman video
The decringifying part was kinda funny ngl. I liked the video btw. I also always thought that those guests never added anything fun to the episodes.
Completely agree, dude. Also Pat the NES Punk was cringe since day one.
c'mon, "universally hated"? Keith was great in ep. 143. You're not fun.
I just don't care about the episodes after. Culkin was ok, Gilbert was...not good and Lloyd was passable.
i didn't make that fact up... it's one of the most hated AVGN episodes
These episodes were def the most skippable ones, especially during binge watches. Always hate when that christmas one comes on and my controller is across the room lol. That one sticks out most to me bc its earlier on. At least feels earlier like its on a season i like. Luckily the other ones are in seasons i dont like anyways so never rewatch them. Culkin was awesome on rental reviews. Just being himself and not trying to match james goofy humour. Big Frankie fan btw
yeah i think him trying to match the nerd's character was his big cringey mistake
The Lloyd Kaufman episode was surprisingly early on, before Screenwave. I was definitely disappointed in the script, but I do think the ending makes it worth it, where the Nerd literally pukes on a pile of...
James has talked about the Keith episode being his favorite, and most expensive episode. I think it's a great episode, but I'm a fan of slapstick comedy. In fact, I think this is the best cameo episode by a long shot. It looked like it was fun to make. Plus, the line, "You turned off Sonic. That's a Christmas offense." resonated with me, as having gotten a Sega Genesis with Sonic the Hedgehog bundle one year for Christmas.
My only real problem with the Macaulay episode is that they put his credit in the opening and take all of the surprise out of him showing up as the pizza boy. Overall, I enjoy this episode quite a bit too. I was already familiar with Macaulay's current day acting, so I wasn't surprised by the awkwardness.
The first time I saw the Gilbert episode, I thought they did the entire thing remotely with green screens, and later composite back together in post. They barely have any interactions with each other and it almost looks like they aren't even in the same room. I do love the part where Gilbert goes on a tangent about ear infections, but this is a fairly weak episode. It was nice to get an indie performance out of Gilbert before he died, and I still get laughs out of his "cringe" performance. I doubt he got paid much to do it and they probably made him improvise almost everything.
I had no idea that guy in Mission Impossible was anything other than some random friend of his. That episode is pretty weak all around, imo. Maybe even one of the worst on the channel.
I feel like Culkin's brand of comedy only works if you're a cute kid.
Nice one! I usually focus on China shills but I might make another channel to talk about the angry video game shill!
That's just Lloyd Kaufman. He has always been that way
The Nerd is AYYSSSSSS!