Two Shitty Wicker Man Parodies

 It dawned on me, better late than never, but both the Angry Video Game Nerd and Nostalgia Critic, two faces of YouTube review culture, pioneers if you will, two reviewers who're grinding to make ends meet, two reviewers that I refuse to see through rose-tinted sunglasses, they both did shitty Wicker Man parodies, and incorporated memes.

Now, though I've never seen either version of The Wicker Man, at the very least I know about the finale, for it is the basis for the parodies done. This refers to the Nostalgia Critic's review of the 2006 remake of The Wicker Man and the Angry Video Game Nerd's review of Shrek: Fairy Tale Freakdown.

Nostalgia Critic's

Nostalgia Critic's Wicker Man review came out during his skit-happy phase, which is important to bring up as a bulk of them incorporate skits relevant to the films he was covering, well most of them, you can see Doug pop a boner to Dr. Seuss most of the time. This was around the time Rachel... Johnson? Left the show and was the introduction to Tamera Chambers.

This was during a dedicated month to Nicholas Cage movies, and for its infamy I can see why Doug decided to cover it. So, does he get crucified for not liking the original? Fuck no he's not about contrarianism unless it's convenient to him. Don't expect him to get burned in the titular wicker man, it all goes down to... memes. Yeah, Nostalgia Critic is driven to address the Not the Bees meme. Does it accomplish anything? Is there a finer point? Yeah, there is. It reflects low quality writing with no nuance. What's the application of the meme? You Don't Say has a better application than Not the Bees.

The review was cringe then, and it's cringe now, much like the Nostalgia Critic at large, and nothing has ever changed that.

Angry Video Game Nerd's

But first a word from our sponsors... Is the Angry Video Game Nerd returning to form? Probably not.

This review came out around the time Shrek was added to the National Film Registry thanks to its cultural significance, along with being a damn good movie.

First warning sign, James is reviewing a Game Boy Color game, only the Game Boy Color game, one that can be easily summed up for its poor control and gameplay. But as something that is sponsored, you know what that means? An overlong skit and establishment of the source material, along with dinking around with Game Boy Video.

It takes forever to get into the game review, and it ends before you know it, but where does Wicker Man come into play? Well, playing on the cultural significance aspect, this is twisted as Shrek becoming a main point of governmental influence, also Brogres. I haven't heard that term since the 2010s. Shrek is a great movie, don't get me wrong, but I'm no fan of subcultures, too mentally draining, even cancerous in some circles.

The Draw

Both episodes incorporate Wicker Man parodies, both incorporate dead or overdone memes, both came out well into the heyday of either reviewer, both use skits where they were rarely necessary before, both are cringeworthy in their own special ways.

But which one of the two is worse? The AVGN video left a rotten taste in my mouth, and didn't even function well as a dedicated review. This would've been a good time to do a marathon of Shrek games, and if you're so desperate to incorporate brogre culture, have the AVGN become one. You don't have to take it as far as retreading stuff like the Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre reviews, but anything would be better than what we got.

The Nostalgia Critic, well, I never want to revisit any Nostalgia Critic review, even thinking about his Wicker Man review made me cringe, it's a given for many of his reviews at this point, along with trying to make jokes out of the most innate occurrences he could find.

Both seem pointless when you really think about it, and frankly both are trash. If I marked any disservice to Shrek, just know I'm condemning the nerd for tainting its name with his crappy review, and keep in mind he said the game sucked.