Top 10 Funniest In Living Color Parodies
#10: Boyz II Wimps
“End of the Road” Boyz II Men’s emotional vulnerability made women swoon throughout the ‘90s. But others weren’t as crazy and reverent to this brand of R&B present the boy band age. In a parody of the hit single “End of the Road”, David Alan Grier adds an unexpected spoken word bridge. As it goes on, it turns into an increasingly disturbing one sided conversion with his love interest. While he spirals, the rest of the band reacts and even throws in their own comments. It all culminates to the reveal that his girlfriend cheated on him with the other singers. This skit perfectly captured the dramatic narratives and sounds of the r&b age while throwing in some funny twists.
#9: Wanda on "The Dating Game"
"The Dating Game" This riff on the popular program has never seen anything like Wanda Wayne. Played by Jamie Foxx, Wanda was one of "In Living Color"'s most popular characters. She was a frisky and shockingly unappealing woman who tests people's manners. This made for some bizarre flirting with her poor, unsuspecting bachelors. It also presented Jim Carrey the opportunity to play the clever straight man as the show's host. This cringe-tastic skit was Wanda's first, and is considered one of her funniest. If nothing else, it reminds us of the ugly truth about dating shows supposedly hyping personality over appearance.
#8: “Cookin’ with Salt-N-Pepa”
"Push It" Salt-N-Pepa made hip-hop history just with one of the great party anthems. As sexy as “Push It” is, it inspired one of “In Living Color”’s funniest clean skits. …Well, at least the writing is clean. “Cookin’ with Salt-N-Pepa” features the hip-hop stars trying to prepare meatloaf while rapping and dancing around the kitchen. While they make a terrible mess, the spoof lyrics to “Cook It” have flavor. It’s impossible to not fill up on the fun that Kim Coles, T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh and Kim Wayans are clearly having. The skit may be short, but it really hits the spot. It helps that the title “Cookin’ with Salt-N-Pepa” is so good that the rappers borrowed it for a real food show in 2015.
#7: The Brothers Brothers
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"The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" Early on with “In Living Color”, the Wayans brothers shook the format with "The Brothers Brothers Comedy Hour". Both named after their uncle, Tom and Tom Brothers were pitched as nice and unassuming men that wouldn't hurt a fly. As they sang their corny songs, brought attention to Hollywood’s issues with diversity in programming. The duo were marketed as black men who were oblivious to contemporary issues. But by pretending not to know about troubling trends, they put the spotlight on them. The Brothers were brought into a variety of spaces to make relevant social commentary. While there's no belittling the importance of the Smothers Brothers, the Brothers Brothers may have had the more urgent comedy.
#6: All Up in the Family
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"All in the Family" While “The Jeffersons" and "Good Times" revolutionized Black representation on TV, the middle-class sitcom perspective was arguably dominated by the controversial Archie Bunker. "In Living Color" tackled that with the even more irreverent "All Up in the Family". Marc Wilmore portrays Archie as an archetypal Black conservative man who’s annoyed with '90s social and pop culture trends. Each of these skits expanded the satire of Black American cultures' conflicts and stereotypes. Of course, Archie wasn't exactly happy with trends of other aspects of American culture either. Although "All Up in the Family" may have not gotten the same level of notoriety as its parody target, this skit series was still just as funny.
#5: Career Aid
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“We Are the World” In 1985, the massive supergroup USA for Africa promoted famine relief with a hit single. This may have also been an act of charity for the singers. Observing that many of them were experiencing professional ruts at the time, the show spoofed the song with the great “Career Aid”. Within the show, the track functioned as an anthem to raise public awareness of celebrities whose stars were fading. The skit featured its own all-star choir of “In Living Color” impressionists to poke fun at the USA for Africa stars’ contemporary financial woes. Ironically enough, especially some of the stars it parodied got even bigger later on. But that doesn’t change the fact that the skit was a great way to poke fun at celebrity activism.
#4: My Songs Are Mindless
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“Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)” “In Living Color’s music parodies are typically cutting. But they are rarely as riotously sharp as their riff on Crystal Waters’s “Gypsy Woman”. The original is considered a seminal house music classic. So, some contemporary listeners were probably thrown off by this upbeat parody dance jam. Kim Wayans nails the inflection and moves of the video. At the same time, she takes tons of pot shots at Crystal Waters. Wayans portrayed the singer as a ditsy non-celebrity, whose songwriting may as well be inspired by watching TV. So, Waters didn’t exactly love the parody. Despite her negative reaction, “My Songs Are Mindless” still stands as one of the show’s best parodies.
#3: “The Wrath of Farrakhan”
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“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” “In Living Color” couldn’t wait past its second episode to showcase Jim Carrey’s over-the-top Captain Kirk impression. But their spoof of “The Wrath of Khan” had another perfect play on contemporary pop culture. By 1990, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan had polarized America with his dedicated activist and extremist ideas. When Damon Wayans portrayed him boarding the Starship Enterprise, he was at his preachiest. Of course, Kirk didn’t come out of this encounter unfazed. Farrakhan inspired a mutiny with his astute points about the Enterprise’s power structure. Although Farrakhan’s rhetoric has its own issues, the Starfleet still has some things they need to work on too.
#2: “Can’t Touch This”
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“U Can’t Touch This” It was certainly hard for rappers in the early ‘90s to touch MC Hammer’s style and pop appeal. Both, however, had plenty of comedic pressure points. “In Living Color” admittedly went broad by poking fun at Hammer’s signature parachute pants through his signature hit “U Can’t Touch This”. Its lyrics consisted of a punchy humblebrag about how the rapper stays cool in spite of his ridiculously breathable wardrobe. Tommy Davidson effectively killed that cool when Hammer’s parachute got tangled. In just over a minute, Davidson touched every joke that could be made about MC Hammer at the time. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Bill Clinton in “Humpin' Around”, “Humpin' Around”
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"Mama's Gonna Kick Me Out", "Mama Said Knock You Out"
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"Unpoetic Justice", "Poetic Justice"
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#1: White White Baby
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"Ice Ice Baby" In the early '90s, Vanilla Ice was one of the hottest and most hated rappers for ripping off other musicians like Queen and David Bowie. But "In Living Color"'s Jim Carrey exposed a greater theft with "White White Baby". Ice brags about capitalizing on Black artists and culture in this snappy spoof lyric. While hip-hop enthusiasts debate the quality of Ice's work, many thought he appropriated Black culture. This prompted Carrey and other critics to expose his act as a means of capitalizing on other social spaces. Harsh or valid, "White White Baby" is considered as biting as any "In Living Color" spoof. It might even be catchier than "Ice Ice Baby".
