Ithaca, N.Y. — Two Cornell graduates are in the spotlight for “Canadian Sniper,” their YouTube parody of the Oscar-winning film “American Sniper.”
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Jeff Ayars and Dan Rosen started Cannibal Milkshake Comedy after they graduated from Cornell University in 2013.
Watch Cannibal Milkshake Comedy’s “Canadian Sniper” here:
How did Cannibal Milkshake Comedy get started?
Ayars and Rosen were classmates together in Cornell’s Art, Architecture and Planning program.
We asked the duo about their parody and the genesis of Cannibal Milkshake Comedy. This is what they said about the comedy group’s creation:
Jeff Ayars and Dan Rosen started Cannibal Milkshake Comedy after they graduated from Cornell University in 2013. As avid consumers of cinema and pop culture, most of their work reflects a burning and pathetic desire to one day be on Saturday Night Live, or at least smell the Canadian musk of Lorne Michael’s office.
Although they were neighbors during their senior year, they somehow managed to graduate without making a single video together. The two now live in different states and bitterly argue over text, phone, and Google Docs about sketch ideas until something beautiful emerges.
How did ‘Canadian Sniper’ happen?
Ayars has a remarkable resemblance to Bradley Cooper — one that the filmmakers realized before “American Sniper” came out.
Here’s Ayars again:
“We have been shoehorning Bradley Cooper references into our comedy videos since the beginning. We both thoroughly enjoyed American Sniper as an examination of the lasting effects of war on our veterans, although took issue with a handful of the film’s technical and political decisions. As American Sniper began breaking box office records, Dan texted me saying (begrudgingly) that it was time to take advantage of my vaguely Cooper-esque look.
From there, the two came up with a farcical imagining of what a Chris Kyle-like hero for our neighbors to the north would be like, replete with stereotypical American notions of Canadian culture. The video also features Elyse Brandau, a comedienne/actress who’s worked on the upcoming season of HBO’s Veep, SNL, and other hilarious productions; and Samuel Bronowski, a delightful French stand-up up comedian based in NYC. They shot the entire thing in one day and finished editing a few days later, adding a custom score by musical geniuses Dominic Mekky & Franky Rousseau.
What’s the reaction been?
Rosen said he and Ayars expected Canadians to be a lot more critical of the video but “have been pleasantly surprised to find out how much it has spread among our Neighbors to the North on blogs, reddit and twitter.”
The two were even contacted by CBC News in Canada for an interview during the Oscars. http://www.cbc.ca/news/
“And yes, YouTubers, we know the accents are heightened and ridiculous, just like the syrup-chugging,” they added.
The video has been featured by a variety of outlets including The Huffington Post, Yahoo! News, Fast Company and the homepage of Funny Or Die.
Ithaca Voice’s 5 favorite moments
Here are five of the Ithaca Voice’s favorite moments from the video, which had close to 1 million views as of Thursday morning:
1 — The Canadian baby being fed maple syrup. (1:19 seconds)
2 — “What if they come to Ottawa … or Tim Hortons?” (0:43 seconds)
3 — The “worst attack since Moose Harbor” (0:32 seconds)
4 — That the movie is nominated for “Best Moose & Best Supporting Moose” awards. (1:44 seconds in
5 — The soldier being awarded the “maple of merit.” (0:12 seconds)
What else has the comedy group done?
The duo has many other enjoyable videos including Kinder: Tinder for Kids, SnapChat Detective, and a white-collar parody of the Purge movies. See Ayars and Rosen not using their Cornell degrees at youtube.com/CannibalMilkshake.