matrix as retold by mom joe nicolosi Archives

Last month, Joe Nicolosi uploaded an animated video of his mom describing The Matrix. The 29-year-old has made a number of shorts, several of which have been featured at SXSW , but at 5 million hits, “The Matrix Retold by Mom” has a view count that dwarfs anything else on his YouTube channel.

Wendy Nicolosi, Joe’s Mom

The biggest success isn’t the number of views on YouTube, but the comments section. Unlike pretty much every video on the internet, it’s a chore to find something negative here. The audience really embraces the mother-son relationship. People are begging for an Inception version, or telling stories of when their mom watched Lord of the Rings, or just laughing at a mom mistaking Morpheus for Moshimo (even weeks later, Wendy says, “I always want to say Mustache”).

The project was fairly impromptu. “Joey wanted me to watch the Matrix,” Wendy Nicolosi explains, recalling her trip to visit her son in Austin. After the movie, Joe asked his mom to describe the plot while he recorded, not knowing what would come next. Despite the family being spread out across the country, they do what they can to stay close. Frequent phone calls, visits, and even family vacations keep them connected.

“What is it, Mustache? I know it’s an ‘M!'”

Talking with the duo feels exactly like one would expect from the three minute glimpse seen by millions. Wendy is the archetypal mom, sweet and proud of her son, while regularly setting him up to deliver the punch line to jokes, intentionally or not. She cautiously tells a story of Joe getting in trouble for making “Jackass” inspired videos in high school, and he laughs, “I’m cutting you off after this, Mom!”

Joe’s 2011 SXSW short, Mario Bros. Indie Film Trailer

Courtesy joe-nicolosi.com

In the wake of this hit, Joe is looking to do more. With ideas for feature length films and TV pilots, it’s just matter of time before his work ventures outside of three minutes. “A lot of the bigger ideas take a year or two to get off the ground.” Producing this video took about two weeks. He says that if he saved a billionaire from a car wreck, there would probably be an ever expanding catalog of Nicolosi sci-fi films. In the meantime, we can expect to see more shorts from him, and if we’re lucky, another appearance by YouTube’s favorite mom. Keep up with Joe’s work at his website and on Twitter @TehPwnShop.

Think back. Who was your first audience? Most likely, it was your mom.

My mom was matron-of-honor for one of her sisters. At that same wedding, I got to be a flower girl at age 6. My aunt, the bride, was not amused when I copied my mom doing a spot-on imitation of that sister as she bobbed and shook hands in an overly-caffeinated way in her wedding reception’s line.

Consider 10 Ways to Make Mama Laugh This Mother’s Day:

1. Is your mom a Tough Mother? Does she also have a delightfully wrong sense of humor? Play the song from Chicago for her. Queen Latifah sings her bawdy best.

Photo Credit: Entertainment Weekly Queen Latifah in Chicago

2. Your mom wore plaid and listened to Nirvana in her younger days? Then she might like an re-enactment of Wayne’s World where the main characters lip-sync to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Before your time? Don’t worry. That 70’s Show actors didn’t know all the references that made their audience laugh either.

3. Did your mom major in film studies? Is she a fan of Hitchcock? If she’s also a horror fan, consider dressing up in a most unexpected costume when you deliver your greeting card today. Like a classic Norman Bates reference? Or would you prefer a more modern Norman Bates impersonation?

Photo Credit: Bates Motel via Pinterest from HollywoodReporter.com

4. Two years behind in tech? Not all mothers are Digi Moms as described by some marketing profilers. Play a prank and send her memes from 2011 and retro warning emails like the one she is still sending you. Mashable’s Brenna Erhlich shows you how to Spam Your Mom.

5. Is your mom a fan of actress Susan Sarandon? Why not create your own mash-up of a video featuring Susan Sarandon as saintly Civil War era mom in Little Women with hilarious Susan Sarandon as Janet Weiss in Rocky Horror Picture Show?

Photo Credit: Rocky Horror Picture Show Susan Sarandon as Janet Weiss

6. Was your mom the comedian of the family? Was she beyond sassy? She might think Andy Sandberg and Justin Timberlake said it best in The Lonely Island’s Mother Lover. *Warning: Raunchy.

7. Watch 15 minutes of mom and child comedy teams such as Ben Stiller in scenes with his mom, Anne Meara Stiller. Be inspired to do a comedy project of your own like Matrix as Retold by Mom.

Photo Credit: Joe Nicolosi’s Matrix as Retold by Mom

8. Treat her to a live Yo Mamma Stand Up Comedy Battle. *Warning: Culture-group specific

10. Show her the clean-comedy clip message by Kid President especially if you are not named Phone.

The Matrix Retold by Mom: Mother and Son create Leo and Moshimo

SmartyFella Humor: 10 Ways to Make Mama Laugh This Mother’s Day