Law Revue Video Contest 2016: Honorable Mentions
These videos didn't make the finals, but they're still excellent and worth checking out.
Lat here. Voting in our 2016 Law Revue Video Contest is well underway. Right now Northwestern aka Pritzker Law has a little more than 2,000 votes, but UT is within striking distance, with almost 1,600 votes. (As noted in the update, some folks are having issues with voting; if you are one of them, clear your cookies and try again.)
We previously shared with you the dishonorable mentions — which, as Elie Mystal and Joe Patrice noted, weren’t really dishonorable. Thank you, law students of America, for submitting only strong videos this year. The evening we spent viewing all the entries together in the ATL offices was shorter and more fun than in years past.
This brings us to the honorable mentions — videos that didn’t make the finals but still deserve commendation. Here they are, in alphabetical order by school.
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1. George Washington University Law School — Unbearable Kimmy Schmidt, Esq.
LAT: I must confess, I’ve never seen the Tina Fey Netflix show, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, that this was based on. (I would have replaced this in the honorable mentions with Go Corporate, the Hamilton parody from GW’s cross-town rival, Georgetown Law.) But my colleagues who are familiar with Kimmy Schmidt tell me this was spot-on.
STACI: Kimmy Schmidt is a show I once loved to hate, but it definitely grew on me, just like this Law Revue submission. It’s relatively spot-on, and the role of Kimmy was perfectly cast. Nice work on this, GW!
2. Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law — Law Firm Or Not A Law Firm?
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LAT: It’s nice to see the occasional non-musical submission in the contest, and this segment — reminiscent of the Jaywalking feature on The Tonight Show, in which Jay Leno conducted “man on the street” interviews — is very funny. It demonstrates the difficulty of recognizing some law firms’ names (cf. our prior law firm or drag queen discussion).
STACI: I loved this. Stay sweet and innocent, little 1L. Don’t ever change.
3. New York University School of Law — Smells Like A Liberal Arts Degree
LAT: As a member of Generation X, I was delighted to see Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” make an appearance in the contest. And this video, with very good lyrics and cool set design, was superbly executed. It could have been in the finals if not for NYU’s even more brilliant Hamilton parody. (We try to avoid putting two entries from the same school in the finals to avoid unfairly spitting the vote from that institution.)
STACI: Excellent production work on this one — parts of the video are just like the Nirvana video. I agree with David, in that this one would’ve been a finalist if NYU’s Hamilton parody wasn’t so damn awesome.
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4. Syracuse University College of Law — The Paper Chase
LAT: A very strong contender — also finals-worthy, in my opinion. Great song: “1985” by Bowling for Soup. Solid lyrics with clever rhymes — e.g., “Scalia, Pennoyer, crazy Type A lawyers.”) Talented and attractive performers of both genders, including a gaggle of well-built men working out in a gym. And an ATL shout-out (at 2:55) — what more could one ask for?
STACI: I thought the video was really cute, and the singing was excellent. Props for the KISS makeup, since I imagine that must’ve taken a pretty long time to put on (and not to mention remove, you brave soul, you).
5. University of Virginia School of Law — Con Law Bling
LAT: Good dancing, impressive singing (especially from the guy in the tweed jacket), and cool special effects all contributed to making this video a worthy contender. (Note: we understand that the Libel Show folks are in a DMCA takedown notice battle with Universal Music Group, which blocked this video on YouTube (again) on copyright grounds. For your information, UMG, the Supreme Court has roundly rejected holding parodies ineligible for the “fair use” defense.)
STACI: The Drake dance. Need I say more?
Congratulations to the finalists and the honorable mentions, and thanks to all the law schools that submitted so many enjoyable entries to our contest!
Earlier: Law Revue Video Contest 2016: The Finalists!
Law Revue Video Contest 2016: Dishonorable Mentions
David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at dlat@abovethelaw.com.
Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
