Law Revue Video Contest 2019: The Finalists!

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to feast your eyes upon the best of the best in the 2019 law revue video contest. This year, the competition was absolutely awesome — so awesome, that for the eleventh edition of this contest, we decided to narrow down the competition to the top five videos. Not only were these law students able to carry a tune, but they also had excellent comedic timing, and provided us with professional-grade production values. Our finalists’ videos were an absolute joy with 80s/90s earworms and recent hits providing an excellent soundtrack for this year’s law revue stylings. You stayed current, and the results were amazing. Nice work! This year, your reviewers will be Elie Mystal, Staci Zaretsky, Joe Patrice, and Kathryn Rubino. We issue only advisory opinions; you hold all the power. Who will follow the winners of years past into the annals of Law Revue history? It’s up to you, our readers! Do the right thing: vote early, and vote for the best. Videos are listed in alphabetical order by school. Voting will close on SUNDAY, MAY 12, at 11:59 PM (Eastern time). 1. Columbia — A Loan ELIE: It’s weird seeing your actual childhood turned into a period piece by a bunch of people half your age. Like, there’s a guy with a tie on his head to stand in for “big hair” and that’s actually what I did in the 80s. But, enough about my rapidly dying ass. This video was great. It has the best singing in the whole contest this year. Columbia freaking nailed it. STACI: I absolutely loved this, and it was made all the better because everyone could really sing. If you’re not happy with your Biglaw jobs, you can always pay off your loans with some singing gigs on the side. JOE: The danger of choosing a topic like “student loans” is that you can guarantee a bunch of other schools will be bringing the same subject to the table. It’s feast or famine because even very good entries will fall by the wayside as they get compared to the one that hit it out of the park. The gamble paid off for Columbia’s nostalgia-fest. KATHRYN: The production value of this video is absolute tops — even the smallest detail has been handled just right — putting this submission as an early frontrunner. And they picked a subject that is incredibly relatable, which has to help them come voting time. 2. Osgoode Hall — Lawyer ELIE: This isn’t funny. It’s talented. Extremely talented. “Don’t try this at home unless you are this talented” talented. But… it’s not funny. STACI: I couldn’t believe this law student was such a great rapper. I found myself bopping my head to the beat as if his rendition were the real thing. Great work! JOE: The intercut scenes feel phoned in, but the concept is cute and the lyrics are solid. It’s also good to get the Canadians involved in this competition because you spend the whole video wondering what they’ll manage to rhyme with “aboot.” KATHRYN: Yes, there’s some great rapping in this video, but that’s really the only standout part of the entry. We’ll see if that’s enough to carry the day. 3. NYU — All I Got From Law School Was Loans ELIE: Here’s the thing about Mariah Carey: you can parody her or make fun of her or celebrate her, but you can’t sing like her. There probably aren’t 100 people in the country who can sing like her, and none of them are in law school. Once you account for the massive audible downgrade, this was pretty good. STACI: I hate you because this song was stuck in my head for days after listening to it, but love you because it was very well done. JOE: Contra to my earlier comment on Columbia’s entry, NYU managed to make the finals with the very same idea. Frankly, I’m surprised no one has tried the Mariah Carey angle before. KATHRYN: Good enough submission to this year’s contest. But with such a similar concept as the Columbia entry, I think it will suffer by comparison. 4. UVA — Welcome to Virginia ELIE: On the one hand, I’m disinclined to like a straight-up recruitment video for UVA Law. I mean, I half expected the Kool-Aid Man to bust into this video. On the other hand… UVA Law should totally pay these people for their recruitment video. No dean of admissions has ever made a better case for their school than what these students have done. I hate that you’re so happy, UVA Law. Get a freaking room. STACI: This original masterpiece had the best chorus of every song in our competition this year, and I promise that I’ll retire my comments about UVA law students popping their collars. This was fantastic! JOE: I will not retire any commentary about UVA’s collars, but this entry deserves mounds of credit for being entertaining, technically solid, and topical all at the same time. The question, for me, is whether or not this tops my all-time favorite UVA entry. KATHRYN: While I feel personally affronted that my drinking skills have been challenged (few can take down Miller Lites like your girl), it’s really a great entry and I expect it to finish near the top of the voting. 5. UVA — Butts ‘R Us ELIE: There are so many good jokes in this entry. And the jokes are even more impressive because it doesn’t make the easy play on the summer associate experience. It’s not focused on the parties or events, it’s a parody video about the work, which is arguably the point of the summer associate experience, and skewers that experience. I mean, I still hate you, UVA Law (see above), but, respect. STACI: We haven’t seen a successful skit in the law revue video contest in quite a while. I was a big fan of the montage segment. Super job. Also, note that there are not one, but two UVA entries in the finals this year (which is rare). They were just that good. Congrats! JOE: On the contrary, I find skits are almost consistently underappreciated by the other editors here. There are admittedly some bang up musical numbers but nearly every year I’ve found one of the skits to be far superior to listening to the Boulevard of Broken Dreams of folks who shot for Broadway before the crushing weight of reality forced them into law school. In any event, this is a fun skit. KATHRYN: See, you don’t have to sing to have a successful law revue entry. This entry is a cute look at what it’s really like to be a summer associate. It’s time to vote, everyone. Polls close on SUNDAY, MAY 12, at 11:59 PM (Eastern time). Feel free to get out the vote among your friends and family. In order to vote, please fill out the form below. This will generate an email message and provide you with a link to submit your vote. Good luck to all the finalists!