No Need to Fake Laughs with ‘Fake It Till You Make It’ By Art Byrd

Since being hooked up to the Internet, I have become a hunter of interesting material to watch.

While the Internet can be overwhelming and time consuming, Web series or Webisodes catering to short attention spans and limited have emerged as mini bursts of entertainment. There are such Webisodes as “The Guild” about video gamers, “In The Motherhood” about mothers, and “Wainy Days” about a strange guy’s life.  Each episode lasts two to six minutes.

With my trusty bow and arrow, I found the cool Web series “Fake It Till You Make It,” which can be found on hulu.com. It stars Jaleel White, who played Steve Urkel on the sitcom “Family Matters.” All grown up now, White writes, produces and stars in this Web series. 

White plays Reggie Culkin, a former child star turned image consultant.  It is very funny when people recognize Reggie as they say his line from an old sitcom, “I Got Dibs.” White’s Culkin character has been likened to “Ari Gold” from Entourage and singer Usher.

The series is shot documentary style with hand-held shots, like the HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” 

What makes the series funny is White’s Culkin as he interacts with three wannabes: two writers, Jack Garcia and Darren Kernin, played by Steve Rifkin and Chris Smith, respectively, and Kathy, an actress played by Betsy Rue, whose claim to fame was a small role on “CSI Miami.” 

Kathy has some of the best lines in the series, such as, “I will choke a b*** for food.” But it’s Culkin who gets them into strange situations, for instance, tricking Jack into doing something really crazy like stealing old checks from Culkin’s mother, played by guest star Debbie Allen.

The series has other famous guest stars: Blake Gibbons from “General Hospital” and actor/host Wayne Brady. One of the episodes takes a funny twist when Kernin  impersonates Brady on Twitter to meet women. Culkin tells Brady because they are friends. Brady and Culkin come up with an idea to “shake the money tree,” their words for making a show about catching “Twitter” impersonators with a “How to Catch a Predator” theme. So they setup the unsuspecting Kernin with a camera crew and real police waiting. Crazy funny stuff.

The dialogue, written by White, is original and snappy, though you may have to rewind to get the actual meanings.

If you are in the mood for a quick laugh with outrageous situations, the eight-episode run of “Fake It Till You Make” is a web series so worth the hunt.

As Reggie Culkin says, “Love is love.” You can find the series on Hulu.com.

Edited by Michele Ristich Gatts