Deerfield’s Brody Criz is probably going to get a few more RSVPs than he bargained for now that his creative Bar Mitzvah invitation has gone viral overnight. The budding 12-year-old comedian opted to film a three-and-a-half minute video (written and directed by Patrick De Nicola of Northbrook’s Xpress Video Productions) that turns some of his favorite songs into very unorthodox parodies all rewritten with lyrics about being Jewish.
On Pharrell’s “Happy” he sings, “Clap along if you feel Old Testament is the truth / If you’re 13 that means you’re no longer a youth / Clap if you just tried Manischewitz and it tastes like juice.” He also reworks Lorde’s “Royal” (“I’m allowed to be spoiled, shouting orders like a king / I’ll rule that’s my mitzvah fantasy”) and gets down to his birthday suit for a cover of Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.”
The video, published February 26, has already amassed a million views on YouTube and been featured in headlines as far away as the UK’s “Daily Mail.” While he had the initial support of his family, all of whom appear in various snippets, Criz has also received a flurry of thumbs up from viewers posting comments like “this kid is my spirit animal,” “Brody wins the Internet today” and one predicting that this will be a parody on “Saturday Night Live” by the weekend.
Of course this is not the first time a youth from the Chicago area has become a YouTube sensation for his pop star parodies—Elmhurst’s Keenan Cahill found fame after hilariously lip synching Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” in 2010 (it has been viewed 56 million times). Since he has been featured on the “Chelsea Lately” program and had a number of guest stars on his channel from 50 Cent to Maroon 5 and Perry herself.
“I did it to put myself out there and to see what would happen and where it would go,” he told ABC News, calling his success a total surprise.
Criz is now relishing in the same excitement, posting on his Facebook account this week for everyone to catch him on the WGN Morning News.
