Me, You, and Meme Reviews: Ugly Garfield
It’s Me, You, and Meme Review time!
If you just stumbled onto this page from Google, hey, what’s up, welcome!
This website is home to Review Party Dot Com, the podcast that reviews internet reviews, and makes some funnies out of them. And once a week, there’s a blog posted; sometimes it relates to the episode, sometimes it doesn’t.
BUT ME, YOU, AND MEME REVIEWS is the main dish, the one we all look forward to. It’s a juicy segment in the episode AND on the blog, and here’s how it works:
We find some product that has gained a cult-internet following due to its reviews, think the Three Wolf Moon shirt, or Bic for Her pens, then we break down the history of its ascent into memedom. Once one person leaves a funny review, hundreds more follow, to the point where there are more joke reviews than real ones. We at RPDC see the value in both, and that’s why we explore from both sides.
This edition, as you already know, will feature a newcomer to the memespace, the Ugly Garfield stuffed animal.
WHERE in the Name of all that’s Holy did this come from?
Good question. Oftentimes these meme products are legitimately marketed as nothing more than what they are. A handy tool for slicing bananas, a book about avoiding large ships, and so on. And it’s only with the introduction of a tongue in cheek review (that gets shared widely), does the meme status take hold.
Ugly Garfield was birthed in the era of memes. But was it made FOR the memes?
Well, there are multiple listings on Amazon (and eBay, and Walmart) for this same product, but the earliest review we can find is from September 2020, on the cat made by ELAINREN, and judging by some of the other plushies they offer, well-
I think it’s safe to say they knew what they were doing, they’re in on the joke. And speaking of jokes, it didn’t take long for the jokes to start purring in. One legit review, and then the internet did what it does best.
So here’s a sampling of reviews we found, mostly including pictures, because they do add to the humor.
People simply love the thing. Can’t get enough. And you know a product has hit meme status when the helpful votes start to get outlandish. Go back up and check that Ed Sheeran review. I’ll wait. Back? NUTS, right?
One other way you know a product has found its place in the zeitgeist is if it starts producing offshoot content. You already saw the various costumes you can get your ugly Garf with (there are so many more).
But also, this:
This was part of someone’s review. Art begetting art. It’s pretty powerful stuff.
But as fun and funny as all these joke reviews are, do they help you decide if you want to buy the little guy? I mean, in this case probably, considering the product itself is a bit of a joke. But still. A review needs to have certain details, comments on the quality and such, the value.
That is precisely why we have procured an ugly little Gorf for ourselves. Next week, in Part Two of Me, You, and Meme Reviews: The Ugly Garfield, WE will give both a funny AND a real review of this abomination. Hit us up here at the blog, or go up to episodes and give RPDC 136 a listen!
