I’ve always been a fan of the kind of reflexivity employed in Hollywood-set films and TV series where we get a glimpse of a title, a poster or even a trailer for a fake movie existing only in the world of the characters on the screen. Often these mock productions are spoofs or otherwise parodic in some way, and they provide great humor to the entertainment we’re watching. I’m not always a fan of these gags being used for viral marketing purposes, however, especially if the clips we see on the web are the same we end up seeing in the movie. It kind of ruins them for when they’re put into the context of the whole story. The whole practice also seems to be overdone nowadays. Between last year’s overload of mock films in Tropic Thunder and the failed attempt at using such marketing for How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, I think Hollywood should take a break from the self-parody for awhile.

Judd Apatow, who often uses viral marketing for his films, dropped his latest fake production on us this week, though it’s not for a fake film; it’s a double-edged look at the fake NBC series Yo Teach! And besides coming along after the concept has been done to death, it also seems to miss the point. While seemingly trying to come off as a parody of sitcoms, it actually looks like something a lot of people want to watch. As a Head of the Class fan growing up, I’m one of these people. As lame as the show is in concept, it’s pretty decent in execution. And it makes us kinda wish Jason Schwartzman — and Apatow — were back doing TV work rather than the depressing comedy that Funny People, for which this fake TV show was invented, threatens to be. These viral videos are basically a bullseye, just on the wrong target.

A great many other film bloggers would also like Yo Teach! to really exist. See the responses after the jump:

• Kyle Buchanan at Movieline compares the fake show to a real new show:
  

  Everyone’s buzzing about Yo Teach, the fake NBC sitcom that’s tangentially related to Judd Apatow’s Funny People, but we’d kind of rather watch that than 100 Questions.

• Margaret Lyons at Entertainment Weekly’s PopWatch also thinks it “seems better than some actual shows” and provides an interesting description for Funny People:
  

  It’s basically a comedy matryoshka doll that also is about cancer.

  Anyhow, I would super watch a show with Bo Burnham and Jason Schwartzman, even if it were this crappy.

• Mike Sampson at JoBlo found the video to be funny, though maybe not for its intended attempt at parody:
  

  I have an inherent fondness for cheesy sitcoms. You know the kind they don’t really make anymore with over-the-top laugh tracks, multiple cameras and cheesy premises (like a foreign raised man moving to Chicago to live with his long-lost American cousin). So naturally this video cracked me up.

• Devin Faraci at CHUD.com didn’t crack up, but his perspective is still pretty much the same:
  

  This video, which is viral marketing for Funny People, is almost so real that it’s not even humorous. Which is just amazing. I would be shocked if Yo, Teach! doesn’t end up as a midseason replacement.

• Erik Davis at CInematical would actually tune in if it did show up on TV next January:
  

  So far two clips from Yo Teach have arrived online, with one being a behind-the-scenes look and the other a straight-up scene that features YouTube comedian/songwriter Bo Burnham, who Apatow is a fan of.

  And you know what? I think I’d actually watch this show if it was real. It’s lame, sure, but I dig it for some reason. What say you?

• Lane Brown at Vulture thinks the fake show looks “slightly worse” than real NBC shows and points to a pre-order page for the show’s DVD release:
  

  …doesn’t this seem like the kind of thing that could be a monster hit on, say, CBS? By the way, the reason we knew it wasn’t actually a real NBC show is because the site implies Teach! has been picked up for a second season.

• Alex Billington at First Showing is not a Yo Teach! fan either, but he doesn’t think we’re supposed to be:
  

  …it’s pretty awful (at least I wouldn’t watch it)…Don’t forget, that this show isn’t really supposed to be funny, but it’s a way of setting up the character Schwartzman plays in Funny People. I really hope either Seth Rogen or Jonah Hill or Adam Sandler slap him around (in the movie, not in real life), because after watching this, that would be great to see.

Check out the viral videos below. The first is a behind the scenes type clip. The second is a scene from the fake show.