Meet Joe. He’s an unpretentious guy who lives in Georgia and happens to love fast food, but not in an ironic “aren’t I so cool” kind of way. He genuinely appreciates different flavors and brands. But instead of merely digging it, he makes video “reviews” with such attention to detail one might think he was a professional filmmaker.
Recently, an X account by the name of Skelton Discount (@bigspooktime) posted a shortened version of one of Joe’s YouTube videos, where he appeared discussing his views on KFC‘s popcorn chicken. This post alone is approaching nine million views, with thousands of likes and hundreds of commenters who truly love what Joe has to offer. It’s also helping to elevate Joe’s YouTube account into an even bigger phenomenon.
A cinematic experience
In this KFC review video posted on YouTube, the calories and price of the dish are listed at the bottom so no one has to dig for the information. Right away, the viewer is treated to an opening theme song where we’re introduced to a cast of characters including “Purrcy” the cat, who is yawning on a porch.
We then see an animated cat and a “space man” who pops out of a movie popcorn bag. They have a brief but interesting conversation about spiders and the like and then scurry off with some other animated brightly-colored spider plush toys.
Never mind that. Our hero Joe pops into frame to welcome his audience. “Well hello, hungry people,” he begins. “It’s always good to see your smiling faces.” He then reveals this is actually his 600th video, so he takes the time to thank his viewers before excitedly exclaiming that today’s review will be KFC’s popcorn chicken, which is “back by popular demand.”
Off we go to KFC
After using fun, orange bubble graphics to give shout-outs to some of his supporters, he reminds the audience of the calorie count (including dipping sauce,) and what the nutritional values are. He then, almost as though he’s an auctioneer selling off expensive items at Christie’s, claps his hands and suddenly we’re transported to his car while en route to KFC.
Some fun music and a drive-thru order later, Joe is happily about to hand over his cash at the next window when…he gets recognized! The young woman says, “Oh my gosh, you’re Joe is Hungry.” He humbly answers, “Yeah, that’s me,” and they make some light small talk.
Joe once again shows off his super cool editing (and music production) skills as he jump-cuts maneuvering his car to the “food waiting spot.” But here’s where his attention to detail truly takes it to the next level. He shares on the screen the exact amount of time the order takes and the “food in hand temperature” of each and every bag of popcorn chicken. He turns to the camera and shares, “If you’ve been watching my channel, you know I like my temperatures at 140 degrees or above! Hotter is always better!”
Passing the temp test
He adds that KFC has passed that test. “Well, the KFC here in Calhoun, Georgia? Well, they definitely get it because they SMOKED the ‘Joe is Hungry’ temperature test!” The intensity with which he shares this information has now turned what seemed like a small temperature test into a challenge.
He claps his hands once more and, voila, we’re back in Joe’s studio for the taste review. But first, he must weigh the chicken and make a brief “portion control” check-in. Using a “marching” noise and, again, fun graphics and editing showing him quickly weighing the portions, it’s clear that Joe is having a blast. And because he is, many of us are too.
Now it’s finally time to taste the actual chicken, which Joe has “clapped” into a bowl. He zooms in on each piece as though he were Scorsese precisely filming the shot of a beautiful woman walking in slow motion. He wields a knife to slice a piece in half, upping the dramatic wait for a bite. When we finally get it, it’s well worth it. Joe is impressed.
Shadow Joe
And just when you think Joe has no more fun cinematic tricks up his sleeve, we’re then transported back to the KFC parking lot so a character named “Shadow Joe,” who takes “sneak-a-doodle” bites, determining that fresh out of the box, the popcorn chicken nuggets are in fact hot. He sends it back to “Hungry Joe,” who is now ready to give the item a score.
Leaning in, Joe says straight to camera: “KFC. Not a terrible deal. I mean if you’d fill the box up all the way, that would really help out. However, it still has that good, salty KFC flavor. You did pass all the metrics and you did make it fresh. So…I’m gonna go 6.9! That is my number. This is my review and hopefully I will see you in the next video!”
‘International appeal’
If the amount of likes, views and comments are any indication, it looks like he will see quite a few fans come back for more. One YouTuber explains that it was the aforementioned X post that brought them to Joe’s page. “I came from Twitter after seeing this video start at the drive thru. Never in a million years did I expect the editing to go this hard. This dude has international appeal. Need to see Joe go viral on the other side of the world.”
Other fans recognize how much Joe’s work on these videos has paid off. “I’ve been a fan of your videos since late last year and seeing your growth as a person through your channel has been inspiring!! Keep being your genuine self Joe, we love you!!”
Back to the X profile, the impressed OP writes, “There is literally not a single other food YouTuber doing it like this guy. If you don’t know about Joe, you would never in a million years guess how the video goes after he gets his order taken.”
One X-er notes that Joe thought of everything. They write, “I was thinking why didn’t he eat the food while it was fresh and hot… and then this sneaky b—-rd showed the sneak-a-doodle bites. He thought of everything. A real master of his craft.”
As mentioned, Joe has hundreds of other videos, rating items from McDonalds to Burger King and everything in between. It’s downright delightful to see someone have so much fun doing something he so genuinely seems to care for, while simultaneously showing a true mastery of content creation. Not to mention, his ability to make people really, really mouth-wateringly hungry.
