Lonely Island 'Spring Break Anthem': A True Innovation For Trolls

The advent of the straight male celebrity coming out in favor of gay marriage is upon us, with everyone from Charles Barkley to A$AP Rocky to even Clint Eastwood giving quotations, their image, and money to the marriage equality movement.

Add to the tally the Lonely Island, the musical comedy trio featuring Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, who released a surprisingly, suddenly pro-gay marriage tinged music video “Spring Break Anthem” in anticipation of the release of their third album, The Wack Album. Although this music video is bit late to the pro-gay marriage bandwagon, (not to mention spring break) and is in keeping with the Lonely Island’s intentionally ham-fisted style, there is a bit of innovation regarding the virtue of the noble trolling.

The Lonely Island didn’t just issue a statement supporting gay marriage. The triplet from Long Island embedded a gay wedding within the context of their song and subsequently, in the music video. Right in between shots of beer funneling and breast flashing — the more typical machismo of spring break — are shots of the lonely island members wedding Zach Galifianakis, James Franco, and Ed Norton, sharing vows, and smooching. Presumably, this seemingly dis-adjunct portrayal of spring break and gay marriage by the Island is an attempt to create a humorous contrast between the hyper-hetero debauchery of spring break, and the tasteful romance of a well-planned union between to grooms (is there other kind).

If any group deserves to be trolled, it is the alpha-bro set that congregates at Fort Lauderdale and the like to exchange STIs. The Lonely Island has certainly breached the same territory Sacha Baron Cohen did more than five years ago. Cohen, as the über fabulous Bruno, went to spring break and punk’d a muscle bound dude into showing his private parts before shocking and angering him with news that he was doing it for “a gay show.”

The Lonely Island took the trolling one step further by embedding that troll within another troll, this time in Galifianakis’ brilliant web series Between Two Ferns. Galifianakis too, owes a debt to Cohen, for doing a bit of trolling himself, as an interviewer with a penchant for confronting his celebrity guests. However, never did Cohen embed a troll, within a troll, on a show about trolling, all for a progressive cause. So, for this Inception-style triple troll, I submit my kudos.