I’ve found my new personal hero.
Or at least my new favorite YouTube host.
It’s amazing that I had never seen an episode of My Drunk Kitchen with Hannah Hart before “researching” this article (revisiting all of my adolescent-favorite YouTubers, namely Smosh and NigaHiga, who have become much more polished but no less hilarious in their delivery). Drinking, cooking, eating and puns (in whatever order you like) are right up my alley.
Harto, as fans such as myself like to call her, posted her first video back in 2011 after drinking a bottle of her sister’s wine and attempting to make a grilled cheese with no cheese. It had just been a gag video for one of her friends, but with some encouragement, Hannah posted the video online as the first My Drunk Kitchen. Luckily, it was a success, and Hartosexuals began to clamor for more videos. Now, Hannah has almost 2.5 million subscribers and she has won the 2013 Streamy Awards for Best Female Performance: Comedy and the 2014 Streamy Awards for Best Comedy. She has also used her fame to publish her own parody cookbook and write and star in her own film.
My Drunk Kitchen basically follows the same formula of picking a food to cook and getting drunk while making it, delivering a final recipe with mixed results. However, the success is all due to the delivery, and possibly the editing. Never have I believed in the phrase “write drunk, edit sober” more than when I watch her videos. Not only is Hannah a comedic genius when drunk, she must also be a savant when it comes to editing whatever material arises from her drunken filming. There is a healthy mix of quick cuts and long pauses that surely point to heavy editing. I know if I attempted to make an episode of My Drunk Kitchen, I would end up with a lot of drunken slurring and maybe some burned bacon to show at the end. Hannah does allow some of the sloppiness to show through, but it’s usually only in the form of glazed-eyed contemplation or maybe a beer burp. Magically, it seems to only make her more charming.
Another key component to Hannah’s delivery are her wonderfully punny jokes and endearing personality. All of the episodes are generally organized around a theme, and Hart will cheerfully drive that theme into the ground while delivering positive messages to her followers.
Hannah also generally operates on a solo basis in her own kitchen, but her collaborations with other comedians and YouTube stars are the videos that truly shine. John Green makes an appearance as Pizza John, Sarah Silverman smokes a blunt, and Rosanna Pansino cries over her under-achieving microwave.
Even if the jokes or themes are scripted, the humor feels genuine and spontaneous, as if you were just drinking and cooking with your friend, Hannah.
