One-Man Sketch Comedy Genius Takes Over YouTube With “Dying”

Evan Breen’s YouTube channel rocketed up the charts this week with the release of his biggest hit sketch video yet, “dying.” Breen, who goes by LA Turtle on YouTube and his real name on his mega-popular (I’m talking nearly two billion loops) Vine account, is poised to become one of the few creators to cross over between the two platforms.

We haven’t covered sketch comedy here on What’s Trending in a while, but Breen certainly earned his placement in these hallowed pages. Breen plays every member of a seriously dysfunctional family in this emotional rollercoaster of a sketch. There’s the dad, who keeps telling people to “shut the f*ck up”; the son, who’s just as confused as we are; and the mom who holds them all together (catchphrase: “it’s true”). With the help of some minor wardrobe and voice changes, Breen convincingly differentiates three markedly different characters without ever straying into stereotypes.

The result is a hilarious sketch that breaks all the rules but still manages to be funny. Traditionally, a sketch is about just one thing: what if kooky celebrities were on Jeopardy, what if the first baseman’s name were “Who,” etc. “Dying,” however, meanders from joke to joke, keeping the laughs coming as it turns down unexpected alleys to keep its through-line going.

Breen might be crossing over from Vine at just the right time. As the Wall Street Journal reported back in May, the once-popular app has been struggling for some time now, with some of its biggest stars moving into other platforms and advertisers shying away in favor of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and others.

Whatever the future may hold for Vine, we’re confident that Breen will build his audience somewhere and keep going strong. This video shows us a legit talent at work, and we hope to see more of it soon.

What do you think? Did you laugh at “dying,” or do you hate fun? Let us know in the comments below or @WhatsTrending on Twitter!