Teaser: Meet the Nguyễn's - Part 2

After moving to Vietnam, Richie Humphrey, in an attempt to improve his Vietnamese, started a video blog where he posted short, comedic videos. Last year, the Los Angeles, California native released a video called Meet the Nguyễn's, a play on the American film, Meet the Fockers. 

The short captures the awkwardness of meeting your significant other’s family for the first time, especially one that doesn’t share your language or culture.

In the spirit of Meet the Fockers, Meet the Nguyễn's mixes some real life awkward experiences with made-up comic relief, led by the protagonist, Humphrey (who plays the role of Pierre, a play on bị ế, a slang term for someone who is getting older but hasn’t married yet).

The success of the video, beyond the writing, was due to Richie’s friends who played vital roles and added some priceless splashes of improvisation:

“The characters are played by friends and Phuong is played by my fiancé, Mimi. Nguyễn Ngọc Thảo played the role of father Nguyễn. He’s so funny, it was his idea to start caressing the poster of Johnny Trí Nguyễn in part one. Everyone was great. Jenni’s expressions were priceless, Mimi nailed the part of the happy-go-lucky Phuong, and I’m so happy Jaydee joined as I wrote the part of Bobby Nguyễn based on him,” said Humphrey.

While the supporting cast may have made the video a success, local casting agencies took note of Humphrey's ability to speak Vietnamese and he spent most of the past year working as a full-time actor:

“I shot a 100 episode sitcom called “Hai trái tim vàng” and a 40 episode soap opera called “Hoa đồng nội.” I also played the villain in a 20 episode historical mini-series. It was a busy year, shooting 7 days a week from morning until late, but it was a lot of fun. This year I haven’t been doing as much television work. I’ve been more focused on making money – acting in Vietnam does not pay very well, relatively speaking.”

The second installment of the series (which Humphrey says will probably be the last), while a bit shorter than the first, had a crew of over 20, each of whom dedicated themselves to the extreme.

This brings us to farts because, what comedy would be complete without a culture-transcending fart scene?

“We talked to engineers, sound engineers, and self-proclaimed “fart experts,” but finally we connected with Nhan Do, a professional fart sound engineer. His mission was to create the “best fart sequence ever made.” I think he did a hell of a job! We had a draft of the sounds on the day of the shoot but none of the actors had heard it yet. They heard it for the first time with the cameras rolling, and everyone lost their shit. We had to cut and do several re-takes because everyone was laughing so much. I love the look on the father’s face in that scene.”

To watch Meet the Nguyễn's part 2 (and its epic fart scene), check back here tomorrow at 12pm for the exclusive Saigoneer unveiling!