Eric André Teaches Us How to Pull a Good Prank: "It Shouldn't Be Mean-Spirited" (EXCLUSIVE)
Published March 29 2023, 11:34 a.m. ET
Every year, we want to one-up ourselves with the best April Fools' Day pranks, and every year it gets more and more difficult. So, we turn to none other than comedian Eric André, whose pranks we’re familiar with from The Eric André Show and Bad Trip.
While we anxiously wait for Season 6 of his talk show, we couldn't help but ask the well-known prankster — who partnered with BIC Easyrinse Razors — for his advice on how one can pull off a good April Fools' gag.
A good April Fools' Day prank “should never feel mean-spirited,” according to Eric André.
Who better to ask about how to pull a good prank than Eric André? He in our minds is the most famous modern-day prankster. Fret not, amateur pranksters — Eric exclusively told Distractify everything we need to know about how to pull a good prank. “I think pranks should never feel mean-spirited,” he said.
“It's a needle to a thread. You have to prank with love and benevolence because it's more about cramming absurdity and surreality into everyday life, and blowing somebody's mind, rather than making them a fool,” he continued. “Unless they're an evil person. If they're an evil person, you can make them look like a fool.”
Most comedy is a form of love, whether toward the world, a group of people, or even oneself. And pranks are no different. April Fools' Day is basically Valentine’s Day for people with a sense of humor. So what are some examples of good pranks?
Based on Eric’s advice, we know that good pranks are always more impressive than they are mean. Here are some pranks we've come up with.
It might be easier to think of pranks that aren’t good, based on the advice that they should be more absurd and surreal than they are mean.
For example, the classic prank of switching salt and sugar for someone’s morning coffee is neither original nor brilliant. So is it really worth messing up someone’s day?
On the other hand, offering a partner their morning coffee and then giving them coffee-flavored ice cream, coffee-flavored biscuits, a painting of a coffee cup, a coffee mug stuffed animal, coffee-flavored pancakes, and a whole plethora of all coffee-type things except for the actual coffee is both hilarious and generous.
Another fun one is to just slightly move a roommate’s things around, or even switch up their drawers. It’s not so mean that it’s a true nuisance or annoyance, but it’s enough to get them to question all their daily routines and feel as if they're in an absurd alternate timeline of their own life.
Of course, another famous prankster is Jim from The Office. His meatball prank is one of the best because not only does it begin as a hilarious prank on Dwight, but Dwight and Stanley prank Jim back by laughing so much that Jim keeps unknowingly feeding them meatballs. It’s absurd and fun for everyone involved.
Happy fooling, everyone!
