“$240 Worth of Pudding” is a comedic sketch featuring Thomas Lennon and Michael Ian Black. The duo wrote and performed the sketch for Episode 4, Season 1 of “The State®” on MTV™. The episode first aired in 1994.
The premise for “$240 Worth of Pudding,” aw yeah
LeVon and Barry are two classy men of refined taste and elegance. We meet them in a velvet draped room in the evening. The pair dance seductively and are wearing leisure suits and ruffled tuxedo shirts.
On the floor behind them, a large serving of pudding rests flanked by two crystal chandeliers. The pudding appears to be vanilla, but there is nothing vanilla about the scene about to unfold.
Levon and Barry disclose that they purchased and prepared US$240 worth of pudding. In the background, we can hear soul music playing softly. The pair elaborate on why they needed the pudding and where they acquired $240 dollars.
Barry pauses to whisper sweet nothings to the pudding while Levon steps aside to “mind his own.” Levon explains how he prepared the pudding. First he cooked, and then he chilled. The phrase inspires a heartfelt “aw yeah” from both Barry and Levon.
The scene begins to draw to a close. Barry and Levon squat down to rub their behinds buttocks on the pile of pudding. The seat of their pants quickly become covered in pudding.
Differences between the television and DVD releases of this sketch
When televised, “$240 Worth of Pudding” included the Marvin Gaye track “Sexual Healing.” However, the the DVD and iTunes releases omitted the song due to licensing problems.
Why we love “$240 Worth of Pudding”
There is something wonderful about “$240 Worth of Pudding.” Lenon and Ian Black were masterful writers. The sketch is exactly two-minutes in length. In short form, they delivered quotable phrases that have endured in popular culture.
LeVon and Barry’s personalities are so memorable too. The pair are confident of how suave and cool they are. Yet, they are also a bit cheesy. The sketch allows the audience to make their own conclusion. We can either dig the groove the two are spinning. Or, we can think that LeVon and Barry are just so bad they are good.
The most quotable lines from the sketch
If you’ve seen the sketch before, you know that there are so many quotable lines. The script balanced dialog that was both tongue-in-cheek, sophisticated, and a little sarcastic.
Several of the lines from “$240 Worth of Pudding” should be a part of the “in-jokes” shared by every group of friends. In particular, the phrase “aw yeah” never fails to yield a knowing smile and chuckle.
A few of our favorite lines from the sketch include:
- “Awwwww yeeeaaahh!”
- “It’s that time. Oh you know its that time.”
- “Now that is the kind of pudding that only $240 can buy.”
- “We had the $240. We had to have the pudding.”
- “Now we could of bought $100 worth of pudding, and that would have been a lot of pudding, but we had to go all the way baby. All the way home. And get $240, worth of pudding, worth of pudding. Aw yeah.”
- “Barry and LeVon, where did you get $240? Don’t worry your pretty little head about it. It ain’t your concern.”
- “I’ll just be over here, mindin’ my own.”
- “I just need a moment alone with the puddin’.”
- “See this here, it says first you cook, then you chill. And that’s what I do every night! First I cook, and then I chill! Aw yeah.”
- “Excuse me while I kiss the sky.”
Derivative works based on “$240 Worth of Pudding”
Charts and data visualizations
“240 Dollars Worth of Pudding” has its own Facebook page. There, fans regularly share quotes and links related to the sketch. One in particular, is a chart showing how many gallons of pudding $240 could purchase over the decades.
The sock puppet theatre version
This may be one of the cutest versions of “$240 Worth of Pudding.” Midorionna created and shared a sock puppet performance of the sketch on YouTube.
Death metal meets pudding
The skit also inspired a feedback laden rock/metal/punk cover by Face Worse Than Death. I love the original skit. While we love the energy in this cover, let’s just say we’re reserving judgement on the piece.
