RiffTrax Shorts Season 21 Episode 5 Lemonade Stand: What's Fair
- January 31, 2012
- 13 min
In RiffTrax Shorts season 21 episode 5, titled "Lemonade Stand: What's Fair," the team of Mike, Kevin, and Bill take on the important issue of fairness in the world of childhood entrepreneurship. The short film, which was originally part of the 1950s educational series "Your Safety First," follows a group of kids as they try to figure out the best way to divvy up profits from their lemonade stand.
As always, the RiffTrax team brings their trademark humor and irreverence to the proceedings, poking fun at the dated educational film and its corny dialogue. They also offer up plenty of jokes and observations about the intricacies of business, from the importance of location to the ethics of undercutting your competition.
One of the highlights of the episode is the way the RiffTrax team handles the film's attempts at "mathematics," which are often hilariously convoluted and nonsensical. They also have some fun with the various characters in the film, including a stern mother who comes to inspect the lemonade stand and a businessman who offers the kids some unsolicited advice on pricing.
But while the humor is certainly on point, there's also a thoughtful undercurrent to the episode as the RiffTrax team delves into the concept of fairness and how it applies to business. They debate the merits of different approaches to dividing up the profits, from an equal split to a more merit-based system. They also offer up some of their own personal experiences with entrepreneurship, providing some real-world perspective on the issues at hand.
Ultimately, "Lemonade Stand: What's Fair" is a funny and insightful episode that shows the RiffTrax team at their best. They manage to find plenty of laughs in the source material while also engaging with the more serious ideas underneath. Anyone who has ever tried to run a lemonade stand of their own will find plenty to relate to here, and even those who haven't will enjoy the RiffTrax team's trademark blend of humor and intelligence.