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Benita Butrell
SKETCH-O-VISION
A VERY GOOD USE OF YOUR TIME.
The setup
Watch on YouTube
Watch onYouTube
The premise
Here’s the bit.
Kim Wayans debuts Benita Butrell, a lifelong resident in hair rollers who pins laundry to a line outside her window while greeting someone who has just moved into the building across the way. Introducing herself as the person who knows everyone in the neighborhood, she points out the locals one at a time and tears each of them down: a mother of scruffy, begging kids who is always borrowing groceries, her own little godson, a friend who spent the baby's diaper money on her weave, and a spry older man she says is carrying on with the preacher's young daughter. Between digs she brags about enrolling in beauty school and truck-driving school and about her Cherokee ancestry, repeatedly insists she is no gossip, and loudly defends the saintly Miss Jenkins before mocking her smelly feet. After warning the newcomer to steer clear of nosy busybodies, she ducks back inside so she won't miss the Home Shopping Club.
The funny people
Meet the cast. 1
Say it with us
Highly quotable.
She needs some flour, she needs some bread, she needs some eggs, she needs to take her ass to the supermarket. That's what she needs.
I ain't one to gossip, so if anyone asks you, you ain't heard it from me.
Just don't let her take her shoes off in your apartment. Feet smell like a dill pickle.
A little extra
Notes from the archive.
This was Benita Butrell's first appearance. Kim Wayans brought the nosy neighbor back in later seasons, dishing dirt at a wedding, on a neighborhood watch patrol and as a witness for the prosecution.
Script
Automatically generated script; wording may contain errors. Speaker labels are inferred.
- 00:11
Benita Butrell
Hey, so they finally rented that place huh been about two years sure hope that slumlord changed the carpet it was so stink over there I could taste it over here
- 00:21
Benita Butrell
oh by the way I love what you did with those little milk crates that little table you made what's that art deco
- 00:29
Benita Butrell
you look at me rattling on and on like you know who I am hi girl I'm Benita Betrell I've been here all my life I know everybody in this neighborhood Mm-hmm.
- 00:41
Benita Butrell
Yeah, girl, there's some fine people in this neighborhood. There's a lot of trash, too, but I ain't one to gossip.
- 00:48
Benita Butrell
Hey, there goes Mavis and her kids. Mavis! Hey! I see you got the whole gang out there today, huh?
- 00:58
Benita Butrell
Them kids look like a pack of rag buffets. Gotta wrap them up in newspaper to take them to Sunday school. Mm-mm.
- 01:06
Benita Butrell
You see that little one down there? That little one? No, uh, the one down there with the snot in his nose. Mm-hmm. That's my little godson, Chucky.
- 01:13
Benita Butrell
Hey, Chucky! Hey, Chuckster! Hey Chuckie Wacky Doodle! You gonna give your godmother a kiss?
- 01:20
Benita Butrell
That's a little crack ass. That's a little crack addict in the making there.
- 01:27
Benita Butrell
Honey, I'm telling you, all them kids do is bad. give me lonely can you spare every time you turn around neither one of them would ever say he a dog here's a bone
- 01:35
Benita Butrell
not a mama every time over my door she's hanging out there with a cup she needs some flowers she needs some bread she needs a bag she need to take her ass to the supermarket
- 01:43
Benita Butrell
I just don't understand people like that see cuz I'm trying to better myself that's right I'm enrolled in the Robert Fionn School of Beauty and a truck driving school so I'm gonna have something you see thing.
- 02:00
Benita Butrell
Hey! There go my homegirl, Gretchen. Hey, Gretchen! Hey, girl! I'm scared of you. You look good. Love what you did with your hair. Shake it, but don't break it. But if you do, save chocolate piece.
- 02:16
Benita Butrell
That fool went and spent the baby's diaper money to get her weave tightened. Girl, The baby was hollering like a banshee all night.
- 02:27
Benita Butrell
I'm telling you, I'm glad I ain't got to worry worry about that because i got me some cherokee on my mama's side she's so hey no luxury item in my family matter of fact when i was a girl my hair was long and straight and black and thick used to call me pocahontas
- 02:42
Benita Butrell
then one day i was heating up some ham hocks and my ponytail caught on fire huh I
- 02:50
Benita Butrell
that's mr washington down there yeah he's like a father to me
- 02:57
Benita Butrell
you daddy Washington it's me a little fuzzy wuzzy you look at my yeah today. Got some spring in your step.
- 03:08
Benita Butrell
Mm-hmm. you'd have some spring in your step too if you were sleeping with the preacher's 22 year old daughter.
- 03:15
Benita Butrell
Yeah, poor Mrs. Washington, she don't know what to do with herself. All she do is sit around eating the government cheese and passing gas all day. Girl's stomach done blown up so big, look like she got food poisoning or something.
- 03:25
Benita Butrell
Mm-mm, it's a trip, but I ain't one to gossip, so if anyone asks you, you ain't heard it from me. No, you haven't.
- 03:31
Benita Butrell
Oh, oh, you got it. Look, there goes Miss Jenkins right there. Mm-hmm, that's good old Miss Jenkins, honey. I dare somebody say something bad about Miss Jenkins.
- 03:39
Benita Butrell
Don't nobody better say nothing bad about miss jenkins because i'll go crazy that that's when i'll lose it miss jenkins is a sterling example of a human being
- 03:47
Benita Butrell
mm-hmm hey ms. jenkins she is something else
- 03:53
Benita Butrell
honey just don't let her take her shoes off in your apartment feet smell like a dill pickle
- 03:57
Benita Butrell
yeah there's some nice people in this neighborhood there's some fine folks you're gonna like it just fine you just do me a favor you stay away from nosy gossiping hens and you'll be okay all right i got to go now home shopping club's coming on see you See you later.
The rabbit hole continues
One more couldn’t hurt.
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