For 30-year-old Eric Bruce, of Minneapolis, the broccoli-smashing, eyeglass-stealing, spaghetti-munching moments of the day were the most precious moments of all. Why? Because Eric was bonding with his baby son Jack while his wife, Priscilla, 31, was at work. He didn’t want her missing a thing.
Eric came up with a genius solution: he would record these moments and turn them into hilarious Dubsmash videos to entertain Priscilla.
Dubsmash, a lip-syncing video-messaging app where the user can overlay a soundbite onto a home video clip, turned Eric’s sweet father-son bonding moments into the side-splitting viral sensation they are today.
Highlights include little Jack’s cranky tantrum to the soundtrack of Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River” and a poignant moment of synchronous staring to Adele’s “Hello.” Eric and Jack, the camera loves you.
Eric was working weekday hours at an art museum, so flexed his theatrical muscles during the evenings and weekends when Priscilla was out working as a hair and makeup artist. It had been hard for Priscilla to make the transition back to working; Jack had endured a difficult first few weeks in the world.
Jack was born in early December of 2014 but had minor surgery at only 3 weeks old that made it tough for his mom to leave her baby behind when work beckoned. Eric’s videos were a touching solution to Priscilla’s reservations, not to mention they were a huge boon in the burgeoning father-son relationship.
“It helps that I’m a huge ham,” Eric grinned. ”It’s a great way to bond with him,“ the doting dad added, ”and learn what to do with a baby when you’re alone with a baby for the day.”
Eric’s inspiration was modest; he filmed the ordinary events of the day, imbuing them with comedy by overlaying snippets from popular movies, songs, and inside family jokes. “The common thread would be things I thought would make Jack smile, and would be funny to his mom,” Eric explained.
“Jack plays a great straight man in the comedy duo,” he added, perfectly summing up the hilarious pair’s winning dynamic.
“It just makes me laugh out loud,” she said. “It’s really like a bright spot in my day [and] it was reassuring that everything was okay at home.” Relatable, Priscilla!
Eric didn’t grow up with siblings, but his wife proudly observed him take to fatherhood like a duck to water. “He was fearless,” Priscilla shared, full of praise. “It’s a treat,” Eric chipped in, explaining why he doesn’t panic over the little things. “It’s all about perspective.”
“You can make a decision to be happy, or be upset,” he said, sagely. “I’d prefer to be the person who enjoys the moment.”
A massive 6.5 million people are enjoying Eric and Jack’s moments, too! What a wonderful compilation for the family archives.
