Justin Timberlake’s Video For “Man Of The Woods” Is Very, Very Silly

Justin Timberlake needs your help! He’s trapped in the Country Bear Jamboree show at Disneyland and he can’t get out! In the video for Man of The Woods, the titular Man of the Woods we’ve all been dying to meet these past weeks finally reveals himself and surprise! He’s a total dork. And I ain’t even mad this time. Maybe it’s his wife Jessica Biel’s influence (her production company Pretty Bird is credited) but the MOTW presented here is what Justin should have been going for all along! It’s cartoonish, silly and corny as hell. What a relief!

Here’s JT staying in his lane instead of trolling us with his faux middle distance staring Sundance catalog cowboy bullshit.

It’s like if Wes Anderson had a traumatic brain injury and could only manage to direct short form music videos for forgettable pop songs. If this song was playing in the grocery store I would not feel an evil chill, drop everything and book it to the car (as I would with any of his other MOTW offerings to date). I would continue shopping and be super confused as to how Country Time Lemonade and beef jerky ended up in my cart.

I got to say though, when I saw that back woods “tavern” I was scared. As a black woman, that’s the kind of establishment that gets an immediate and very hard pass. Best to stay in the glamping tent swigging JT’s signature tequila and checking for bars on my cell phone. So when JT and JB walked in there I was like no, Wes Anderson did not direct this from his hospital bed, because look at all the diversity.

This really seems more like a Super Bowl ad than a music video but the commercials are the only reason I acknowledge Super Bowl Sunday anyway so I’m not mad. If Justin had just led with this and never released that ridiculous album promo, he would have saved us (and himself) a lot of grief. This cotton candy MOTW is forgettable and benign, just like the old JT we knew and were meh about!

Pic: Wenn.com