Avril's Music Videos Analysis & Goofs

So I was inspired to make this thread after the debate about HAW. Some notice errors with the green screen or the stunt double's hair not being the same as Avril's. Some think it lacks a storyline. I wanted to do an analysis about her videos and point out that this kind of thing has happened in almost all of her videos. People just notice it in HAW more because it's new. I will talk about each music video and say things I like and dislike objectively, as well as any technical errors, goofs, inconsistencies, etc. I've noticed. Here we go!

Complicated - This is probably my all time favorite video of hers so it's hard to find something I dislike about it. However, I will point out that the storyline of this video has absolutely nothing to do with what the song talks about. It's still a great video. 

Goofs: None that I can notice. I will throw out a disclaimer that it's been awhile since I've really watched her videos so I am doing this mostly from memory. The other day I did watch all her videos again but sped up so it would be hard to notice any little details. And some of her videos I may have only watched a few times ever if they're not really favorites of mine, so I would also not be able to think of many errors.

Sk8er Boi - This actually isn't one of my favorite videos from her but it's classic Avril and nostalgic. Love her outfit and energy.

Goofs:
- For a song about skateboarding, there isn't much of that in this video. There was maybe a brief scene of someone skateboarding from what I recall, and ironically, Avril was riding a bike, not skateboarding. 

- The video is more of a performance video than a storytelling video. The ballerina and sk8er boi are nowhere to be seen. No love story, just Avril messing around in an abandoned garage with her bandmates before doing a concert on top of a car in the middle of LA. 

- She loses her hat midway through the video. There is a reason for this though. In the behind the scenes video, she explains she lost her hat while filming, most likely it fell into the crowd. 

- The video is pretty dated. The technology they use, like the text message the guy gets about the concert on his PDA thing, or the camcorder the guy in the audience uses to film her. 

I'm With You - This is another of my favorite videos and hard to find something I dislike about it. No noticeable goofs either but one thing I will say just to remind everyone she is human and can't do things perfectly when filming videos is that I remember her saying she kind of struggled with the lip synching because they sped the music up to be twice as fast so that when they played the video in slow motion her lips would move at the right speed. It's harder to make a video than it looks!

Losing Grip - I actually quite like this video but objectively speaking, it's pretty low budget. There isn't much to it. More details in the goofs section.

Knockin' on Heaven's Door and Mobile won't be counted in this analysis because KOHD was a charity video that was basically just footage of Avril recording the song and Mobile was incomplete and never officially released.

Goofs: 
- Once again, the plot of the video has nothing to do with the song. It's a performance video, I believe Avril said it was meant to show what it looks like when they perform the song live like a "rock concert." 

- There is a scene towards the end where they want it to look like it's from Avril's point of view. To achieve this, they put a wig that looked like her hair on the camera so that you can see her "hair" flying around. I get the intention but I think it ended up being a pretty cheesy "effect." They could have attached a camera to her head (if those even existed back then) and achieved the same thing and it would have looked more realistic.

- Something that has always bothered me is in the bridge when Avril turns her face to the camera and the wind machine is blowing her hair back. She looks amazing and someone throws their arm in front of her face at like the worst possible moment lol

Don't Tell Me - Not one of my favorite videos so if I had to say something I like about it, I do like the opening scene where she's playing guitar in the hotel room. 

Goofs:
- A classic criticism of this video by fans over the years is how she randomly floats away at the end of the video. It just doesn't make sense. Some say it's symbolism for her "floating away" from the boyfriend and leaving him. Maybe, but it doesn't make sense to have her literally float off into the sky lol

My Happy Ending - One of my all time fave videos from her, so hard to find something to dislike. I will say though that I have always been bothered by how the actor they chose for her love interest seemed to old for her. She was 19 at the time of making that video and the actor had to have been late '20s or early '30s, at least he looked like it. Side note: He gives me Chad Kroeger vibes for some reason lol

Goofs: None that I can easily notice. I do think this video, as awesome as it is, is very of its time though.

Nobody's Home - I've honestly never liked this video that much, mainly because I hate that black wig she wears. It's awful. It's a very bad and unconvincing wig, not to mention looks dirty, but I guess that was the point since she was supposed to be homeless. I will say though that watching it in recent years I have come to like it better and I think it does tell the story of the song really well. I hate that fake tear rolling down her cheek at the end though. 

Goofs: None that I notice but as this wasn't a favorite video of mine, I haven't watched it that many times.

He Wasn't - One of my favorite videos. Love her energy in it. A criticism I guess would be that it doesn't have anything to do with the plot of the song at all. More to come in the goofs section.

Goofs:
- Ok why and how does paint just suddenly come out of the wall?

Girlfriend - A great video, one of her most iconic. If I had to say something I dislike though, I think it promotes a negative message. I think it's mean to imply nerdy girls who are minding their own business deserve to be picked on or have their boyfriends stolen. But obviously the message shouldn't be taken seriously lol It's also an extremely different kind of video for Avril, it was a huge change for her in terms of image. I'm used to it now, but back when I first saw it I couldn't believe it was her lol

Goofs:
- Ok something that has ALWAYS bothered me immensely is how the whole time the goth girl is the one trying to get with the boyfriend, yet in the end when Avril does end up with him, she is dressed as herself, not as the goth girl. Plot hole much?

- A video was once made on the goofs and errors found in this video but I cannot remember much about it. I do remember them pointing out the very obvious stunt double that was used for the scene when the redhead tumbles down the hill and falls into the port-o-potty. You can see Avril has nail polish on her hands and in the next scene where she falls, it's a man's hand with no nail polish.

- Avril and the guy are in the same bathroom?

When You're Gone - Unpopular opinion but I've never liked this video. I don't know why. I do like Avril's scenes though. I like that they also went for a bit different direction and told the story of the song with 3 different storylines, that weren't focused on Avril. 

Goofs: If anything the video has obviously not aged well, as the woman with the husband in the army is using an old-school flip phone.

Hot - This video is eh for me. I don't like her "sexy" videos. But she does look great in the green outfit and honestly these days, it is pretty tame compared to what other artists have done. It isn't trashy or raunchy. 

Goofs:
- Even though the song is about a lover, there is no guy to be seen. But I don't think it really matters. It can be left open to interpretation who it is. It would be kind of predictable and cliche to have a guy in there. She was married at the time and they wouldn't have used Deryck, but it might also have been weird to use another guy. 

- Side note: Not a goof really, but it has always bugged me a bit how she sprays the mirror with perfume instead of spraying it on herself. Like what?

The Best Damn Thing - I like this video a lot but objectively speaking, there is kind of an overdose of pink and sparkles. I used to hate it but now I like it a lot. But I get it can be too much for some people. The cheerleading scene also seems a bit hypocritical for her considering that was the type of character she always claimed to be against. I don't mind it personally, but it is kind of ironic lol

Goofs: None

Girlfriend Remix - Admittedly I haven't watched this in a long time so I remember very little about it. I had forgotten all about it until I sat down to write this post lol From what I do remember, I like the scene with Avril riding the scooter and them riding in the car. The graffiti scene is maybe kind of cringey though, like trying to be badass but it's not or something lol

Goofs: Can't remember any

What the Hell - I don't really like this video, I just think it's kind of a cheap pop video that tried to be interesting but kind of fell flat. Things I objectively like are the cameos by her mom and Amie, you can see when Avril walks in the store she says "Hi Mom!" Advertisement for her own products is kind of overkill but also smart, cool to see her own stuff in a video. I love the scene at the end when she is performing on stage. I wish the whole video had been done like that because the song is very high energy and I think that scene was the only one that followed that best. The rest of the video was her walking around and it kind of didn't follow the song.

Goofs: 
- Another video was done on this like with Girlfriend I think, where they pointed out mistakes. I remember them mentioning how when she's changing in the clothing store, she throws a pink item over her shoulder even though she was never wearing anything pink.

- She sprays 2 different perfumes on at the same time... can't imagine how awful that smells lol

- Too much product placement, but I get this was probably an expensive video to make since it was in 3D. Avril advertising her own products lol

- Not really a goof but this video was shot in 3D yet hardly anyone ever got to see it in 3D. So what was the point?

Smile - I also kind of never liked this video much. I always felt the black and white slow-motion scenes slowed the video down considering the song is uptempo. But I loved the scenes in the white room when she's playing guitar. 

Goofs: 
- You wanna talk about the use of green screen in HAW... well the black and white scenes in Smile look like they were filmed in New York City but it was actually done on a set built to look like NYC. 

Wish You Were Here - I've always loved this video. If I had to say something I dislike about it objectively, I guess it would be her crying, even though those were actually real tears, I hate how her eyeliner gets all smudged everywhere, and the bathtub scene can be seen as cliche by some people. 

Goofs: I don't remember but I think at the end, doesn't she float out the window? Like her soul disappears through the window or something? It could be symbolism for something, fair enough, but this is the same issue with DTM.

Alice - I love this video but objectively speaking, it's mostly her running and I hate how she lip synchs. More on that in the goofs.

Goofs:
- Her lip synch is so off. Her mouth is barely open so it doesn't look believable when she's singing IIIIII I'LL GET BYYYYYY and her mouth is hardly open. 

- Stunt double use again! For the tea party scene, they obviously couldn't get the real Johnny Depp to be in it, so they used a double dressed like the Mad Hatter and filmed him from the back, then used the shots from the movie for his face. It is pretty obvious it's a double but they couldn't get Johnny Depp they worked around it as best they could.

Goodbye - Unpopular opinion again but I never liked this video much. Things I do like are that it's like a mini movie rather than a music video, which is different. The story is not obviously told, we kind of assume she's waiting for someone who never shows up and she's devastated, but it is left open to interpretation. I like that it's inspired by vintage Hollywood, which is also something different for her. But there are so many things I dislike, for example it's basically just her waiting for her lover in her underwear. The scene at the end where she is walking out the door just full on in her bra and underwear is kind of too much. To end on a positive, one last thing I do like is the surprise reveal when she removes her wig.

Goofs:
- So something that has always bugged me about this video is how it's supposed to be set in vintage Hollywood yet she is seen using a camcorder and answering a modern-looking telephone that would not have existed in the 1930s/40s. It totally ruins the illusion.

- The scene where she is crying, you can see a good closeup of her nails. She has skulls painted on them, which again, really ruins the illusion they were going for with having her looking like a vintage Hollywood starlet. Skull nails were not a thing then. They were obviously too lazy to change her nails and thought no one would notice.

Here's to Never Growing Up - This is just an ok video. The only thing I really like about it is obviously the Complicated throwback. The product placement is also actually pretty subtle. 

Goofs: Not technically a goof, but her Complicated outfit is similar to the one in the video, but not the exact same. She's wearing shorts instead of pants, a leather tie instead of a normal tie, no black and white striped arm band, and Converses instead of black skating shoes. I get the intention and it gets the general point across but I couldn't help noticing the outfit was similar, but not the same. 

Rock N Roll - I think this video loses its novelty once you've seen it a few times. That being said, upon a rewatch the comic book idea is pretty cute and different. Cool they got some cameos from Danica and Billy Zane. The pop culture references to things like The Wonder Years and November Rain is funny. Many complain about the phone commercial in the beginning but I think that was done intentionally, which makes it funny and self-aware. The lesbian kiss seems like it was done for shock value or something, kind of lame, but since it referenced the Wonder Years I think it turned out kind of funny instead.

Goofs: None that I can see. The whole video is kind of one big intentional goof/parody of itself though lol

Let Me Go - I like this video a lot and it's probably my favorite of the AL era. But if I had to say something I dislike, the whole thing with Chad is kind of cheesy. The storyline is a little confusing. Not quite clear what's happening. They did a good job finding an actor to play older Chad.

Goof:
- My biggest complaint about this ever is how Avril is supposed to be dead or a spirit or ghost or something and she is holding a Sony tablet to watch Chad lmao They could have done that in a more realistic way, like having Chad looking at old photos of them together on it

Hello Kitty - I have no idea why but I actually always loved this video for some weird reason. I love the colors. But objectively speaking, it is one of her worst videos. Aside from the racism/cultural appropriation argument, the editing is just odd. It's meant to look like the way Japanese TV shows are done, but for an American audience I think it falls pretty flat. It looks very cartoonish. The scene where she's waving at the crowd makes no sense. Hate the shaved head. 

Goofs:
- When she says "Someone chuck a cupcake at me" her lip synch is hilariously off

Give You What You Like - Not enough video to even comment on. I do like Avril's scenes and wish they had done a non-movie version of the video like they did for Alice. 

Goofs: That awful movie they put in there lol

Fly - Not enough video to comment on, love her scenes though.

Goofs: None

Head Above Water - I really like this video. From my analysis of her previous videos here, you can see that almost all of her videos have something about them that is off or doesn't quite make sense. I don't think the use of green screen is a big deal since likely Avril couldn't travel to Iceland to do it on her own. I do think they used the stunt double way too much so that it became obvious they were using one, however I never noticed the thing about the differences in their hair. Overall I think it's one of her best videos.

Goofs: 
- The only thing that really stands out to me, aside from the green screen and hair goofs others have mentioned, is that there's the scene when she's under water but it keeps cutting to the scene of her above water, then she is rising to the surface, but then it cuts to her above water again. The editing is just kind of all over the place there. It doesn't make sense to show her struggling underwater but keep cutting to the same static shot of her singing like normal



That concludes my analysis of all her videos. Congrats if you actually read this whole thing lol