Benny Jean

"You better stay away from my video, my camera, and especially my damn pet flamingo, or you'll wish you were never born on this side of the Mississippi!"

- Benny Jean to the Neighbor

Benny Jean is a character on Smosh and the main protagonist of the That Damn Neighbor series. He is played by Ian Hecox.

History
Benny Jean is a stereotypical redneck who speaks with a Southern drawl and is often seen sitting on a lawn chair with a beer in hand, next to his friend Cletus. He is obsessed with his "pet" lawn flamingo, which his neighbor, who he always refers to as "That Damn Neighbor", steals. Benny Jeans will often take extreme measures to keep his flamingo safe, including invading the Neighbor's house and breaking out of jail. He has been arrested twice (as seen in "That Damn Yard Sale" and "That Damn Prison Break") and was on parole for years since his arrest in "That Damn Prison Break".

"That Damn Neighbor"
Benny Jean is sitting in a fenced area on his front lawn with a beer when Cletus joins him, asking what the fence is for. Benny Jean explains that the fence is to keep the neighbor from stepping onto his lawn to rattle him up and causing a scene on his property. Cletus asks if he is referring to the neighbor standing near them, outside the fence, which Benny Jean takes as proof that the fence is working. However, only a second later, the neighbor appears inside the fence, next to the flamingo, prompting Benny Jean to get up and get into the neighbor's face, yelling at him to leave before he "kicks [his] keister".



To Cletus's amusement, the Neighbor quickly leaves and watches from afar atop a fire hydrant. Cletus suggests to Benny Jean that he "beef up" his yard's security, which Benny Jeans considers a good idea. Later, he starts to put on tacks on top of the fence to make it difficult for the Neighbor to jump the fence, and when he finishes, he starts to admire his work but, much to his frustration, sees the Neighbor in his yard. A bewildered Benny Jean orders the Neighbor to get away from his flamingo. The Neighbor strikes a few poses with various props, including binoculars, a football, and a motorcycle, making Benny Jean increasingly frustrated (with the exception of the motorcycle, which Benny Jeans found himself too impressed by to be mad at). The Neighbors' final pose is with the flamingo and Benny Jean pleads with him to put the flamingo down, with which the Neighbor obliges but brings his dog, prompting Benny Jean to threaten him if his dog urinates on his flamingo. The Neighbor appears a distance away on the adjacent sidewalk.

Benny Jean is finally able to relax, which he does by sitting down on his lawn chair and a beer in hand. Cletus appears and sits next to him, impressed by the new lawn security. At first, Benny Jean is proud of his work, but realizes something and asks Cletus how he got in. Cletus points to a rather large hole in the fence, explaining that he cut it the other way. Benny Jeans wordlessly glares at Cletus for a couple of seconds before slapping him.

"Food Battle 2007"


When Anthony tries to bait someone with celery, he throws a celery stick tied to a rope in front of an unsuspecting Benny Jean. As Anthony pulls the rope back, Benny Jean chases the celery through the sidewalk, somebody's front yard, across the road, underneath a car, and across another sidewalk before he finally catches and eats it, enjoying it.

"Boxman's Girlfriend"


Benny Jean makes a cameo appearance in "Boxman's Girlfriend" in the "BOXMAN DANCE TIME!" scene alongside Cletus, the Gangstas, Gary Brolsma, and Frankie Rogers.

"That Damn Yard Sale"
Benny Jean is holding a yard sale on his front lawn. As he explains to Cletus, who joins him and asks why, vehicle prices are going up to the point where he is not able to afford his Hummer anymore, and he refuses to purchase anything manufactured by "communists". Cletus asks if he is selling any camo shirts, so Benny Jeans gestures to a box to their right. They look to see that the Neighbor holding the box of camo shirts, causing Benny Jean to yell at the Neighbor to stay away (especially from his pet flamingo, who is labeled at "Not 4 Sale!") and wrestles the box out of the Neighbor's hands, causing him to fall over and spill the shirts. As he is returning the shirts to the box, he hears a siren behind him, causing him to turn around to see the Neighbor holding a megaphone. Benny Jean confiscates the megaphone and dials the police. When he is finished, he turns around to face the Neighbor again, but instead watches as the Neighbor, back on his own property across the street, holds his own yard sale with all of the same items Benny Jean is selling.



Cletus suggests that they advertise their yard sale, so Benny Jean puts him to work as a, but this only seems to attract more customers to the Neighbor. At that moment, Benny Jean spots a potential customer. He leaves Cletus in charge of the yard sale as he runs to meet the potential customer. The customer wants to buy some camo shirts, so Benny Jean runs back to grab an armful. When he returns, Cletus gifts him with "great" news: he sold his flamingo to the Neighbor, who paid well for it. Benny Jean steps forward and proceeds to slap Cletus about a dozen times before the Neighbor suddenly switches places with Cletus, making Benny Jean slap him instead. Unfortunately, a policeman arrives on the scene, who prepares to arrest Benny Jean for assault, and carries him away after concluding that the Neighbor's distinct silence is because of trauma. Benny Jean shouts "That Damn Neighbor!" as he is escorted away.

"Food Battle 2008"


While Ian tries to find a safe place for his Pink Frosted Sprinkled Donut to detonate, having activated it as an explosive about to detonate, he tries to put it on Anthony's car, which Anthony objects to, then Anthony's pet rock, which Anthony also objects to, and atop the flamingo, which Benny Jean objects to. Panicking, Ian throws the donut up in the air, where it lands in the grass and fizzles out.

"That Damn Prison Break"
At the Tallahassee State Prison, Benny Jean is plagued with nightmares about the Neighbor and his flamingo and decides to get his flamingo back. Dressed in his orange inmate uniform, he jumps the fence and makes a run for freedom while the alarm blares, and dogs and guards chase him. He runs across a rather small creek and continues onward to freedom. He returns home and chastises Cletus for not writing him while he was imprisoned and orders his friend to help him get his pet flamingo back from That Damn Neighbor. At that moment, the Neighbor appears, and Benny Jeans gets up to his face and demands to know where the flamingo is. The Neighbor makes no noise, so Benny Jean orders Cletus to retrieve his "beatin' stick", but when he looks back, the Neighbor is escaping on a segway. Panicking, Benny Jean orders Cletus to get his Hummer, but Cletus reveals that he traded it for a fog machine. Desperate, Benny Jean asks if they have anything else with wheels. One camera cut later, the two are chasing after the Neighbor on rollerblades.



Benny Jean and Cletus make progress in catching up to the Neighbor until they bump into each other, sending Cletus crashing and breaking a rollerblade. Cletus catches up to Benny Jean and convinces him to give him a ride, and the two continue their chase. Cletus notices that the Neighbor is heading straight for a freeway and the two stop and anticipate the Neighbor doing the same, but the Neighbor simply rides his segway onto a ramp and floats over the freeway. While Benny Jean expresses his frustration, Cletus suggests they return to the Neighbor's house and retrieve the flamingo there.

The two enter the Neighbor's house, where Benny Jean asks Cletus how he knew the flamingo was inside. Cletus reveals that he and the Neighbor "hung out" a few times while Benny Jean was in jail. Benny Jean accuses Cletus of being a traitor, but Cletus interrupts him and points out the flamingo in an adjacent room. Benny Jean rushes to go inside, but Cletus restrains him and tells him to "watch this" as he pulls out the aforementioned fog machine and activates it, revealing a laser security system throughout the entire room containing the flamingo. Benny Jean, taking charge, orders Cletus to do as he says as he rolls, ducks, and navigates his way through the lasers, eventually making it to the other side. Benny Jean tells Cletus to join him, but the latter fails to make it past the first laser, triggering the alarm.



Cletus begins to panic as Benny Jean grabs the flamingo and tells him that they are going to "get the heck outta [there]". The two head for the front door but are stopped by the Neighbor, who has returned home and is wielding an axe. They try to find an alternative exit but encounter a Policeman instead, and a chase ensues throughout the entire house, eventually resulting in the four bumping into each other in the hallway. The Policeman orders everyone else to stop and demands to know what is going on. Cletus readily admits to breaking into the Neighbor's house until Benny Jean puts a hand over his mouth to silence him, instead accusing the Neighbor of stealing his flamingo, and explains that he was simply trying to get it back. The Policeman sympathizes with Benny Jean and informs the Neighbor that, as flamingos are an endangered species, stealing them is a felony, but turns to Benny Jean and informs him that breaking out of jail is also a felony. As both Benny Jean and the Neighbor are dragged away, Benny Jean expresses confusion over why Cletus is not being arrested. The Policeman gives the familiar explanation of "we hung out a few times", prompting Benny Jean to again accuse Cletus of treachery.

At the Tallahassee State Prison, the Policeman leads Benny Jean to his cell. Benny Jean tells him that he does not mind his sentence, so long as he has his pet flamingo with him. He is pushed into his cell, where he greets his new cellmate, who reveals himself to be the Neighbor. Benny Jean turns around and shouts out "Get me outta here!".

"THAT DAMN PUNISHMENT!"


Benny Jean and Cletus sit outside, drinking beer, while Benny Jean boasts about the security of the fence he has set up to protect his pet flamingo. At that moment, Benny Jean's Parole Officer arrives. Benny Jean orders Cletus not to say anything and scrambles away to hide. His parole officer gets the information without any issue and finds Benny Jean hiding behind a plant, to Benny Jean's disappointment. The parole officer informs Benny Jean that he, as part of his community service sentence, has been instructed to make a video for the "Ecomagination YouTube Video Challenge", and he will go back to jail with the Neighbor if he refuses. Benny Jean, terrified at the thought of returning to jail with the Neighbor, agrees to make the video and enlists Cletus to assist him. However, the production of the video is instantly hampered by the Neighbor, who steals the camera from Cletus, prompting Benny Jean to warn the Neighbor to stay away. Once filming begins, Benny Jean introduces himself and explains to the audience that he is looking for suggestions for being eco-friendly. He goes to introduce to viewers his flamingo, which the Neighbor has stolen, but returns surprisingly quickly. Benny Jean continues, explaining that the project is for charity and that General Electric is going to donate to Charity: Water, "some sorta thing that gives clean water to people that don't got none".

Benny Jean notices and recoils in shock when he notices that Cletus, who was filming, has been replaced by the Neighbor, who teleported Cletus to the roof. Benny Jean goes and slaps the Neighbor, but accidentally slaps Cletus instead, who has returned to position. Cletus gets fed up and quits, leaving Benny Jean to record the rest of the video by himself. Benny Jean instructs viewers to leave comments below the video with eco-friendly ideas, after which he will select two and make videos based on the ideas.

"THAT DAMN SHOWER!"


As Cletus records, Benny Jean greets viewers and commends them for their ideas. As he explains, the prompt for the current video is was given by YouTube user "pukipwner", who suggested taking a shower for 30 seconds in a Speedo. Inside, Benny Jean sets his clothes down on the toilet seat and takes an uncomfortably cold shower with his flamingo while wearing a Speedo. After 30 seconds (in actuality, 16 seconds), Cletus stops the timer and compliments his friend's clean appearance. Benny Jean tells him to give him his clothes, but Cletus turns around to see an empty toilet seat. Benny Jean turns angry when he sees the Neighbor standing in the bathroom doorway, holding his clothes. Benny Jean grabs a whip and chases the Neighbor outside, where the Neighbor is escaping in the back of a moving truck. Benny Jean tries to catch up but tires too quickly and returns to Cletus to exclaim that the Neighbor has stolen all of his clothes and how his crotch feels weird in a Speedo. To Cletus's horror, the Neighbor's head seems to have replaced Benny Jean's crotch region.

"THAT DAMN RAP MUSIC!"


As Cletus records, Benny Jean greets viewers again and explains the prompt for this video, by YouTube user "AndrewLeonardi", who suggested a music video about the process of planting flowers and trees. Through various shots around his backyard, Benny Jean raps about the important role plants play in reducing carbon dioxide emissions, but the recording is soon interrupted by the Neighbor, who plays "Jarabe Tapatío" over the music. Benny Jean orders the Neighbor to stay away or else he will "mess [him] up, foo'!". The fact that he said "foo'" does not register until moments later, causing Benny Jean to express frustration at the rap music for getting to his head. Recording continues as Benny Jean recommends planting flowers, but Cletus interrupts, wondering if planting flowers is "girly", but Benny Jean claims that helping the environment is "super manly". Recording again continues until Benny Jean discovers that he flamingo is missing. As he searches around his backyard for it, he comes face-to-face with the Neighbor, who is holding the flamingo by the neck in his mouth. The sight makes Benny Jean scream in shock.

"THAT DAMN TRASH PILE!"


As Cletus records, Benny Jean explains the prompt for the video, by YouTube user "tinrobot91", who suggested the construction of a house for the flamingo using his own trash. Benny Jean carries his full trash can to his flamingo and, after saying he has a "new home" for the flamingo, dumps all of the trash onto it. He admires his work for a few moments before returning to sit with Cletus, who excitedly leaves to see the flamingo's new "house".

"HOLY CRAP! 2 BILLION VIEWS!"


Benny Jean makes a cameo appearance in "HOLY CRAP! 2 BILLION VIEWS!" alongside many other Smosh characters. He is sitting with Cletus in their lawn chairs and laughs at George Zazz and calls him a "dummy" after the wildlife expert was shocked by Pikachu's Thundershock.

"THAT DAMN MOVIE!"
Anthony Padilla has partnered with Benny Jean as part of the "24 Hour Film Festival", in which, as the name implies, contestants must produce a film in under 24 hours. When Anthony arrives and nearly trips over the flamingo, Benny Jean appears and points a crossbow at Anthony, who raises his arms in surrender. Anthony reminds him of the competition, causing Benny Jean to lower the crossbow and explain that he thought he was trying to help the Neighbor steal his flamingo. He invites Anthony inside and turns around to proceed with filming, but comes face-to-face with the Neighbor, who is carrying the flamingo in his arms. Benny Jean rips the flamingo away and screams at the Neighbor to leave. Once the Neighbor is gone, Benny Jean and Anthony begin production.

At some point during filming, Benny Jean, who is holding the camera, steps back into and activates a bear trap. He explains to Anthony that he had set bear traps up in his house to keep the Neighbor from touching his flamingo, but one was apparently moved. The Neighbor appears with a bear trap in hand. Benny Jean realizes the flamingo is no longer in his arms and sees it in the arms of the Neighbor. Benny Jean cries out not to the Neighbor not to bear trap the flamingo, hobbling over and grabbing it for the second time that day, crying at the Neighbor to stay away. Anthony offers to take him to a hospital, but Benny Jean refuses, wanting to finish the video.



At the Crest Theatre, Anthony and Benny Jean, carrying his flamingo, sit down next to Ian. Benny Jean and Anthony's film is first up, but, contrary to what Benny Jean filmed with Anthony, what plays is the film Benny Jean made and submitted on his own. The film itself is supposed to contain Benny Jean teaching self-defense techniques for protecting one's pet flamingo. A confused Anthony asks what the video is, and Benny Jean explains that his video "sucks possum balls", so he made and submitted his own. The video continues as Benny Jean destroys a dummy dressed to resemble the Neighbor, but, much to Benny Jean's confusion and terror, short shots of the Neighbor interrupt the video, including one where the Neighbor seemingly steals the flamingo into the video. A series of shots show the Neighbor holding the flamingo in a variety of positions to taunt Benny Jean, prompting the redneck to stand up, shout out "That Damn Neighbor!" while raising balled fists in the air, and run out of the theater, screaming.

Smosh

 * "Boxman's Girlfriend"
 * "HOLY CRAP! 2 BILLION VIEWS!"
 * "Boxman's Girlfriend"
 * "HOLY CRAP! 2 BILLION VIEWS!"
 * "HOLY CRAP! 2 BILLION VIEWS!"
 * "HOLY CRAP! 2 BILLION VIEWS!"
 * "HOLY CRAP! 2 BILLION VIEWS!"
 * "HOLY CRAP! 2 BILLION VIEWS!"
 * "HOLY CRAP! 2 BILLION VIEWS!"
 * "HOLY CRAP! 2 BILLION VIEWS!"
 * "HOLY CRAP! 2 BILLION VIEWS!"

Trivia

 * Benny Jean's name makes reference to "Billie Jean", a hit 1985 song by Michael Jackson.
 * Benny Jean is a fan of celery, as seen in "Food Battle 2007".
 * At the end of "THAT DAMN TRASH PILE!", Ian, as Benny Jean, advertises an article on Smosh.com displaying jack-o'-lanterns of Pokémon, during which he quietly admits to being a fan of the series.
 * Despite having only slapped the Neighbor once and being accused of traumatizing him speechless, he was put into a maximum-security prison, as said by the Policeman in "That Damn Prison Break", although this is dubious as Benny Jean easily escaped.