Bravo! Thespians deliver dramatic Yelp readings

Actor Chris Kipiniak applies his skills to a bad Yelp review.

(Credit: Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET)

Film adaptations often don't live up to their source material. A new YouTube collection titled "Real Actors Read Yelp Reviews" actually enhances it.

You may recognize professional actor Chris Kipiniak from his appearances as Evan Goode on "The Good Wife," Clerk #2 in "Headcrusher," or Cop in "The Poker Club." Now, he's also the guy who gave a dramatic interpretation of a one-star Yelp review of Stratford Diner.

Kipiniak's powerful reading, set to a dramatic score, really communicates the reviewer's angst directed at the restaurant's manager. It elevates a simple Yelp review to a higher level of heart-rending existential conflict full of emotion, confusion, and crab cakes.

If there were Oscars given for Internet video portrayals of Yelp reviews, Kipiniak would be a shoo-in.

There is a second entry in this new series. Award-winning audio book narrator and actress Therese Plummer (the voice of Fennel from a couple episodes of the "Pokemon" TV series) pours her heart and soul into a four-star review of Tamarind of London, complete with descriptions of the food's explosive aftereffects.

I'm looking forward to more of these interpretive reviews from the pros. It really breathes a passionate new life into the world of online restaurant reviews.