Why Joe Cobden wants everyone to be more playful with food

In the age of Yelp and other similar websites and apps, anyone can be a critic — even when they shouldn't be. 

Actor Joe Cobden finds Yelp reviews rather silly, so what better thing to do than to skewer them with his own take on critiquing local Los Angeles joints?

"We thought that it was funny anyone would spend that much time on it," Cobden says of Yelp reviewers. "So we wanted to spend that much more time on it than them."

Utilizing the 12-second video review option on Yelp, a perhaps hidden feature on the site and app, Cobden has created what he calls Toothpix videos. These highly-produced clips, helped by his directing partner-in-crime Dave Green, are dramatic and often employ special affects, costumes and film-worthy performances. 

"I'm trying to subvert that culture," Cobden says of the now ubiquitous "foodie" characters we see in every restaurant. "It's graffiti on the Internet."