It’s big boy season and there’s no better way to ring it in than a flood of Kevin James memes. In late September, the internet latched onto smirking, mid-‘90s press photos of James promoting his King of Queens character, Doug Heffernan, using the peculiar pics as a new type of situational reaction image.
Instead of the “MFW no GF” sad faces of yesteryear, Gen Z’s comedy has evolved into more abstract, so-literal-it’s-funny humor that only clicks with the right vehicle. In this case, it’s James’ face.
Of particular popularity is every photo showing James shrugging with a smug grin on his face. In most instances, that look would trigger my fight or flight. For James, though, my heart is a bit more open.
The magic behind the Kevin James memes is the relatable and sometimes strange caption that accompanies each photo. In one, James clutches onto the stomach of on-screen wife Leah Remini, apparently the perfect photo to illustrate the passive boyfriend/dominant girlfriend trope.
There’s also images of James flirtatiously biting his lip, illustrative of the guy at the bar who stares at you just a bit too long.
My personal favorites see James posing in a beret, a hat doomed to live as the cousin of the fedora and usually favored by “that guy.” You know what guy I mean.
James isn’t that guy, though, as you can tell from the hardcore boy edit that dresses him in a Sunami shirt.
An unintentional side effect of the memes: I couldn’t help but notice that, 30-ish years ago, James was a normcore icon, though you could argue that James’ swag has never dimmed.
His shoe game has always been particularly strong. Even back in the King of Queens era, he was a loyal Nike head. A photo from 1999 shows a dripped-out James in a simple flannel and jeans combo sporting the crispest blue and white Nikes I’ve ever seen.
James also loves a good jacket. Broad-shouldered people can attest to the struggle to find the perfect outerwear — it’s tough finding something…
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