Spin Cycle

Wookiee's contagious joy is good for health

Laughing matter: Masked woman with Arkansas ties makes Internet roar.
Laughing matter: Masked woman with Arkansas ties makes Internet roar.

Candace Payne still has me cackling.

You probably know who I'm talking about, even if you can't place the name.

Candace is "such a happy Chewbacca!" She's the guffawing gal in the talking Wookiee mask who got the whole world looking at her viral video and laughing along with her.

Yes, the whole wide world. As of press time, her live video titled "It's the simple joys in life ..." posted to Facebook (facebook.com/candaceSpayne) had been viewed nearly 142 million (!) times and had been shared more than 3 million times. The one-take video quickly crushed the record set by Buzzfeed's exploding watermelon.

It's quite an accomplishment -- albeit an accidental one -- from a Ouachita Baptist University alumna who merely went to Kohl's on a quest for yoga pants that fit and left with a new toy and stardom. (While she lives in the Dallas area, she spent her college years studying musical theater in Arkadelphia. OBU tweeted that the student then known by her maiden name of Candace Sharp was Homecoming Queen in 1999.)

At the store, the wife and stay-at-home mother who recently celebrated another revolution around the sun bought a present for herself that she referred to as "part of her birthday joy; I'm still rejoicing in my birthday."

As she opened the box with the Star Wars logo, the 37-year-old clarified for the camera set up in her car: "This is for me, not for Duncan, not for Cadence. I mean I'll let them play with it. I'm not a bad mom. I'm not a jerk. But, at the end of the day, it doesn't go in their toy box, it goes in my room."

Off went her glasses. On came the mask -- more specifically the Star Wars: Episode VII -- The Force Awakens Chewbacca Electronic Mask. Don't bother trying to buy one right now. The $20-to-$30 mask is sold out, and it is priced as high as $175 by individual sellers on Amazon.

When Candace opened her mouth, the mask roared: "Yes!" she shouted, giddily adding, "Now, watch when my mouth actually moves. That's not me making that noise, that's the mask!" As the mask roared, she roared with laughter, making the mask -- and herself -- roar louder for a full minute.

"This is worth every penny! That is the best birthday present ever to myself! Wow. Oh my goodness," she said breathlessly, wiping happy tears from her eyes before concluding, "It's the simple joys!"

Worth every penny and then some. For the free advertising, Kohl's -- with cameras in tow -- paid the Payne family a visit with $2,500 in gift cards and plenty of additional Star Wars toys so Candace will never have to share her mask. She also was invited on ABC's Good Morning America this week, where Hasbro gifted her with even more Star Wars swag ("Oh, the action figures! The big ones!" she gasped) and yet another gift certificate for $2,500.

Even Star Wars actor Peter Mayhew, Chewbacca himself, took notice of the video and posted his response on Reddit: "This video is amazing! Just delightful from beginning to end."

But the toys and the attention aren't what's most meaningful, Candace told GMA's Robin Roberts.

"In all honesty, the best part of all of this is being able to share joy with people," she said. "I had one lady message me and tell me that she has an autistic daughter that hadn't laughed in two months. And she said every time she showed her the video she laughed and laughed.

"From one mama heart to another mama, to see a child laugh that you haven't seen laugh -- those are the stories I'm going to take with me every day."

Again, Candace's eyes welled up with tears.

This time she wasn't merely tickled, she was touched.

The email strikes back:

jchristman@arkansasonline.com

Spin Cycle is a smirk at pop culture. You can hear Jennifer on Little Rock's KURB-FM, B98.5 (B98.com), from 5:30-9 a.m. Monday through Friday.

Style on 05/29/2016

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