Mumford & Sons get a few, uh, guest stars to appear in their "Hopeless Wanderer" video

If you were going to put together a list of the top 50 ways to describe Mumford & Sons, what would come to mind? Strident, sure. Earnest, bucolic, and folksy, too. But it would be a long time before you got around to "hilarious." It's kind of ironic, considering how often the band themselves are poked fun at, which is probably because the London four-piece seem to take themselves so seriously. Until now, anyway -- the new video for "Hopeless Wanderer" unveils a side of the boys we've never seen before. In fact, you might not even recognize them.

Watch Mumford & Sons' "Hopeless Wanderer" video after the jump.

Aside from their worldwide smash indie-folk-pop hits (like "I Will Wait"), which are rightfully praised for their sense of drama and beautifully sung woe, the band also has a penchant for ratcheting up the sincerity in their videos; consider the recent "Lover of the Light" starring Idris Elba. And in "Hopeless Wanderer" (taken from their Grammy Award-wining album of the year, Babel), Mumford has enlisted some familiar actors, too, but the effect is somewhat different. In fact, it's the exact opposite. We almost don't even want to spoil the reveal. Why don't you just go ahead and skip down to the video, then come back and read the rest.

OK, you back?

Hahaha. You fall for it, too? The old-timey title card, the slow motion, sun-dappled beardliness? The piano in the middle of a field? After about a minute or so, something starts to feel off. Hold on, I recognize those dudes!

It is, of course, Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, and Ed Helms appearing in what we're kind of surprised wasn't already a "Saturday Night Live" skit before now. Helms is already a natural at this sort of thing, being a crack banjo player himself, but we're not gonna lie -- Bateman's pretend banjo needs a little work.

Over the course of the video, the Mumfordness gets amped up to further extremes: an upright bass in a boat? Tearful, bearded makeouts? A four-piece choreographed barbershop quartet banjo dance routine? If nothing else, "Hopeless Wanderer" shows that Mumford & Sons have been paying attention to all the beard jokes this entire time, and you know what? It seems like they get them even better than we do. Well played, sirs. Well played, indeed.

+ Watch Mumford & Sons' "Hopeless Wanderer" video.

Photo credit: Island/Glassnote