William Hung: Hangin’ with Hung
Picture: C+
Sound: C- Extras: D Main Program: D
Somebody please go back in time and prevent Andy Warhol
from saying that everyone will one day get their fifteen minutes of fame. Honestly, with the advent of reality
television, it seems that just about everybody is eating up their fifteen
minutes before they really know what to do with it. And what these people don’t know is that those fifteen minutes
will be how the world (or at least American pop culture) will remember them
forever. So, enter American Idol,
yet another reality/competition television program that is just a
bastardization of the UK original which FOX has so gloriously inundated us with
every season and special and cliffhanger they can produce. Forget all the Kelly’s and the Ruben’s and
the Fantasia’s of the show—everyone watches the show to see all the schmos of
the nation regale us with their horrible singing voices and then watch Simon
Cowell chew them out. However, when
season three began, no one had any idea that one UC Berkeley student’s off-key
rendition of Ricky Martin’s She Bangs would become a national sensation,
and that it’s singer, William Hung, would achieve super-stardom overnight. William’s refusal to accept Simon’s
criticism’s and to say he’s being who he is allowed him to become the voice for
all the people who couldn’t stand up and say that they’re just being who they
are. And with that came something no
one else thought—a record deal for William Hung.
And now you can watch William Hung’s music video of Ricky
Martin’s She Bangs on the DVD release called Hangin’ with Hung. And really, that’s all there is to the
DVD. Well, that, and about a million
other ways you can watch William perform the same song over and over again—from
hip hop shows to wedding receptions.
Yes, you get both long and short music video versions for She Bangs. William looks so stiff and uncomfortable in
the videos that he makes a bed of nails seem eased-back and relaxed. And the videos are pretty unrealistic. They make him seem like a lothario—some
man’s man whom no woman can resist. But
his inability to get comfortable and act makes the video weak. He even says in a behind-the-scenes look at
the video that he’s uneasy with strange (though insanely beautiful) women
touching him. But even the zillions of
beautiful women in this video can’t save it.
This video should have never been made.
All the segments on this DVD are presented in a 1.33:1
aspect ratio, save for the music videos, which are presented in letterbox
format (no indication if they might be anamorphic widescreen). The quality for the music videos is very
sharp and clear, with only a few hints of dust and grain. All the color levels are vibrant and clear,
which makes for a solid image. However,
a lot of the supplemental footage isn’t up to par with the music videos, as
they were filmed on video and camcorder, instead of film as the music videos
were. The images are grainy and the
colors or soft and dull.
The audio is practically mono, though there’s no
indication if it’s Dolby Digital sound on the package and no indication if
there’s a 5.1 mix. The Dolby 2.0 audio
is very clear and crisp for the music videos, however, audio levels are all
over the place for the supplemental material, especially what was shot with a
camcorder. The real great part about
the audio is to hear the differences between William’s voice in the music
videos and then his voice in the home video footage. The quality of his voice on the home video footage is akin to
what fans heard on American Idol—just plain bad. But the quality in his voice is far improved
in the music videos, as there is obviously some voice modulation and
modification done to make it sound better.
Who says technology can’t be used for evil? Unfortunately, there’s not enough technology in the world to make
William sound good.
The extras aren’t anything fancy. There’s about three other renditions of the
same She Bangs over and over again.
Then there’s a short segment on William’s “Inspirational Thoughts,”
in which his basic message is to just be yourself. Rounding out the extras is the FUSE special “Idol Worship!” which
basically just chronicles William’s life and how he deals with his newfound
fame. Nothing special here really.
Give credit to William in one aspect, though. When all the fame is said and done, he
really just wants to be a normal guy and go back to being a Berkeley student
and move on with his life. He knows his
fifteen minutes will soon be over, as other reality stars fail to admit. But man, is he sure milking his fifteen
minutes for all it’s worth. I got to
give it to you William, you’re just being yourself and not letting fame destroy
you as it has destroyed countless others before you. But a DVD, William? A
DVD? Well, okay, but only if you
promise to never EVER to release another one.
- Antonio Lopez
