Watching

Video Digest: January 19, 2007

First drafts and flashbacks: The short that gave us a million novelty products; a rap video that undoubtedly inspired millions of burger flippers; the nail in the coffin of Bronson Pinchot's career; and a car commercial that probably won't sell many cars.

If you just don’t get Napolean Dynamite, there’s nothing much for you to see in “Peluca,” the eight-minute short that inspired the movie. It has the same oddball tempo as it follows Seth (played by Jon Heder) on an afternoon’s quest for a fanny pack. Made for $500 in two days, “Peluca” is fumbling but dear, not the kind of project you expect to launch a zillion novelty products and a mediocre acting career.



The “Wendy’s training video rap” isn’t nearly as muted and quirky. It’s downright terrifying, and it may have turned me off of square burgers for good. If kids won’t read Fast Food Nation, just play them this song:

“Now meat’s got grain to it just like wood
You gotta follow the arrows to lay it down like you should”



While we’re having ‘80s flashbacks, do you remember the Balki B dance? Okay, me neither, which is weird because I was a Perfect Stranger fan. Who wasn’t? That crazy Balki, talking about his flock of sheep and bungling those English idioms. Well, here’s his crack at a dance phenom—strange that it never caught on.



All I need to tell you about the following car commercial is that the announcer begins by saying: “Fuck You Baltimore.” Any questions?



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