If you're reading this after April 2004, then you probably are asking "who the hell is William Hung?"  And it was a valid question even then.  Once upon a time there was this little TV show called American Idol, where America's unsigned singing talent competed to get a record contract.  However, most people who can actually sing already are signed and have contracts.  The show became little more than karaoke at the local bar.  There are a couple talented people out of the hundreds that compete.  What makes the show entertaining (for me) are the ones who are horrible at singing.  The off-note, off-key, stammering, lyric-forgetting alley cats who make a lot of noise and force the judges (and us at home) cringe.  William Hung was a contestant in the third season of this show, who worked his way through Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" to the hysterics of myself and most of America.  Wi! lliam is an Asian American college student with giant teeth and no singing or dancing ability.  However, he was motivated to perform on American Idol, and did it.  The clip was hilarious - his out of sync dancing, the sing-songy, heavily accented vocals - so hilarious, that FOX used it in most of their commercials for the new season before it aired. 

So, for some reason, William Hung stuck around in America's pop culture.  His 15 minutes were up, but he was still here.  He had appearances on other shows, and had live gigs.  He had tons of websites dedicated to him.  The official story is that people are moved by his determination and perseverance.  They know he's not the best singer, but they are inspired by his drive.  I don't buy it.  I think the real story is that people are laughing their asses off at this guy.  How could you not?  And then, striking while the fire was hot, Koch Records offered William a record deal.  A legit record deal.  Meanwhile, that season of American Idol is still on TV.  Those untalented folks (although not as untalented as Hung) are still competing for a chance to get a record deal.  And William's album has been recorded and released!  And the show is still going on.  What's on the a! lbum?  Well, Hung's versions of popular songs, of course.  "She Bangs" along with "I Believe I Can Fly", "Hotel California", and "Rocket Man", to name a few. 

Accompanying this possible record-breaking CD in it's $11.99 package is a DVD (they had to make it worthwhile somehow), with a feature entitled "A Day in the Life of William Hung".  I debated whether or not to review this on the Horror Bull movie site, since it's not really a "movie", but it definitely fits the feel of bad movies, and I think deserves to be here. 

This "documentary" follows William around his college campus, basking in the glow of his relative celebrity status.  It includes clips of William in the recording studio, which are quite interesting.  It's apparent that the record label guys are laughing at Hung (as is America), but he himself is trying to be very professional, and give the best performances he can.  Which makes me wonder if it is all just a cover.  You know, is he in on the joke?  Or, is he really trying hard?  Does he really believe all the inspirational messages he records on the album (and during the documentary)?  Has he been blinded by his newfound popularity?   These questions are all left unanswered. 

 It's very funny to hear Hung sing.  It's even funnier to watch him dance at the same time.  We get snippets of that during the feature, but not enough.  I was hoping for a music video or something like that to be included on the DVD, but it wasn't.  What we get is William walking around campus, signing autographs, laughing, flirting with girls (sort of), and pondering his popularity.  He's amazed at the number of emails he's received since appearing on American Idol.  But he's the same old William Hung, grounded in his studies, playing Pokemon card games with little kids.  Of course now his bank accounts slightly more padded than most college kids, but he's worked hard for the money.  It's not easy being the butt of everyone's jokes. 

So, the documentary definitely has the humor factor, even if it is at his expense.  But, it's shoddily made, with a run-of-the-mill camcorder, and doesn't provide us with much information or relevance.  There were repeated scenes and it went on for way too long.  And like I said before, not enough of Hung singing & dancing - that's what we wanted to see!  Oh well.  It's still a good appetizer for your bad movie night! 
 
 
 

Quality: 2.0  Visuals: 2.0  Intensity: 1.5  Laughability: 6.5 
OVERALL RATING: 3.0