Short Version: If you’ve seen the looping fireplace video (made famous by New York’s WPIX and commonly aired on TV around the holidays) or used it yourself, there’s a new video in town. Except instead of a burning yule log, there’s a girl sitting in a chair.
Review:
Nobody knows her name and she rarely speaks during the 1 hour, 39 minute-long Video Pal DVD, but fire up the disc during your next party and watch what happens. I had Video Pal going all night long during the 1st Annual Aamoth Family New Year’s Eve Party and got the following reactions from our guests.
- What the hell is that?
- Oh my God! She’s actually moving! I thought it was a photo!
- This is creepy.
- I like the fireplace better.
- Here’s what’s intriguing about this. You have a relatively regular girl – she’s pretty but not overly pretty – sitting in a room for hours. So you start to notice things and ask different questions. Like, what’s up with that horse picture? And the picture frame on the table has no picture in it. And what’s with the giraffe? Man, she’s got long hair. And one of her eyebrows is higher than the other one.
- She looks bored.
I had the yule log video going on an adjacent screen and there were mixed reactions between the two. Most older guests liked the yule Log, most younger guests liked Video Pal. Hipsters, especially, liked Video Pal. It’s so weird that it’s enjoyable.
The back of the DVD makes promises such as “I play well at parties when nothing else is on TV” and “I play well when you’re feeling alone” – even crazy shit like “I play well when your boyfriend/girlfriend just broke up with you and you just need someone to be there for you.”
It’s all tongue-in-cheek, of course, but I can assure you that it’s definitely something that people will talk about at a party. As for the part about keeping you company, the girl seems pretty bored most of the time, which made me feel embarrassed that I didn’t have anything fun for her to do. But I can’t talk to you, lady! Cut me some slack! It’s a one-way street!
The disc is available for $13. All in all, not a bad purchase for your next party. Here’s a list of things she does and here’s a short demo video.
Product Page: Video Pal