VIDEORGY: Barry Manilow’s new video, “He Doesn’t...

VIDEORGY: Barry Manilow’s new video, “He Doesn’t Care (But I Do),” has been getting a big media splash lately--it just debuted last week, virtually in its entirety, on “Entertainment Tonight.” Since the clip was directed by photography wiz Moshe Brahka and is billed as a ground-breaking departure for the syrupy popster (it even has a “furniture” credit), we just had to take a quick look. Well, forget about ground breaking--it’s really a camp classic. Shot in black and white, it shows Barry at the piano (where else), crooning a plaintive ballad about a woman who’s mistreated by her boyfriend. Naturally, the clip spells out all this drama, showing us the hilariously overdressed couple in action, projected on a screen behind Manilow. (In case we didn’t notice their presence, Barry keeps glancing over his shoulder at the screen, as if worried that it might topple over on his head). But the best part of the clip is the subtitles. In case you can’t figure out the lyrics, Brahka flashes particularly stirring lines--like “Don’t throw your love away”--onto the screen, so you can follow the song’s emotional drift even with the sound off. Naturally, Barry gets the girl in the end, sweeping her up in his arms in a torrid embrace. Which brings us to the real let-down--after all that, Barry doesn’t even kiss the poor gal on the lips!