Look Who's Talking

The wave of fascination with Ross Perot has now washed up in America's video stores. A Conversation With Ross Perot (MPI Home Video) and Straight Talk (Vestron Video), both made by independent producers who deny any political favoritism, were shipped to retailers last week. Like the quickie Perot books due soon from Signet and Warner Books, Conversation and Straight Talk are rush jobs, culled from prior interviews, both of which were conducted within his masculinely appointed Dallas office.

Playing like a 75-minute campaign ad, Conversation was produced for TV last year as part of a series on ''Americans competing in the marketplace,'' says producer Sue Ann Taylor, who adds that it never aired due to ''(various) network snags — it fell between the entertainment and news departments.'' Straight Talk, the bulk of which is devoted to a David Frost interview with Perot that aired in April on PBS, is considerably brighter — or is that just the seat cushions? Either way, the 60-minute tape includes somewhat livelier footage — a young Perot breaking a horse, for example — before Frost begins to probe Perot's views on extramarital affairs, religion, and polygraph testing.

Despite recent antigay comments, here Perot says only that, if President, he'd ''focus on AIDS'' and that ''each person has their individual rights.'' The lone provocative note is when Frost quotes Perot associates who say he'd make a good king but not a good President. Hearing this, Perot smiles uneasily and argues the point.