UHF (1989)
Review by Doc Ezra
Film:
DVD:

Written by Al Yankovic and Jay Levey
Directed by Jay Levey
Starring "Weird Al" Yankovic, Michael Richards, Kevin McCarthy, David Bowe, Fran Drescher and Victoria Jackson

Features:

• Commentary with Al Yankovic and Jay Levey, with guest appearances by Michael Richards, Emo Phillips, and Victoria Jackson
  
• Deleted scenes
  
• Behind-the-scenes footage
  
• "UHF" music video
  
• Production stills
  
• Promotional materials
  

Rating: PG-13

Anamorphic: Yep

My Advice: Rent it for the commentary track, if nothing else.

George Newman has problems. He can't keep himself employed, largely because his fantasy life makes Walter Mitty look like a stable, grounded kind of guy. But his uncle has even bigger problems - a floundering UHF station that can't keep viewers interested, and can't compete with the local network affiliates for advertising dollars. So, as is wont to happen in comedy free-for-all films, George's uncle naturally turns to his complete screw-up nephew to run the station for him and attempt to save the day. Not the choice I would have made, but hey, nobody's given me a TV station to dispense with as I wish, so whatever works for George's uncle.

The station, perhaps predictably, continues to perform terribly, perhaps even worse than before. Until George starts putting on programs for his own amusement because he assumes nobody is watching. Things like "Wheel of Fish," or "The Wonderful World of Phlegm." Suddenly the station's getting some viewers, and even a few ads. So, in true Hollywood happy-ending fashion, the station, in no time at all, becomes the biggest ratings draw in the entire market, beating out every single major network. Of course, this means evil corporate affiliate network guy (Kevin McCarthy) has to attempt to destroy the station, or even better, buy the station.

So George does what any self-respecting local channel does when threatened by people with deeper pockets - he puts on a telethon to raise sufficient funds to keep the station. Last minute shenanigans ensue, bad guy gets subpeona'd by the FCC, George and beloved live happily ever after, roll credits. UHF is, as I'm sure is evident, pretty stock plotting for its historical era. The 80's were full of movies about plucky young upstarts managing not to get destroyed by greedy land developers, greedy stock market types, greedy bankers, greedy network owners, greedy radio owners...you get the picture. In a world eaten alive with greed, all the heroes are fighting rich corporate suit-wearers. And they always win. That's not what sets UHF apart. The only thing that sets this flick apart from its contemporaries is the addition of "Weird Al" Yankovic as the plucky young upstart.

Now, admittedly, the Weird One is good for some laughs. That tiny little change from the stock formulaic anti-corporate comedy does do wonders - one can only see John Cusack in the same role so many times in one decade. But ultimately, the gags are all textbook Yankovic send-ups of major film and TV industry stereotypes. So you can see most of 'em coming a mile away, and those that you can't see coming get repetitive.

But where this disc actually shines is in the extras. On a film that bombed this badly, it's impressive enough just to appear on DVD at all, but MGM went gangbusters on this one, providing a rich commentary track and tons of additional materials, from promo spots to making-of segments. My only beef at all is with the fact that the deleted scenes are only available on the side of the DVD containing the fullscreen feature presentation. So if you're watching widescreen, you've got to flip the disc over to get to the cut material. The commentary is a riot, as Yankovic and long-time manager Levey (also the director) rip on each other, the cheesy special effects, the fact that the movie grossed $6 mil with a budget of $5 mil to recover, and they do so non-stop. There's not a quiet moment in the entire film. And the guest appearances by some of the other big-name cast members are pretty entertaining as well, particularly Michael Richards.

So even die-hard Yankovic fans will probably groan at the thought of the movie, it's definitely worth renting just to turn the commentary on and let it run throughout. Weird Al's a funny guy, and he's even funnier when he's making himself the target of his parodic wit.