UHF

Plot synopsis:
George Newman ("Weird Al" Yankovic) is a daydreamer whose hyperactive imagination keeps him from holding a steady job. The opening sequence is one of George's daydreams as a spoof of the opening scene of 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' with George as Indiana Jones venturing to a temple to steal a gold Academy Award statue and being chased, run over and flattened by a giant boulder. Awaking from his daydream, George and his best friend and roommate Bob (David Bowe) are working at a Big Edna's Burger World, a local fast food eatery in the small Midwest town where they live. When George makes a disparaging remark about Big Edna and she hears it, both George and Bob are fired and litteraly thrown out onto the street.George's inablity to keep a steady job puts a strain on his long-suffering girlfriend Teri (Victoria Jackson) who tolerates his antics to a limit. George and Teri go to his uncle and aunt's house for a party where his compulsive gambling uncle Harvey Bilchik (Stanley Brock) wins the deed to a nearly bankrupt UHF television station in a poker game. After prodding by his wife, Harvey gives control of Channel 62 to George so he can manage the place.The next morning, George and Bob arrive at the station and meet the Channel 62 staff which is made up of the receptionist and wannabe reporter Pamela Finklestein (Fran Drescher), dwarf photojournalist and cameraman Noodles MacIntosh (Billy Barty), and eccentric engineer Philo (Anthony Geary). George attempts to introduce himself to the rival VHF network Channel 8 station but its owner, the mean and cynical R.J. Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy), chases him out angrily. On his way out of the station he encounters janitor Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards), a mentally challenged man who was recently fired by Fletcher. George offers him a job at Channel 62 as the head janitor.Seeing that Channel 62 airs mostly old re-runs of classic TV shows such as Mr. Ed and the Beverly Hillbillies, George sees that the station can use a lot more talent. Though George creates new shows (including the kid-friendly but poorly named "Uncle Nutzy's Clubhouse"), the workload and bad debt of the station get to him. Amid the stress he forgets Teri's birthday, causing her to break up with him over the incident. A despondent George turns "Uncle Nutzy's Clubhouse" over to Stanley so he and Bob can go out for a drink. Arriving at the bar, they find that all the patrons are excitedly watching Stanley's antics on Channel 62. Realizing they have a hit on their hands, George and Bob are revived and inspired. They come up with ideas for more original shows in Channel 62's lineup, all spearheaded by the newly retitled "Stanley Spadowski's Clubhouse."Throughout the film, there are cutaway scenes that are comic homages to popular shows of the time, through either George's imagination or shows specifically for Channel 62. For example, a dream sequence includes a music video for Yankovic's "Money for Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies" in both the audio and visual style of the Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing", and fake commercials for 'Plots 'R Us Mortuary Service', 'Crazy Eddie's Car Lot', and 'Spatula City', as well as fake commercials for Channel 62's new TV series such as 'Gandhi II', 'Conan the Librarian', 'Bowling for Burgers', an exercise show called 'Stay Fit', a game show called 'Strip Solitaire' hosted by Noodles, 'Practical Jokes and Bloopers', and 'Celebrity Mud Wrestling'. Kuni (Gedde Watanabe), a local and eccentric Karate instructor, becomes the host of the odd game show "Wheel of Fish". Philo becomes host of his own talk show series "Secrets of the Universe". George sets up a re-vamped talk show called "Town Talk" with him as a Gerraro Reveria-type host seeking controversial talk subjects. Raul (Trinidad Silva) is hired for an animal show called "Raul's Wild Kingdom" where he talks to (and abuses) animals that he keeps in his apartment.As Channel 62's popularity grows, Fletcher becomes furious that a UHF station is getting better ratings than his network's programming. He learns that Harvey Bilchik is the owner of the station and has just gambled away $75,000 at the horse races and has only two days to pay off the debt. Fletcher makes Harvey the offer of covering his debt to his unseen bookie, Big Louie, in return for ownership of Channel 62, which he would then only too happily shut down (legally he cannot own two stations in the same town). George learns of the deal and calls his aunt, who forces her husband to hold off and allow George time to raise the money Harvey owes by selling investment stock in Channel 62 through a 48-hour telethon.The telethon starts off successfully led by Stanley's boundless energy, but Fletcher sends his goons to kidnap Stanley. Without Stanley, the telethon grinds to a halt. George then leads a group to infiltrate Channel 8 and rescue Stanley. Philo sets up a hidden camera in Fletcher's office hoping to find something to nail him on. When he sees Stanley trying to escape, he alerts George who attempts to rescue Stanley, while imaging himself as Rambo in a long fantasy spoof of 'Rambo: First Blood Part 2' with features George (as Rambo) who attempts to rescue Stanley from Fletcher's private army. Kuni and his school of Karate students also step in to complete the job and beat up all of Fletcher's henchmen.George and his group return in time to successfully finish the telethon just before Harvey's debt comes due, saving the station and making it a publicly owned company. Fletcher on the other hand finds out that the penny he mockingly gave to a beggar earlier was a rare 1955 doubled-die cent worth thousands, which the beggar sold and used to purchase $2,000 worth of Channel 62 stock. Fletcher also discovers that a slanderous conversation of his contempt for his station's viewers was secretly recorded and rebroadcast by Philo and that Channel 8 failed to file paperwork to renew its broadcast license with the FCC. The FCC revokes his license and takes the station off the air. Phil is secretly revealed to be an alien and seeing that his work for Channel 62 is complete, teleports away unnoticed to his home planet.As the film ends George and Teri rekindle their relationship (in a spoof of the Rhett-Scarlett farewell speech from the movie 'Gone With The Wind'), while the rest of the employees and fans of Channel 62 celebrate.

Tags: absurd, cult, psychedelic, satire

Review:
This is probably, by far, the only movie I've seen that really makes me laugh more and more every time I see it.
So many great scenes, so many awesome quotes, and best of all, a chance for Weird Al Yankovic to show off his talents, both as an actor and as a singer.
Also, it's so much fun to see if you can pinpoint all the references to famous movies that Al puts into this film, such as the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" parody at the beginning, and many others.The film is the story of George Newman, a young man who has trouble holding a job (and frequently gets his best friend Bob in trouble too) due to his overactive imagination.
Michael Richards is also quite excellent as the optimistic, not-too-bright Stanley.Though it can be somewhat difficult to find, it's definitely worth the time and effort to buy "UHF" on DVD, so you can enjoy Weird Al's movie again and again and again....
Containing every wacky gag imaginable, the movie tells the story of slacker George Newman (Yankovic), who inherits a defunct TV station, and creates a bunch of loony shows, thereby becoming the most popular station in town, and then has to fight off the vampiric corporate CEO R.J. Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy), who owns a typical TV station and doesn't like competition.Like Yankovic said, it's an excuse to be goofy.
Whether it's "Gandhi II", "Conan the Librarian" or "Wheel of Fish", "UHF" is truly one movie that could only come out of "Weird" Al Yankovic's mind.
He's actually more like Jim Varney''s "Vern" character that was so popular in the '80s: a lame but super nice guy.That's what "Weird Al" plays in here, a Mr. Nice Guy who prevails against forces of evil against him, in this case a TV station owner: Kevin McCarthy, who plays a totally over-the-top villain.Yankovic will never win any Academy Awards for his acting but he suffices in this no-brainer comedy.
I know I can be--based on many of my other IMDb reviews, it's obvious I can be critical and occasionally too serious.Because of this, I am glad there are really funny and stupid movies like this one.
Al plays a loser who is fired from his job(along with his best friend) so they go off and start a tv station called UHF, in which they make fun of some of shows and movies.
The villain is also so funny, and never really gets credited most of the time people watch this film.Weird Al stars as a wacky guy who always has many funny ideas for television and movies and many other things.
The bad-guy works for the competing station, which had higher ratings.Some parts of this film are not that funny, but stupid.
If you are a big fan of Weird Al you'll love this film.
"Weird" Al Yankovic, Victoria Jackson, Michael Richards and Fran Drescher.
The movie has a few of those great scenes like "Uncle Nutsy's Clubhouse", where it's impossible not to laugh when you know what's going to happen.
It stars Weird Al Yankovic, the man responsible for "Eat it" the famous parody of Michael Jackson's "Beat it" and it is clear from the outset that he loves the things he makes fun of.
It's clear that that this parody is not done to poke fun but instead to add comedy to a familiar and formulaic piece of action, and it is with this in mind that the rest of the movie connects with your head as much as it does with your funny bone.
There is a well defined plot pitching hero against villain (enthusiastically played by Kevin McCarthy) and the story meanders perfectly between George Newman's (Weird Al's character)imagination and his reality giving the perfect platform for Weird Al to put in a terrific comedy performance.
There is as much original material as there are references to other famous films (Blazing Saddles, Close Encounters and Rambo to name but a few..) and the whole thing adds up to a genuinely funny movie.
The soundtrack included "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota," which is perhaps my all-time favorite song by Weird Al, but it was not found anywhere in the movie (I listened to the end of the credits for it).
And, of course, it was entertaining to see such well-known performers as Michael Richards and Fran Dresher in this early role.After all else is said and done, Al Yankovic delivered a movie that was just good, clean fun.
"Weird Al" Yankovic leads a brilliant cast of stars in this tale of a guy whose overactive imagination unites a town when he becomes manager of a small UHF station and invents new and innovative programming.Michael Richards ("Kramer" from Seinfeld) is amazing as Stanley, a sweet but simple janitor who turns out to be the perfect kids show host.
The music is so great, you'll want to order the soundtrack (you should!)  The movie is entertaining enough for adults, but wholesome enough for kids, and they'll love its messages of putting your creativity to productive use and being a good friend..
If she couldn't get Weird Al, then we had no future.If you want to see more Chiodo Brothers stuff, definitely see "Killer Klowns From Outer Space", and "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" has a nice three second long sequence when "Large Marge", the truck driver lady turns into a monster and scares the bejeezus out of Pee-Wee.I can't rave enough about THIS movie, meanwhile.
I got it from a local video store for $1.00 I loved this movie & I'm a big fan of "Weird Al".
But overall, it is a perfect movie to watch when entertaining a room full of morons, and all will have a great time.
My favorite thing about this movie is Weird Al playing poor George Newman.
It's a real shame this beast didn't do better at the box office; thank heaven it has found its niche among cultish Weird Al fans and 9-year-olds everywhere.I saw this in the theater when it first came out.
It's less a coherent whole than a series of set pieces which are almost entirely extremely funny.Interesting also are the before-they-were-huge-stars performances, notably Fran Drescher and Michael Richards, who is vaguely disturbing as kiddie-show host Stanley Spedowski.The PG-13 rating is very harsh.
Basically, this film just kicks serious butt.This movie is the sad depressing story of a pathetic coyote who spends every waking moment of his life in the futile pursuit of a sadistic road-runner who MOCKS him and LAUGHS at him as he's repeatedly CRUSHED and MAIMED!
It's why I can't watch Seinfeld because Michael Richards will never be as good as he was in this film.Good God, I just love it..
But some of Michael Richards' dialogue and actions (most about his mop) sounds just like the Tick on one of his weird rampages.Oh, the movie itself?
UHF is pretty good, as Al demonstrates he can parody movies and TV shows just like he can parody songs.
UHF, starring and largely conceived by musical parodist Weird Al Yankovic, is the story of an American dream-owning our own low-powered TV station, and putting whatever the hell we want on it.
But perhaps the greatest performance in this movie is by Michael Richards (yes, Kramer), as very inept janitor/kid's show host Stanley Spadowski.
The various movie and TV parodies are a hoot, and, of course, there is Michael Richards in the role that made him into a household name (at least at his parents' house, anyway), Stanley Spadowski!.
If you are a fan of Naked Gun, Monty Python, and, of course, "Weird Al", you will love this movie.
Things get off to a rough start, but take off once George decides to put dim witted but well intentioned and lovable janitor Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards) on the air."UHF" does travel far on Als' likability and irreverent sense of humour.
For this viewer, the brightest moments include the opening "Raiders of the Lost Ark" spoof, the "Conan the Librarian" sequence ("Don't you know the Dewey decimal system?"), and the extended mocking of Sylvester Stallones' "Rambo" movies (with Als' body makeup created by the guys at KNB).It also benefits from a strong villain, in this case Kevin McCarthy, who's perfect as nasty and domineering network affiliate boss R.J. Fletcher.
When I started watching "UHF" I thought to myself: "Why am I doing this to myself, the movie bombed at the box office, so it's probably a gigantic cow turd of a comedy." But it proves once again that the masses are often wrong.
It's got a solid plot, lots of very funny scenes, and an amazing bevy of great actors (many of which were still relative unknowns then -- such as "The Nanny" Fran Drescher, Seinfeld's Kramer Michael Richards, or that guy from "The Sopranos").
Other actors didn't do too well later on in their careers but are still great here, I especially liked Al's "girlfriend", Victoria Jackson).I appreciate that the makers really put some sweat into this and took it seriously, wanted to make a great comedy, rather than just a moneymaking vehicle for Weird Al ("The kids seem to love this guy, so a movie with him should be a safe investment.") Anyway, two thumbs up for UHF!.
Al is rather good in his performance and Michael Richards is good as the janitor turned star, and the movie has some really funny parody scenes that I found to be the highlight of this one.
Weird Al's 1989 movie "UHF" is really funny.
Weird Al Yankovic, Michael Richards (pre-Kramer on Seinfeld) and Kevin McCarthy are top-notch.
The only problem, however, is some people think that this movie is just stupid, so if you're not a fan of Weird Al, you might hate it.
I remember when this movie came out, I was about to turn eight and I was absolutely in love with Weird Al.
When I fisrt saw this, it was pretty stupid, but after thinking about it, I realized it was probably the funniest movie I've ever seen (since Monty Python ik den Holi Gralen [German Subtitles]) and after watching it again, counted 43 times that I laughed for more than two minutes straight (I count these things sometimes).
As a fan of him, I enjoyed this movie a bit more than I would have, so if you're a fan of "Weird" Al, you should go out and rent this right now..
Each time I watch the movie I laugh at something new that I have found funny.
Weird Al does a pretty good job playing George Newman, a jobless day-dreamer, who finally gets to express his creativeness when he attains the ownership of a dying UHF station.
This film, particularly the opening sequence, is classic Al, and is so funny, I have really enjoyed it every time I've seen it.
Even if you aren't a fan of Weird Al you should still like this movie, especially if you're a fan of low budget comedy..
Sure it's a vehicle for the over-developed mind and imagination of Al, and sure it's an excuse to get people to watch some zany music bits, but the cast, which includes then-obscure/now-mainstreams like Fran Drescher and Michael Richards (BRILLIANT in his role) and b-movie mainstays like Gedde Watanabe (16 Candles) and David Bowe, the "thinking man's midget" Billy Barty, even the calculated blandness of Victoria Jackson and "General Hospital" thespian Anthony Geary (TV's "Luke" of "Luke and Laura" fame) all add to a ridiculous high school production of goofy one-liners, stretched-to-the-breaking-point sight gags, and just-long-enough-to-get-annoying parodies of movies and TV shows.
Gandhi II, Conan the Librarian, Indiana Jones, Dire Straits videos and Rambo segues are p*** your pants funny.However funny Yankovic is, the film is really a comedy showcase for the bloke who plays Kramer in Seinfeld.Available from petrol stations and car boot sales for less than a quid usually!!.
UHF is a hilarious look at everything (movies, music, TV, Conan the Librarian) and it is led by a great cast.
The crazy cast includes Michael Richards (this was his first movie that got him known) Kevin McCarthey, Fran Dreschner, and leading the cast is "Weird Al" Yankovic.
This is exactly the type of movie that you would expect from Weird Al based on his songs: a lot of immature humor and random comedic jokes about society/life/Hollywood.Despite great comedic work by Yankovic, the movie is actually stolen by a pre-Seinfeld performance by Michael Richards.
There are some other great performances by Victoria Jackson of SNL and Fran Drescher (in a role prior to her getting her big break in TV).The movie's story is a great lead into the Yankovic's various comedic skits.
CHECK OUT THE MEMORABLE QUOTES PAGE NOW!Michael Richards (Sienfeld's Cramer) is brilliant other stand outs are Wierd Al, Kuni, Raul (from Raul's Wild Kingdom), and Joe Earley (the shop teacher).The first time I saw it I was crying with laughter, now, two years later I own the DVD and still watch it regularly with a bunch of other UHF freaks.
I don't know what else to say, there is just too much insanely funny stuff to isolate bits will not do it justice - just watch it in a silly mood and you will know what I mean.The DVD has cut scenes and commentary by Wierd Al and the Director plus a brief appearance by Michael Richards and a few others from the cast..
You don't need to be a fan of Weird Al to like this movie, but it helps.
Wacky, morbid humor manages to score as novelty record star Yankovic spoofs films and television from Rambo, Geraldo, and Conan to "Gone With The Wind" and "The Beverly Hillbillies."  Michael Richards steals the movie as its most appealing character, a station janitor turned children's TV show host.
The mini-spoofs are all pretty stupid but mostly funny, and the story has just barely enough substance to keep things moving -- but what really makes this film a winner is that Yankovic, Richards, and Jackson (as Al's comically frustrated longtime girlfriend) have created appealing true-to-life characters we can care for..
UHF TV stations, Weird Al at the height of his popularity, and parodies of popular movies/shows from 80's.
But the UHF station is just a framework to parody a wide range of shows and movies, including the best Rambo parody of all time.
Kevin McCarthy is great as the evil corporate tyrant opposite of lovable underdog Weird Al. In my opinion Michael Richards(best known as Kramer on hit sitcom Seinfeld) nearly steals the show as janitor superstar Stanley Spadowski.
but here I am giving the film an 8 despite the fact the acting is cheesy and there is nothing really amazing about the directing or effects.This is just a good, fun movie that spoofs a lot of old movies and tells a lighthearted tale at the same time.
Michael Richards -- before "Seinfeld " -- makes a fascinating character out of Stanley Spadowski, and Weird Al is just being himself, which is all he has to do.I think the film is a bit funnier if you get the references...
Weird Al Yankovic did a great job in UHF for never acting in a movie before in all his life.
Michael Richards appearing in this as the weird, yet funny Stanley Spadowski.
"Weird Al" Yankovic stars as George, a chronic daydreamer who's given one chance to run a small UHF TV station, which allows him to, as girlfriend Teri (SNL vet Victoria Jackson) puts it, "let that overactive imagination work FOR (him) instead of against (him)." Fran Drescher puts in a charming performance as an amateur anchorwoman, and Gedde Watanabe is inspired as a karate teacher who is a friend and neighbor to George as well as a really handy guy to have around.
When you watch this movie, you have to have a mindset that its a cheesy, low-budget film written by a guy that does parodies of modern, hit music.
"Weird Al" Yankovic's first and probably only main starring role in this comedy is a great one.
One of the funniest underground films ever made finds day dreaming lunkhead Weird Al gaining control of a UHF station and, with a little help from his friends (most notably a pre-Kramer Michael Richards), he turns it into the hottest station in town!
This movie is Weird Al's first foray into video besides his many music videos, and it shows, but if you don't mind a mindless, irreverent comedy then you'd better pick this up!
Spirited parodies abound in this movie about George Newman (Yankovic) getting his own UHF(Ultra High Frequency) TV station, U62.
Michael Richards plays the role of Stanley Spadowski who gets fired from the "evil" tv station led by Kevin McCarthy.
"Wheel Of Fish" and "Conan the Librarian" are funnier than they have any right to be, and just wait until you see "Raul's Wild Kingdom".The cast of 'UHF' seems almost prescient in retrospect; Fran Drescher and Michael Richards made memorable co-stars before they struck gold on network TV.
My friend and I love to quote lines from the film, especially "You're so stupiddddd!!!!"  Michael Richards is very funny in one of his earlier roles.
Along the way, Michael Richards comes in as janitor Stanley Spadowski, who is the funnies part of the movie.
Sure, Kramer is the main reason I watched Seinfeld, but his Stanley Spadowski-character in this movie is even better!
This is like watching UHF new again and trust me, Al is not shy about poking fun at his own movie.
From what passes for the mind of the thinking man's thinker, Weird Al Yankovic, we have a film that was prophetic in that it showed us a world where anyone could have his/her own station.
It's very goofy, and Michael Richards' performance in this movie was the funniest I had ever seen him (next to his role as Kreamer on Seinfeld).