I smiled a lot. Overall, this funny movie is a classic.
UHF
1989
Action / Comedy / Drama / Sci-Fi
UHF
1989
Action / Comedy / Drama / Sci-Fi
Plot summary
George Newman is a daydreamer whose hyperactive imagination keeps him from holding a steady job. His uncle decides George would be the perfect man to manage Channel 62, a television station which is losing money and viewers fast. When George replaces the station's reruns with bizarre programs such as "Stanley Spadowski's Clubhouse", "Wheel of Fish" and "Raul's Wild Kingdom", ratings begin to soar again. Mean-spirited and cynical mogul R.J. Fletcher becomes furious that the UHF station is getting better ratings than his network's programming. Because of gambling debts, the uncle is forced to consider selling the station to Fletcher, who would only too happily shut it down (he cannot legally own two stations in the same town). George and his friends organize a 48-hour telethon to raise the money by selling investment stock from Channel 62 to save the town's new favorite station.
Uploaded by: OTTO
Director
Top cast
Belinda Bauer as Mud Wrestler
Fran Drescher as Pamela Finklestein
'Weird Al' Yankovic as George Newman
Michael Richards as Stanley Spadowski
Movie Reviews
Reviewed by
good comedy
Reviewed by
'Weird Al' - Harmless Fun
For some reason, I never pictured myself watching a film starring "Weird Al" Yankovic. He just looked too weird or too stupid....but he was okay. In fact, he was pretty likable in this fun-but-unmemorable film. 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. Some of the bits are actually quite clever and some are a bit raunchy (hence the PG-13 rating) but there is almost no profanity in here. Michael Richards was funny as the stupid janitor. Lots of jokes in this movie. You just pick out the ones you like.
Reviewed by
fun--just pain stupid fun
At times we all can be dreadfully serious when it comes to movies. 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. While not as sophisticated as The Producers or as wacky as Monty Python and the Holy Grail, it is one of the best "turn off your brain and just have fun movies".
The movie can be very amateurish at times and some jokes fall flat. However, the incredible energy and originality of the film make it very endearing. Unfortunately, it is too often just tossed aside as a "dumb movie" by many who just don't give it a chance. So my advice is to sit tight--don't turn it off! Allow yourself to wade through the slower first 1/4 of the movie so you can get to the GOLD, such as Gandhi 2, Conan the Librarian, or the commercials for cut rate funerals or for Spatula City! Feeling depressed or in a funk? See this film to cure what ails you!