The Channel You Live To Watch And Watch To Live.
One thing I wanted to see for a while was the movie UHF, directed by Jay Levey, starring "Weird Al" Yankovic.
So, who is this Al Yankovic and why does he call himself "Weird"? Well, in case you don't know, "Weird Al" is a comedy musician that gained tons of popularity in the 1980's after singing parodies of songs by artists like Michael Jackson, Coolio, Madonna, Queen, etc. He is the most popular comedy musician... As far as I know.
I first heard of him when I was watching Michael Jackson music videos on YouTube and I saw this video called "Eat It", I watched it, and I thought it was funny. I then watched this "Amish Paradise", and I didn't think much about it until a few years later, I was watching YouTube at like 10 PM and decided to watch this "Albuquerque" fan-made animation by RWappin. I then fell into a rabbit hole and have been listening to his music ever since. I also have to thank Al and his works for introducing me to REM, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ben Folds, and others.
Yeah, Weird Al is cool, and back in 1989, he made a film called UHF along stars like Michael Richards, David Bowe, Victoria Jackson, George Fisher, and others. It flopped (kind of) at the box office, but it later became a cult classic because Weird Al has a lot of dedicated fans. Seriously, I found multiple YouTube channels dedicated to posting Weird Al TV appearances and interviews and such.
This is UHF.
The film begins with a parody, as to be expected from Weird Al, in this case, it's a parody of Indiana Jones. This scene is pretty well-shot and it does indeed look similar to the original, but with Al's sense of humor, which is appreciated, Al's parodies of songs and pretty much anything aren't made because of hate or commentary, but for showing love to the original product.
The Indiana Jones scene was actually just one of the many daydreams that go through the mind of our main character, George Newman, who is at his job at a local burger joint with his co-worker and best friend, Bob Steckler. George gets fired after a slanderous remark towards the owner of the restaurant, Big Edna. Bob gets fired too for some reason, and he's obviously not very giddy about it.
At Bob's apartment, Bob is still not happy, so George tries to cheer him up with a twinkie-wiener sandwich, it doesn't work but it's the thought that counts.
George remembers that he has to meet up with his girlfriend Teri, who is disappointed to learn that George got fired... AGAIN.
At a party, George finds out that his uncle Harvey won a TV channel while gambling, but he doesn't have any time to work there, so he gives it to George. A little UHF station called Channel 62.
George and Teri are at the station, it looks SUPER abandoned, but I'm sure it's a friendly place. The place looks like a lab, which is where a scientist named Philo lives and manages the programming of the station, which now relies on reruns of the Beverly Hillbillies.
The next day, George and Bob go to the station again to meet Pamela Finklestein, a secretary who has wanted to work on the news section but never got promoted because the owners keep changing every 2 weeks.
During the shift, a package for Channel 8 is accidentally sent to Channel 62. George is gonna give them what's rightfully theirs, but they don't seem to be the nicest guys, because the owner, R.J. Fletcher is like an evil businessman that is always angry and a perfectionist. A research file has gone missing, so he instantly blames the nearest living thing, janitor Stanley Spadowski, who gets fired immediately, but he suffers even more because the station takes away his mop.
Lucky for him, Stanley gets hired by George!
Oh, and Channel 8 is now sabotaging Channel 62's news, and they screw up U62's interview with the mayor of whatever that place is, I didn't bother to check.
Whatever, Town Talk with George, where he is interviewing a teacher named Joe Earley, it doesn't go well because Joe loses his finger, but hey, it's the thought that counts.
Cut to commercials, SPATULA CITY! A giant warehouse of spatulas, for every occasion. I wish that place was real.
Time for Uncle Nutzy's clubhouse, a children's TV show hosted by George. It doesn't go well, which was to be expected for a TV channel that's on life support. George uses the special bulletin to tell Teri about a date at 7:30. Oh, cut to commercial, Plots R Us, mortuary service. Remember, there's always plenty of free parking, and don't forget to check out their new salad bar.
George is working, late at night, watching the Beverly Hillbillies, when he has a daydream where he's in a successful band with members Jon Schwartz, Jim West and Steve Jay, singing a cover of the Beverly Hillbillies theme song, with the tune of Money For Nothing by Dire Straits, titled "Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies*", which is the title that Al DIDN'T want, but he had to do it because his lawyers said that HAD to be the title. The CGI in this scene is incredibly similar to the one on the original video, very accurate video.
The song itself is... Well, if the original song sounds pretty good, then chances are that a parody will also sound great.
George forgot about the date! Oh, and U62 is on the brink of bankruptcy again, unfortunately. Teri is obviously pissed and breaks up with George.
The next day, George does the Nutzy's clubhouse show again, this time with less energy and somehow more depressing. George quits in the middle of the show and gives it to Stanley.
Both George and Bob go to the bar, where everyone is mesmerized by the latest TV show on U62, Stanley's Clubhouse. This new show is absolutely fucking crazy and bonkers, it is amazing. A new spark of hope for Channel 62. EVERYONE is enjoying it, I know I am.
There are new TV shows, not just Stanley's clubhouse, there's some amazing shows like Wheel Of Fish, you spin the wheel, you either pick the fish or you can get the contents of a mystery box... A box that has NOTHING. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. There's also Philo's Secrets Of The Universe, and Raul's Wild Kingdom... Who is probably not supposed to be there, he also teaches poodles how to fly. This is starting to look like Channel Awesome, but better.
Channel 8 is concerned about how Channel 62 might beat them in ratings! Meanwhile, George is still trying to get back with Teri.
Cut to commercial, this one's a bumper for CONAN THE LIBRARIAN. George finds out that Channel 62 is finally #1 on the ratings, and well-deserved, I'd watch the fuck out of this channel 24/7, I'd be a total Couch Potato.
Must be pretty embarrassing for Channel 8 to lose to a UHF station. Meanwhile, Uncle Harvey finds out that he needs 75 thousand dollars in 2 days to keep the station, so he sells U62 to Channel 8... Isn't it illegal to own 2 stations in the same town? I didn't research this.
So, the channel ISN'T sold to U62, but now he has to find out how to make 75,000 to keep the station and also save his uncle's life. If only they could keep an eye on Channel 8 and R.J.... Thankfully, Philo installs a hidden camera at U62's offices.
George starts a fundraiser in order to raise 75k to keep the station, and everyone's donating, but bad news, Stanley is kidnapped by those guys at Channel 8, and now they're LOSING money. Stanley WAS the soul of the channel.
Cut to commercial. GHANDI 2!!! No more passive resistance. I'm sure the guys at Letterboxd will LOVE this.
Teri visits Channel 8, and R.J. now shittalks the entire town and community, but luckily Philo was recording all of it.
Later that night, Stanley's blindfold falls off, and he's being noisy again, so one of the guys tries to tell him to shut up, but Stanley sees his mop and instantly breaks free and reunites with his precious and beloved mop. This scene is fucking hilarious. There is so much disaster here, and I mean that in a good way, this scene is super chaotic, entertaining and action packed.
George snaps and decides to daydream while running to save Stanley, in this daydream sequence, he spoofs Rambo, it's fucking insane. He even does the silly faces that Stallone makes.
When he finally snaps out of it, George remembers that he doesn't really have a big gun... (Though, it shouldn't be hard to find one in the US), and it looks like both George and Stanley are doomed.
One of the guys at Channel 8 hear something in the supply closet... SUPPLIES!, Kuni and his gang attack the guys and SAVE George and Stanley.
It looks like Channel 62 is saved! But then R.J. interrupts the channel to make an announcement... But Philo plays the footage of R.J. shittalking the entire community, R.J. can't say it's AI, that shit hadn't even come out yet in 1989!
R.J. stops the fundraiser before they can reach the goal, but luckily, at the last second, the goal is reached, and they get to keep the station. Everyone celebrates and Channel 8 goes to shit.
It turns out Philo was an alien all along and goes back to his home planet.
George gives Stanley a trophy in a very wholesome moment.
George and Teri have a happy ending, and so does everyone involved in this TV channel... Well, until the internet came along and UHF stations became obsolete...
The track that plays in the credit is the Single Version of UHF (the song), which is not as good as the album version, but we'll talk about that another day, when I figure out how to write up a music review. There are no post-credit scenes.
This isn't a movie, this is an experience, a really good one, this isn't just a comedy, this is a non-sense film, and it is a damn great one, it's a shame that it wasn't a huge box office success, but hey, at least it's now a cult classic and every once in a while, the film gets re-released on Blu-ray and streaming. Go check it out. 80/100.
Next time, I will have a new interview out, where I will dig deep, peel back the layers, and expose the real [REDACTED] that nobody knows.
Comments
Post a Comment