UHF

Starring:Weird Al Yankovic, Michael Richards
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Description

"Weird Al" Yankovic, Kevin McCarthy (Innerspace), Michael Richards ("Seinfeld"), David Bowie (The Cable Guy), Victoria Jackson ("Saturday Night Live") and Fran Drescher ("The Nanny") star in this inspired comedy about an offbeat guy who turns a deadbeat TV station into a raging success! Broadcasting Weird Al's uniquely strange brand of humor, UHF's Channel 62 is a place you'll want to visit...with increasing frequency! George Newman (Weird Al) is a daydreamer whose hyperactive imagination keeps him from holding a steady job...until his uncle hires him as manager of Channel 62, a TV station that's losing money and viewers fast. But when George replaces the station's reruns with bizarre programs like "Wheel of Fish," "The Wonderful World Of Phlegm" and "Raul's Wild Kingdom" (where poodles fly from third-story windows), ratings begin to soar! But as the ratings rise, so does the wrath of TV mogul R.J. Fletcher (McCarthy), who wants to turn the station into a parking lot. Can George find the money he needs to stay on the air? Stay tuned!

Customer Reviews:

I laughed to the point of tears.......2007-06-13

I caught a few Weird Al videos in the 80's...I was never a huge fan. But when I saw this, there were moments I was driven to the silliest laughing fits. I still laugh just from remembering the horribly inappropriate moment when the little kid spat in Uncle Nutsy's face. This is definitely a guilty pleasure kind of comedy.

The only movie that had me laughing this hard since UHF was Something About Mary. I got the DVD because my VHS copy is worn out.

Weird Al manages to make even the usually interminable DVD menu screens into a funny little joke on the DVD, though he provides needlessly derogatory and self-deprecating narratives of the deleted scenes section.

Thanks, Weird Al, for making us laugh.

Hilarious!.......2007-03-27

Al Yankovic is a comic genius. The plot is your standard underdog-becomes-a-success story, but it is handled with so many funny bits that it doesn't matter. Featuring a pre-Seinfeld Michael Richards and a pre-Nanny Fran Drescher, UHF tells the story of a misunderstood man (Yankovic) and his television station, which his uncle won in a poker game. He proceeds to come up with some creative programs and must stop the giant corporation from shutting them down to destroy the competition. The best part, however, is the clips of shows that air on UHF Channel 62. Favorites include "Wheel of Fish" and "Conan the Librarian." The fantasy sequences are also very funny.

The movie is rated PG-13 but it's probably appropriate for anyone old enough to understand that no poodles were harmed in the making of this film (watch and you'll understand). There are no sex jokes and no graphic violence. Young kids may not get the pop culture references, but anyone can laugh at "Spatula City" (just watch the movie!).

This DVD has some of the best special features I've ever seen. A great commentary track (featuring Al), deleted scenes, a short "making-of," and music video for "UHF" make this hilarious movie well worth the ten bucks.

Waste of $10.......2007-03-15

The first ten minutes of this film are funny and seem promising. It seems to set the stage for a Hot Shots/Part Deux or Naked Gun type of slapstick comedy. The rest of the film is extremely boring just telling a mundane story about Weird Al trying to make a UHF station profitable and make something of his life. Don't be fooled, this is not funny like Weird Al's songs or music videos.

DO NOT PURCHASE THIS MOVIE!!

Promises the ridiculous, and delivers!.......2007-02-03

With Weird Al, you know what you're going to get...irreverence. When you hear he's starring in a movie, you expect it to be stupid, but done with talent. In UHF, Al does not fall short of the cultish B-movie grail he seeks. The DVD has outtakes and deleted scenes that are funny too. When you're snowed-in with your kids and ready for an afternoon of laughs, pop this one in the player.

Talk Harder.......2007-01-29

Big dreamer George (Weird Al) and his friend Bob (David Bowe) get fired from their jobs flipping burgers. Luckily, Al's Uncle Harvey won a UHF TV station in a poker game. George fills channel 62's timeslots with wacky programs hosted by his friends and other town misfits. No one watches until he accidentally strikes gold when janitor Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards) stumbles onto a children's program with his his magic mop. Rival channel 8 TV exec R.J. Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy) feels threatened by 62's sudden success and tries to sabotage them, leading to a telethon showdown.

The tired plot is basically a device to house Weird Al's sketches and parodies, which range from the entertainingly stupid (the ad for "Spatula City" and theme from "Beverly Hillbillies" done to Dire Strait's "Money for Nothing" are good) to outright hilarious -- my favorites being the "Rambo" and "Gandhi" spoofs.

If you took away the "rising up against The Man" plot, UHF is like a less blue version of "Kentucky Fried Movie," which probably makes it more appropriate for younger audiences. I'm not saying it's what "Cracked" is to "Mad Magazine" -- "UHF" is actually funny -- I'm just saying Al seems more fond of puns than sex jokes, and people who are already fans of his music videos will definitely find much to enjoy here.