UHF (1989)

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Directed by Jay Levey.

Starring David Bowe, Anthony Geary, Victoria Jackson, Michael Richards, Weird Al Yankovic, Kevin McCarthy.

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UHF is the film debut of comedy-rock satirist Weird Al Yankovic, who also co-wrote the screenplay. George Newman (Yankovic) and his friend, Bob (David Bowe from The Cable Guy), are fired from their jobs at Burger World. So George decides to take over channel 62, a failing local TV station that his Uncle Harvey (Stanley Brock) won in a poker game. George turns it around into an overnight success after letting the janitor, Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards from Seinfeld), host a kid's show. George then fills the broadcast day with bizarre programming, bringing the ratings up and saving the station. Soon, rival station CEO R.J. Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy) of channel 8 threatens to sabotage the successful station and George must come up with a way to save it. Only loosely constructed around this story line, UHF is mostly a series of TV, movie, and music parodies strung together and played for cheap laughs. UHF also stars Victoria Jackson, Emo Philips, and Fran Drescher. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

UHF (1989, USA, Jay Levey)
by CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog

hasn't rated it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"UHF can be better refereed to be what everyone thinks of it as- the Weird Al Yankovic movie, just as Glitter is the Mariah Carey movie. From its concept the entire film would be built around the talents of Yankovic, but a funny thing happens- someone else becomes the real star of the film, outshining Yankovic, who in an even stranger bit of Hollywood humility seems to be okay with that. Yankovic has been a constant presence in music since the early 80's. He's the sort of artist you forget about until he comes back, but he always does. Yankovic's real talent is that he always seems to understand the state of popular culture at the moment and adapt himself to demonstrate its excess- whether it be the star pop of the 80's, the grunge of the early 90's, or now, gangsta rap. However, as UHF demonstrates, Yankovic is, unfortunately, a gifted comedian but not a very good actor or screenwriter. He's fine when he's by himself, but when he has to interact with other performers he ... " [More]

Weird is right.
by UshiMu in UshiMu Blog

lost interest.

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"I'm not sure I cared for it.some parts were endearing, but mostly it was just too weird to handle. " [More]

Re: Most Quotes
by Risselada in Best movie quotes

loved it.

"1. Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas2. Withnail & I3. The Big Lebowski4. The Kentucky Fried Movie5. UHFAnd here are my runner-ups: Airplane!, Dr. Strangelove, Full Metal Jacket, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Spaceballs Can we list TV shows, because those are almost bigger treasure troves of quotes than movies.1. The Young Ones2. The Kids in the Hall and the movie Brain Candy3. Space Ghost Coast to Coast " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

is neutral about it.

Fans of Weird Al Yankovic's musical satires will appreciate the dumb humor in UHF, while most others may find it just plain dumb. The plot is just a knowing excuse to showcase what Weird Al does best -- short skits parodying popular entertainment and advertising. Unfortunately, Weird Al is no actor, and all his clever send-ups don't compensate for his weak presence at the center of the film. He is partially saved by the exceptionally zany comedy of Michael Richards as the janitor Stanley Spadowski, who seems to be crafting his character Kramer from Seinfeld. The stupid TV parodies are surely the funniest bits, notably "Conan the Librarian," "Gandhi II," and "Wheel of Fish," but the actual plot about channel 62 is simply dull. His movie targets go from Raiders of the Lost Ark to Network, and succeed as both ridiculously funny and numbingly stupid, depending on one's threshold for nonstop puns, gags, and spoofs. Not surprisingly, UHF did poor at the box office, possibly due to the timing of its release in the summer of 1989 alongside Batman and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, among others. It has since gained its intended audience and remains Weird Al Yankovic's first and last venture into feature film. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Tags: fish , Stupid , of , stupidfunny , yankovic
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