jstravis@athena.mit.edu (John S. Travis) (07/20/89)
UHF
A film review by John S. Travis
Copyright 1989 John S. Travis
Just saw UHF last night at a packed sneak preview at MIT. I always wonder
if the free ticket and the rowdy crowd influences me at such previews, but I
truly enjoyed the film. Of course it is really stupid but so was AIRPLANE, a
movie that you could easily compare UHF to.
The movie was very funny with lots of sight gags, and it didn't stall very
often (in my humble opinion). The beginning is very funny, with his parody of
Indy Jones, and of course one of the best moments had to be a song. Weird Al's
version of "Money for Nothing" will leave you rolling, one of his best yet.
Plot is simple: Weird Al takes over a loser TV station and makes it a
winner with such programs as "Wheel of Fish," "Wide World of Phlegm," and "The
Young and the Dyslexic." Their star is the former janitor at the dreaded
Channel 8 which tries to put them out of business. As in AIRPLANE, the plot is
a parody--"Just stand up and tell them ... .we're not going to take any dirty
floors!"
Of course the crowd fave at MIT was the engineer! And everyone went
berserk over a line which most others will think mildly amusing : "Congrats:
You just won a drink from the firehose." Explanation: getting an education at
MIT is often likened to trying to drink from a firehose!
Well, overall this was as good as AIRPLANE, but I'm sure a lot of people
won't like the silly type of humor, and might feel their 6 bucks wasted. Who
cares! It was free for me, and I laughed the whole night.
Raul:Today, we teach poodles to fly.
John Traviskaufman@gmu90x.x.gmu.edu (Ken Kaufman) (07/26/89)
UHF
A film review by Ken Kaufman
Copyright 1989 Ken Kaufman
What can you say about a film which includes the theme to Mr. Ed?
Shall we start with the bad news? The plot is cliched and holey; the bad
guys might as well be made of cardboard, and after the opening scene, the next
20-30 minutes fall dreadfully flat.
But, in spite of all that, I would rate Weird Al Yankovic's new film, UHF,
a 7 on the ISIYVAHIT (Infamous-Send-In-Your-Vote-And-Have-It-Tabulated) 1-10
scale. Why?
Weird Al's strength is in the art of parody. And the film is full of
satire that hits right on the mark; this turns the entire movie around.
Blockbuster movies, television shows, music videos, and of course some classic
commercials are targeted and nailed.
Also included in the film are some of the world's oldest gags. But in a
(perhaps inadvertent) fit of brilliance, UHF does a better job of telegraphing
them than Western Union could ever hope to, and in doing so, allows one to
revel for eons before the punch line is finally delivered. Who cares if you
can guess what's in the closet? It's still funny when they open the door.
A couple things to watch for that I didn't catch until they were mentioned
in the closing credits: A clip from that other classic, "Mars Needs Women,"
and a cameo appearance by Dr. Demento (listed in credits as "Man eating
whipped cream."
No one is going to hand Yankovic an Oscar for his effort; this is hardly
great cinema. However, if you go in looking for low-level laughs and some
wonderful satire on all sorts of modern pop-culture targets, you will have more
fun than you can wave a spatula at.
Ken Kaufman (kaufman@gmu90x.gmu.edu)gvg@hpcvlx.HP.COM (Greg Goebel) (07/26/89)
UHF
A film review by Greg Goebel
Copyright 1989 Greg Goebel
I always have a certain fear when I make recommendations for a movie. I
fantasize that one day I'll be sitting at my computer, tapping away on the
keyboard, mumbling to myself, when suddenly I'll be snatched out of my chair by
two meaty hands and lifted up until my feet are dangling in the air (which is
even more frightening than it sounds, considering I'm six-foot-four), with my
nose pressed into the face of some pre-hominid who has a face like a Rottweiler
with a complexion problem. I hear the voice of doom in my ears: "ARE YOU DA
GUY WHO TOLD ME TO GO WASTE MY TIME AND MONEY ON DA STUPIDEST MOVIE I EVER SEEN
IN MINE LIFE?!"
And I'll forthrightly answer: "Well ... no ... I'm just sitting here
because he got a job in Piscataway and nobody's bothered to change the name
plates on the desk yet ..."
Consider, for example, Weird Al Yankovic's new film, UHF. Let me explain
what it is about first before I make any further comments on it ...
George Newman (Weird Al hisself) is a chronic daydreamer who likes to
create perverse fantasies from popular cinematic scenarios -- which results in
some interesting footage for the viewer, but also gives him a problem with
holding down a job. Fired from a long list of menial jobs, George is getting
ready to give up hope, when his gambler uncle wins a run-down UHF station,
Channel 62, in an idle game of cards. He doesn't know what to do with it, of
course -- 62 is the worst station in the known Universe, and probably in most
parallel dimensions as well -- but George's lively aunt has an idea: Let
George run the station!
George is a little discouraged in his work at first, but after a few lucky
breaks, manages to bring Channel 62 to the top of the charts (with the help of
some slightly unconventional programming). This draws the wrath of RJ
Fletcher, owner of Channel 8, the network affiliate station -- and RJ is immune
to cancer because everything in his body is malignant to begin with.
Okay, 'nuff said, you got the idea. Now for the comments: UHF is a
thrown- together film, working on a low budget, with little in the way of
acting (Weird Al is certainly not Oscar material) or story (the plot is like a
watered-down version of Mel Brook's SILENT MOVIE). However, the only important
criteria for judging a comedy is: DID YOU LAUGH? And the answer is: YES ...
sometimes.
Make no mistake, UHF "dares to be stupid", and keeps it up from start to
finish; it's like Weird Al is taking blind shots at you in hopes of hitting
your funny bone -- and succeeding on occasion, though never to the point of
getting on a roll. Still, when there are yuks, they're good ones.
I liked this film, though I can't say I feel extremely enthusiastic about
it. Will you like it? The answer to that question is probably the same as the
answer to this one: Do you enjoy reading a MAD magazine from cover to cover?
And if I steered you wrong, don't come looking in Corvallis -- I'll be in
Piscataway ...
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