UHF Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, November 11, 2014

For younger folks who may not realize this, "uhf" isthe sound you make when you're punched in the stomach. Well, maybe it, but in the case of, it's of course an acronym which refers to "ultra high frequency", the bandwidth between 300 MHz and 3 GHz which was initially used for radio broadcasts and then matriculated over to televisions, providing additional channels which were typically in the double digits and (in the "olden days" at least) sometimes required a second dial on the television to access them. UHF channels were kind of the niche "cable" outlets of their day, sometimes Mom and Pop shops that featured a bizarre assortment of public domain material like old movies along with in studio live offerings that more often than not rather brilliantly displayed why any given on screen "talent" hadn't quite yet grasped the veritable brass ring. This brainchild of "Weird Al" Yankovic wasn't especially well received when it debuted in 1989, just on the cusp of the modern cable era when UHF channels were beginning to be in decline. Ironically, it was the rise of cable, along with the surviving low rent broadcast frequencies, that managed to resurrectthrough repeated showings. The film provides a fun springboard for Yankovic's often febrile imagination, as well as offering colorful supporting turns for a wacky cast including Michael Richards of, Fran Drescher of, Victoria Jackson ofand (just for good measure) Kevin McCarthy of Invasion of the Body Snatchers "Weird Al" is of course best known for his parodies, and Yankovic obviously wanted his feature film starring debut to play to his strengths, and there are therefore several fantasy or daydreaming sequences inthat allow him to port over his musical satirizations to the world of film.in fact begins with a silly but giggle worthy send up of the iconic opening sequence of Raiders of the Lost Ark , with Al doing his best Harrison Ford impersonation. The gags are largely juvenile, but they at least start the film out in a way that lets the audience know that nothingincluding hapless "Weird Al" himselfwill be treated as sacrosanct.That parody turns out to be only a daydream wafting short order cook George Newman ("Weird Al" Yankovic) away from his frying duties, if only for a moment. He and his buddy Bob (David Bowe) are soon shown the exit door of the establishment when George's big mouth gets them in trouble with their harridan boss, Big Edna. The two don't seem to have much in the way of a future in front of them, but soon enough fate intervenes when George's gambling addicted Uncle Harvey (Stanley Brock) manages to win a local UHF channel, way up at number 62 on the dial, in a poker game. (That's another longtime tv veteran, Sue Ane Langdon, as Aunt Esther.) Suddenly George (and by default, Bob) has a new place to work, and it seems like a match made in heaven, since George has been regaling everyone who will listen with what an "imagination guy" he is, and how his "talents" have been wasted in menial jobs like flipping burgers.At the station George meets harried receptionist Pamela Finklestein (Fran Drescher), who is aghast that there's yetnew owner traipsing into the joint, the latest in a seemingly unending series of bigwigs whose revolving door status have kept her from becoming a news reporter, her preferred position. There's also an eccentric engineer named Philo (Anthony Geary), a guy who resembles a mad scientist more than a studio fix it guy. Rounding out the odd crew is a little person named Noodles Macintosh (Billy Barty) who works as a cameraman. Despite this less than promising personnel list, George remains undeterred, a hopeless (and perhaps helpless) optimist.George, ever the helpful good samaritan, decides to deliver a misdirected package to local rival Channel 8, where he meets that (VHF) station's nefarious manager, R.J. Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy), a guy who seems to walk around in a perpetual state of apoplexy. A chance meeting brings George into contact with Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards), a janitor whom Fletcher has just fired and who is just as quickly offered a new job by George, a hiring choice which will turn to be especially fortuitous when Stanley takes over Channel 62's kiddie show and unexpectedly makes it into a huge hit.doesn't really aim for the comedy bleachers, content instead to amble along affably enough, with a number of weird, almost carnival like, sidebars where Yankovic's fertile imagination is allowed to roam free. This results in odd little vignettes like a take off that combines Dire Straits' famous "Money for Nothing" music video with an homage dedicated to, of all things. Like a lot of Yankovic's material, there are hits and misses, but Yankovic is such an unassuming performer (despite his tendency to mug relentlessly), that it all goes down pretty smoothly.In a cartoon setting like this, it's hard to get too worked up over any supposedly real emotions, but Yankovic acquits himself surprisingly well in the little scenes with Victoria Jackson (playing George's put upon girlfriend Teri). The through line inis merely a connective thread allowing Yankovic plenty of opportunity to skewer popular culture, something which he's innately well qualified to do.