“Nobody walks into this booth when I’m making my art!”
They had me in the first five minutes.
As Steely Dan’s classic title song blared over the opening titles, I knew I would find a lot to enjoy in FM, the comedy-drama centered around an FM station in 1978. I think the primary reason for my enjoyment was due to nostalgia: I worked in radio for two years in college, first in college and then (briefly) doing “overnights” at an actual radio station. I worked in the field a lot later than 1978, but it was still in the time before hard drives in computer servers contained the music… we used “carts” that contained the songs and commercials, and we still had to break out the vinyl to play “deep cuts.” But enough about me… Let’s talk about the movie.
FM has an exceptional cast… you have Eileen Brennan, Martin Mull, Cleavon Little, Alex Karras, and more. It’s a group who, along with lead Michael Brandon, play it completely naturalistic and real. Add to that “live” performances from Jimmy Buffett and Linda Ronstadt, and you’ve got a pretty good way to fill two hours of your time.
While I enjoyed FM, I can see that it’s definitely not for everyone. There’s not much “meat” to the film, and sadly the central premise of who would control radio, the suits or the free spirits, has worked itself out in real life (SPOILER: the suits won). And its psuedo-documentary style can be somewhat off-putting to some. That being said, I still think it’s still worth a watch, if only for the topical references.
Finally, an FYI: while this movie and the sitcom WKRP in Cincinatti share both a premise and similar characters, neither influced the other. That both came out at the same time was a complete coincidence.