Sometimes, I ignore the obvious choice.
I mean, seriously… I’ve been doing this semi-weekly column about Neglected Cinema for over a year now, and I haven’t rewatched UHF? It took the random shuffle to the music player that played a “Weird Al” Yankovic song to jar my brain into shocking realization that UHF was a perfect entry into this series.
Yes, the only movie Weird Al ever starred in, UHF is a lovable mess of a movie, with a plot as old fashioned as an Andy Hardy movie. Only instead of trying to put on a show, the heroes in UHF are trying to keep their offbeat independent TV station on the air… and away from the clutches of the big network station in town, run by an evil president (played with relish by Kevin McCarthy).
Lots of talent in front of the camera supporting Al in this one. First is the lovely Victoria Jackson, before she got political and… umm, “interesting.” She’s great as the put-upon girlfriend of station manager George (“Weird Al)”. You have Billy Barty, Fran Drescher, Trinidad Silver and a pre-Seinfeld Michael Richards all doing good work playing the material exactly right. And finally, you have Anthony Geary… best known for playing Luke (as in Luke and Laura) on General Hospital, Geary plays Pharlo, the TV station’s only technician. Geary made some… interested decisions… in how he played the character, and it’s as far away from his prior GH work as you could possibly go. His performance is a highlight, and he’s funny every time he’s on screen.
I noted the plot at a very high level above, and there’s no real reason to detail it any further. You don’t sit down for a movie starring “Weird Al” expecting a complicated Inception-type of story – you go to laugh, and that’s exactly what I did. You have multiple movie parodies, a couple of song parodies, and some incredibly off-the-wall “shows” that Al’s character George comes up with (my favorite is “Wheel of Fish”).
It’s not the funniest movie ever made, but it’s earnest and upbeat and will leave a smile on your face.