Switching Channels (1988)

Director:

Ted Kotcheff

Writers:

Ben Hecht (play) and
Charles MacArthur (play) ...

Release Date:

4 March 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Tonight's News. Romance. Scandal. Intrigue. And that's just behind the camera!

Plot:

A television news chief courts his anchorwoman ex-wife with an eleventh-hour story.

Plot Keywords:

Television | Marriage | Remake | Television News | Prison

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Kathleen Turner	...	Christy Colleran
Burt Reynolds	...	John L. Sullivan IV
Christopher Reeve	...	Blaine Bingham
Ned Beatty	...	Roy Ridnitz
Henry Gibson	...	Ike Roscoe
George Newbern	...	Siegenthaler
Al Waxman	...	Berger
Ken James	...	Warden Terwilliger
Barry Flatman	...	Zaks
Ted Simonett	...	Tillinger
Anthony Sherwood	...	Carvalho
Joe Silver	...	Mordsini
Charles Kimbrough	...	The Governor
Monica Parker	...	Jessica
Allan Royal	...	Obregon

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | Norway:11 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Switching Channels Inc.

Trivia:

The copy that Mordesini wants to photocopy (and is charged 25 cents for) is a page of the script.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Christy is chasing Ike, she loses her shoes, and leaves them behind. However, after catching and directing Ike to the news building, Christy is seen entering the building putting her shoes back on, though she never returned to retrieve them.

Quotes:

Blaine Bingham: Oh, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!

Movie Connections:

Version of The Front Page (1945) (TV)

Sooo much better than Broadcast News

This is really worth rediscovering - Turner and co really throw themselves into it and (shock) Reeve sends himself up excellently (particularly good in the 'vertigo in the lift' scene.

As revealed elsewhere, it's a remake of The Front Page - in fact right now can't think of a better way to spend a rainy afternoon than a double bill of these two in front of a nice fire :-)

So - not going to change your life - but I'll cheer you up.