UHF (1989)

Director:

Jay Levey

Writers:

'Weird Al' Yankovic (written by) &
Jay Levey (written by)

Release Date:

21 July 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

TV as it was meant to be seen. In a movie theatre.

Plot:

A local public station gets a new owner. The station becomes a hit, with all sorts of hilarious sight gags and wacky humor.

Plot Keywords:

Television Station | Television | Kidnapping | Part Computer Animation | Stop Motion Animation

Cast

'Weird Al' Yankovic	...	George Newman
Victoria Jackson	...	Teri
Kevin McCarthy	...	R.J. Fletcher
Michael Richards	...	Stanley Spadowski
David Bowe	...	Bob
Stanley Brock	...	Uncle Harvey
Anthony Geary	...	Philo
Trinidad Silva	...	Raul Hernandez
Gedde Watanabe	...	Kuni
Billy Barty	...	Noodles MacIntosh
John Paragon	...	Richard Fletcher
Fran Drescher	...	Pamela Finklestein
Sue Ane Langdon	...	Aunt Esther
David Proval	...	Head Thug
Grant James	...	Killer Thug

Also Known As:

The Vidiot from UHF

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Iceland:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #29692) | UK:PG | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Channel 8 - 6655 S. Lewis, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA

Company:

Cinecorp SAC

Trivia:

During an VH-1 "Behind The Music" episode about 'Weird Al Yankovic' , Emo Philips shows an actual Screen Actors Guild residual check he earned for the film. It was for 30 cents. He stated proudly the check represented what being in the film did for his career.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Joe Earley loses his thumb in the table saw and lifts his arm to examine the wound, briefly his thumb can be seen bent underneath his hand.

Quotes:

Stanley Spadowski: Hi, George. Well, uh, I'm finished with the T.V. show. Uh, what do you want me to do now?
George Newman: Did you have a good time in there, Stanley?
Stanley Spadowski: Yeah! Oh, boy, it was fun!
George Newman: Great! How would you like to do it every day?
Stanley Spadowski: Yeah! That would be neat... Oh, wait a minute - do I still get to be the janitor?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Postal 2 (2002) (VG)

Soundtrack:

TARA'S THEME

'Weird Al' - Harmless Fun

For some reason, I never pictured myself watching a film starring "Weird Al" Yankovic. He just looked too weird or too stupid....but he was okay. In fact, he was pretty likable in this fun-but-unmemorable film. He's actually more like Jim Varney''s "Vern" character that was so popular in the '80s: a lame but super nice guy.

That's what "Weird Al" plays in here, a Mr. Nice Guy who prevails against forces of evil against him, in this case a TV station owner: Kevin McCarthy, who plays a totally over-the-top villain.

Yankovic will never win any Academy Awards for his acting but he suffices in this no-brainer comedy. Some of the bits are actually quite clever and some are a bit raunchy (hence the PG-13 rating) but there is almost no profanity in here. Michael Richards was funny as the stupid janitor. Lots of jokes in this movie. You just pick out the ones you like.