UHF (1989)

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

Director:

Jay Levey

Writers:

'Weird Al' Yankovic, Jay Levey,

Stars:

'Weird Al' Yankovic, Victoria Jackson, Kevin McCarthy

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
'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

Storyline

George Newman (Yankovic) is a normal man. Problem is, he's also a daydreamer, who can't keep hold of a steady job. His uncle decides George will be the perfect man to manage Channel 62, a station which is losing money and viewers fast. George's imagination is put to good use and he starts thinking up bizarre shows such as "Wheels of Fish" and "Raul's Wild Kingdom". The ratings start to soar again, but not everyone is happy.

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Plot Keywords:

television | television station | pet food | camera | satire | 

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Taglines:

Don't touch that dial!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 July 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Vidiot from UHF

Filming Locations:

Agua Dulce, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$6,157,157 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinecorp SAC, Imaginary Entertainment, Orion Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the time the film was made, 'Weird Al' Yankovic was using his "classic" appearance, including glasses and a mustache. In 1998, Al underwent LASIK surgery, allowing him to work without glasses, and around the same time he decided to grow his hair and shave his mustache. As a result, in the additional material (menu animations, deleted scene commentaries, etc) on the 2002 DVD release of UHF, he has a strikingly different appearance than in the actual film.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

[George and Teri make up]
Teri: Hello, stranger.
George Newman: Teri, what are you doing here? I thought you never wanted to see me again.
Teri: Whatever gave you that idea?
George Newman: Well, I guess my first clue was when you told me you never wanted to see me again.

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Connections

Referenced in The Epic of Detective Mandy: Book Two - Spoof of the Living Dead (1991)

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Soundtracks

"UHF"
Written & Performed by 'Weird Al' Yankovic
Published by Holy Moley Music

User Reviews

Programming for all to enjoy, and it ain't even sweeps

Weird Al Yankovic's only excursion into film making proved to be a solid effort on his part. With an off-beat story such as this, the frizzy haired patron of pop polka proves his acting is adequate enough to carry a film such as this. While I feel there could have been more Weird Al songs, the comedy wasn't lacking. Michael Richards had his best role ever as Stanley Spadowski the janitor. All of the children's show sequences were hilarious. While this film isn't for all, it was certainly a movie which I can enjoy on many occasions. 6.8/10