Open Season (1995)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Robert Wuhl

Writer (WGA):

Robert Wuhl (written by)

Release Date:

3 May 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

When the television ratings machines suddenly malfunction, public television suddenly, but mistakenly, soars to #1 in this humorous satire.

Plot Keywords:

Television Ratings | Nude Wearing Glasses | Woman Wearing Glasses | Spinning Newspaper | Topless

Cast

Lloyd Adams	...	Scarface
Robert Wuhl	...	Stuart Sain
Eric Bryson	...	Stunts
Marcy King	...	Nun / Spoon Nettles
Rick Forsayeth	...	Hunk Cop
Barry Flatman	...	Kerwin Keesler
Timothy Arrington	...	Herbert Goodfellow
Gailard Sartain	...	George Plunkett
Rod Taylor	...	Billy Patrick
Elizabeth Goodyear	...	Reporter #1
Craig Eldridge	...	Reporter #2
Frank Moore	...	Reporter #3
Dolores Toth	...	Lady #1
Marilyn Boyle	...	Lady #2
Faye Deabreu	...	Lady #3

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Frozen Rope Productions Inc.

Unsubtle comedy proves to be very entertaining.

Robert Wuhl stars in this pungent comedy which is also scripted and directed by him, and few sacred cows of any shapes or sizes remain safe as he casts himself as Stuart Sain, a somewhat naive tour guide for the Fielding Ratings Service, which tracks the television viewing habits of specially chosen American population segments and where a computer malfunction has caused a cellar-dwelling public broadcasting station to fallaciously leapfrog to the top of the rankings. Wuhl serves up an effective pastiche, rather than satire, of the television industry and its program selection process, as well as of a large grouping of liberal archetypes, including the vocation of drug rehabilitation, pertinent as Stuart's wife Cary, played nicely by Maggie Han, is a rehab counselor, while also relentlessly taking aim at organized religion. Although a fair amount of the humour is rather tasteless, and repeated looks at a targeted subject generally fall flatly, Wuhl's main concern is hypocrisy, and his wit is often enough on the mark to make of the work a pleasing affair; it is well-edited, with an enlivening score by Marvin Hamlisch, and a fine performance is provided by Gailard Sartain as the mandarin of the largest commercial network.