The Ratings Game (1984)

A New Jersey trucker creates a hit TV show with help from his girlfriend in the ratings business.

Director:

Danny DeVito

Writers:

Jim Mulholland, Michael Barrie

Stars:

Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Gerrit Graham

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Danny DeVito	...	Vic De Salvo
Rhea Perlman	...	Francine Kester
Gerrit Graham	...	Parker Braithwaite
Bernadette Birkett	...	Mrs. Sweeney
Barry Corbin	...	The Colonel
Louis Giambalvo	...	Goody DeSalvo
Ronny Graham	...	Cap'n Andy
Huntz Hall	...	Benny Bentson
Basil Hoffman	...	Frank Friedlander
Kevin McCarthy	...	Wes Vandergelder
John Megna	...	Al
Michael Richards	...	Sal
Ron Rifkin	...	T.V. Director
Joe Santos	...	Tony
Vincent Schiavelli	...	Skip

Storyline

Vic De Salvo, a sympatic mafioso, manipulates with the help of Francine, a girl working for the TV audience controler, the data of the audience watching his program of a small channel. Thus he converts himself into a star of the TV screen.

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Plot Keywords:

fictional tv show | fictional tv network | urban setting | directed by an actor | pilot episode | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mogul

Filming Locations:

Laird International Studio - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Imagination Productions, Newstreet Productions, Viacom Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a deleted scene Lainie Kazan played 'Edna,' the struggling network's psychic adviser. Jonathan Winters wanted to play kiddie show host 'Captain Andy,' but was unavailable. Geena Davis auditioned for several parts, including 'Hamilton's Girl.'

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Quotes

Parker Braithwaite: How can "The Senator and Stinky" get a zero share?
Francine Kester: Not one of the fifteen hundred Computron sets were tuned into it. In short, nobody watched.
Parker Braithwaite: Nobody watched, huh? It just so happens that we received four hundred letters complaining about the show... so somebody's watching.
Francine Kester: None of the Computron households.
Parker Braithwaite: Households. That's the flaw in your system! You don't take into account college dormitories... prisons... Our shows get a lot of fan mail from mental institutions. That never shows up in ...

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson: Danny DeVito/Joan Embery/John Searing (1986)

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Soundtracks

Gimme Five
Music and lyrics by Bruce Kimmel
Performed by Dan Navarro

User Reviews

It's a dog, but it's a cute dog.

This satire on the TV industry is too much of it, with mountains of cheesy plot-driven dialog set to the accompaniment of hyper-cheesy music. But mixed in are some great gags--one of the best is a sight gag, when Gerrit Graham walks back on stage at the MBC confab, to continue plumping his network's new shows against a devilishly appropriate freeze-frame from one of them. Much of the value now is to have fun seeing all kinds of talent before, between, or after the high points of their careers. Casting wise, this show could pick 'em.

The strongest element here is the apt satire. Alas, the laughs are not frequent enough, or intense enough, to really sustain the effort. The movie in the end is a cheese dog, but the stars play it cute, and it's fun. Five stars for wide and deep star power, far transcending the script.