it’s not often that i laugh so hard at a movie that my head hurts .
but that’s just what happened to me at uhf , weird al yankovic’s big screen debut .
uhf is a television parody a la airplane , and like airplane , the movie is extraordinarily stupid .
but it’s dumb in the best way a movie can be dumb : it’s so silly and outrageous it’s hilarious .
the movie stars weird al as george newman , a world class nerd with a hyperactive imagination , the type who fantasizes he’s indiana jones and who uses hostess twinkies as hot dog buns .
george is basically a loser ; his daydreams and smart-alec attitude perpetually prevent him from holding onto a job for more than two weeks .
but george finally gets a chance to funnel his creativity into something productive when his uncle wins channel 62 in a poker game and makes him the general manager of the struggling uhf television station .
george revives channel 62 with innovative programming : shows like ” wheel of fish ” and movies like ” conan , the librarian . ”
as the station’s ratings rise , it comes into competition with channel 8 , the leading vhf network-affiliate .
as r . j .
fletcher–channel 8’s ill-natured , hard-nosed owner–veteran stage and film actor kevin mccarthy is flamboyantly sleazy ; he really hams it up with his snorts , grimaces , and scowls .
uhf satirizes anything and everything to do with television , including game shows , tabloid talk shows , children’s shows , dizzy news women , and movies–everything from rambo to close encounters .
the funniest scene , the one that made my head spin , is a commercial for spatulas which has to be seen to be believed .
like most movies in its genre , uhf is hit or miss .
for every gag that works , at least one fizzles .
for instance , weird al’s mock video of ” money for nothing ” by dire straits is only mildly amusing and brings the film to a grinding halt ( although it does have some nifty computer animation ) .
but the funniest bits in uhf are so hysterical that we can forgive the ones that fail ; we know another gut wrencher is on the way .
in fact , uhf hits the mark often enough to make it the most effective airplane-type movie since . . .
well , since airplane .
much of the credit goes to weird al’s exceptionally inventive script and to the movie’s winsome cast .
weird al seems a little stiff at the beginning , but because he’s not afraid to look silly , he ultimately has a lot of fun with his character .
the real standout is michael richards as stanley , the dim-witted janitor who becomes the host of his own children’s show : ” stanley spadowski’s playhouse . ”
stanley’s off-beat , mixed-up personality is a big hit with the audience and makes him an over-night star .
he is an endearing mixture of good-natured innocence , high-energy enthusiasm , and puppy-dog cuteness .
and above all , he’s a good janitor who adores his work .
another highlight is a vintage cameo by the incomparable emo philips .
the cast also features gedde watanabe ( the chinese foreign-exchange student in sixteen candles ) as the karate master who hosts the hit series , ” wheel of fish . ”
also aboard for the ride is fran drescher , who plays pamela finklestein , channel 62’s roving reporter .
unfortunately , as weird al’s girlfriend , victoria jackson is wasted in a role that calls for nothing but whimpering , whining , and sulking .
her character is extraneous and should have been either further integrated into the story or cut from the script altogether .
while uhf is not an absolute must-see , it’s definitely the ticket if you’re looking for a wild and zany , whacked-out comedy .
the movie is good enough to see in the theaters , but it may work even better on television , the very medium at which it pokes fun .