The Ratings Game

I just watched this for the first time in 2022, and I think this was one of those movies people saw but then forgot about, or never saw to begin with (ironic, considering the plot), because it's a very good movie.

Actually, it's a great movie, but I won't spoil it.

I think this is a movie that a lot of people will still want to watch even today, though, especially considering the cast (Danny DeVito, etc.).

Just watch it.

I had heard about this movie on an episode of Nostalgia Critic. He had been critical of some of DeVito's directorial efforts with the exception of The War of the Roses but did positively re-review some and this was included. This is technically DeVito's directorial debut but since it premiered on Showtime cable network Throw Momma from the Train has been mostly regarded as his first directorial effort as that got a theatrical release.

This was three years prior and while DeVito made better films as director including the aforementioned and Matilda this still shows he had a natural filmmaking and acting quality along with Woody Allen, Charlie Chaplin and Clint Eastwood.

The story may seem slight to some but DeVito brings a lot of freshness and humor to the story that makes it feel very original and very funny.

Because they were married in real life he always had good chemistry with Rhea Perlman he did here and then over a decade later in Matilda.

Here however there is a genuinely sweet and funny romance to their characters which was more dysfunctional in Matilda but here it works really well.

Great cameos by Jerry Seinfeld, (still a rising star) Seinfeld's co-star Michael Richards, George Wendt the recently deceased and Perlman's Cheers co-star, Steve Allen and many other great character actors.

DeVito did get better as a filmmaker in subsequent efforts with a little more meat to his stories but this first effort is anything but boring nor is it badly acted. It's very much the opposite.

I really enjoyed this film and any DeVito or Hollywood insider fan should give this a stream.

Again not his finest directorial effort but still a great start nonetheless and a charming, fun little comedy with good dialogue, wit and performances.

Danny devito is vic, trying to sell his script for a tv series to anyone, but no takers. Until he meets francine, who is played by the real mrs. Devito, rhea perlman. Vic gets his show on the air, but it's going to get pulled unless he can bring up the ratings. And francine just happens to work for the tv ratings company. She knows just how to scam the ratings, but wants no part of it. Can vic use her knowledge to bump up the show ratings while keeping his relationship intact? A little over the top, but to be fair, there wasn't a lot of security on computers in 1984! A funny bit where the president of the network fires employees by playing one, long, pre-recorded vhs tape, as they file into his office, one by one. Another funny gag where vic has his chauffeur drive when he and francine ride in bumper cars at the amusement park. It's fun. So many tiny little cameos with about half of hollywood! Take a minute and look at that cast list! Even some golden television oldies, like steve allen, jayne meadows, and huntz hall. Hall was in the bowery boys... he only did a couple more things after this. And of course, george wendt, rhea's co-star from cheers is in here. Fun adventure, if you just buy into the whole premise. Directed by devito himself.

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.

The stage curtains open ...

I stumbled across this one the other night and decided to give it a go. For a 1984 made-for-cable-tv movie, it wasn't half bad. I researched this one a little bit and found out that not only was it Danny DeVito's directorial debut, it was also the first original movie produced by Showtime. DeVito also starred, and starring along with him, was his real-life wife of two years, Rhea Perlman.

Vic DeSalvo (DeVito) has aspirations of making it big in Hollywood. He has written the script for what he believes will be a knock out winning sitcom called, "Sittin' Pretty" - where a college boy gets to room with two blonde bombshells while they are at school. However, the pilot show went so horribly bad, that the station director decides to run his show in the same time slot as the World Series so that it has no shot of becoming a regular on-the-air show. DeSalvo's new squeeze, Francine Kester (Perlman), works with a ratings agency and shows him how to beat the system.

This was a fun and clever comedy film with a good enough plot and acting to keep you engaged and smiling. It is made-for-tv, so the production value isn't anything spectacular, but it was good for its time. DeVito and Perlman showed great chemistry, no doubt a roll over from their marriage to each other, and were characters you can grow to care about. This was only maybe the 2nd movie I've seen them in together, besides "Matilda", and they were very enjoyable.

This isn't a big recommend, but I would still recommend it to anyone who needs a nice little escape to yesteryear with a fun little comedy long forgotten. Like I said, I found it by accident and I'm glad I took a chance on it. Worth the time spent. It gets a strong 6 stars out of 10 from me.