FM

This movie was very popular in 1978, largely on the strength of it's soundtrack. FM radio itself was just busting out in many smaller towns and the idea of this whole new spectrum of radio sound was a very new thing. This movie is the story of one LA FM station, they play cool music, promote cool concerts and take over the station when things go wrong for them. The story is largely forgettable, but in all actuality, it was all a promotion for the double-LP soundtrack ( now to be found in almost any thrift shop in the US ). Steely Dan make a good showing as does Linda Ronstadt. Jimmy Buffett does well also, this was just before he started becoming just a parody of himself as he began catering more to an audience of drunken yuppie "parrotheads". It's hard to want to recommend this movie, if you are interested in the time and the music back then, definately go see this. If you are a fan of "WKRP in Cincinatti", and heard that that TV show was based on this one, don't go in expecting a movie version of WKRP.

I was in radio in the area the movie took place in the late 1970's, most of my friends felt the movie was molded after 94.7 KMET, "The Mighty Met" which at the time was king, with KLOS always nipping at their heels. Sadly, corporate money won out, the MET went "NEW AGE" and KLOS survived. Remember Paraquat, Ace "Space" Young, "The Gonzer" and Jim Ladd to mention a few Met Cats! None of us even thought about "WKRP in Cincinnatti" as a off shoot to "FM" although it was a great show. Myself and many others worked at a station much like "WKRP" at one time or another! "FM" was excellent and reflected a wild time in radio, when there was some pretty weird music out there and some great ones too!

This is one of my favorite "Radio" themed films, mainly because I work in radio. The characters in this movie remind me of many of my fellow co-works, on many levels.

The film's plot centers on Station Manager and Morning Man Jeff Dugan. Dugan has the right idea, in keeping the station "Q-Sky" as uncommercial as possible. He LOVES playing GOOD music and so dislikes the idea of selling too much airtime to advertisers. Especially when it is the Army that wants to buy airtime, with high spot rotation in prime time hours.

That doesn't sit well with Dugan, and he tries his best to avoid "cashing in" on the deal. Wow, imagine that, a Station Manager who refuses good money! Dugan even attempts to ignore his corporate boss' desire to accept this package. Dugan finally gets so tired of saying "no, no, no!" to the Army and his boss, that he quits.

The rest of the on-air and support staff like Dugan a lot, and they dislike the fact that he quit. So they plot revenge against the same people Dugan was fighting with. Their idea of revenge is to go on strike, on the air. They dump all the commercials and go wall-to-wall music.

If you tried something like this in corporate radio today, kiss your job goodbye. So many radio stations today have taken the approach that Dugan so willingly and unselfishly fought against.

So if you like films about radio, or if you want to get a glimpse of how radio really "should be" today, you might find this film worth watching. This movie includes a good musical soundtrack, with bits of songs that were big in the 70's

Hindsight beings what it is now some 27 years after it's release, FM fore tells the impending doom of commercial radio! If you're in the radio business you'll get the meaning of that for sure. FM also spawned the first multi artist soundtrack album that sold very well. The Movie can be a bit slow in places, but it chillingly fore tells the coming doom of radio under corporate control, over commercialization, and the stripping of the Jocks influence and power. Nice musical performances from Linda Ronstadt who was actually played on Rock Radio then, and Jimmy Buffett. Good lightweight entertainment. Tune in turn on, and never come down to earth with Q Sky!

As someone who works in "the business", I did notice that FM has its share of inaccuracies and things that don't quite work...big whoop...do not let those deter you from enjoying a movie that has been underrated and under-appreciated...with a cast that works well together and a killer soundtrack, FM tracks the musings of a station in LA that takes its music and its audience seriously...without commercial interruption...Michael Brandon is superb as the hero, Jeff Dugan... Martin Mull is great as an over-the-top DJ, Eric Swan...Eileen Brennan as Mother, the late Cleavon Little as the Prince of Darkness, and Cassie Yates as Laura Coe make up an air staff that I would love to work with...the bad guys are Albert Driscoll, a company exec who doesn't understand anything beyond the bottom line, Regis Lamar, a "flunky" salesman who is doing what he's being told- even though he tries to understand what the radio people are doing, and Michael J Carlyle, a greasy radio exec not unlike a few in radio...and all through the movie, the fact that it is fun to work in radio is very evident...one note...Alex Karras as the Cowboy is a little bit of miscasting...not sure why he was put in there other than his character was in the book...but overall the quality and flow is excellent...and, as its catchphrase goes, "no static at all"...for those of you who are historians of radio, you will love the dual mikes they use at QSKY...brings back the memories...you're probably going to have to find the movie online somewhere, since it's unusual to locate it in a rental store, but it is a nice addition to a library...and try to find a brand new copy...WITH the poster!