The Ratings Game

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.

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.

Hilarious movie reminiscent of Mad TV and SNL mock TV shows. First saw this on cable in the 80s and fell off my chair laughing. This is the kind of stuff Danny Devito does best. Dark, sarcastic humor.

Struggling producer Vic de Salvo (Devito) hatches a scheme to become a big TV star by creating and staring in his own shows and selling them to a struggling network. When he meets and falls in love with Francine, (Rhea Perlman) a woman who works for the Neilson Ratings Beaureau, he uses her knowledge to kidnap the Neilson families and send his mobster crew to "house-sit" for them and tune into his shows.

The mock shows are hilarious and I swear some of them are actually templates for shows that were minor hits later on. This reminds me a little of "Stay Tuned". Well worth a look, though slightly dated. Future "Cheers" stars, Perlman and George Wendt and an early look at Michael Richards ("Seinfeld"'s Kramer).

THE RATINGS GAME is one of the funniest and well written movies of all time. Its the TV industry making fun of itself. The plot is unique and clever, the love story with DeVito and Perlman is very well done and touching, and there are cameos by many great stars and stars to be. Basically its a spoof of really bad sit-coms where the lead character fraudulently manipulates the ratings to make his patently bad show beat the World Series in ratings. Brilliant movie, probably not easy to find. There are very few comedies that get me. This one is side-splitting and a real bulls-eye insightful satire of the Hollywood TV industry and scene. Bravo.