Télé ringards

You really have to be in the right mood for a movie for this to work. Get home from work, and rent this and try to get yourself away from reality, and enter the completely stupuid, dumb, funny world of Weird Al Yankovich.. Al plays a loser who is fired from his job(along with his best friend) so they go off and start a tv station called UHF, in which they make fun of some of shows and movies. Like, "Conan the Librarian"...That and the Rambo one are some of my favorites. Or how about making fun of the nature shows and the Bozo the Clown Show...wheww this movie really has you cracked up at the end. 3/5 stars, it was hilarious and is definitely on my list of must sees.

It's very telling that I had to look 15 pages deep into the user comments to find one negative review of this movie. And the negative reviews were from insufferable snots.

This movie made me laugh as a teenager, but it also makes me laugh as a fully grown adult. Does that mean the humor is dumb or sophomoric? Not necessarily. What exactly is "adult humor" anyway? Does it necessarily need to contain graphic depictions of sex and generous uses of profanity to be considered sophisticated and adult?? I contend that it does not, and I cite UHF as an example.

The laughs here are genuine, and they come from lack of pretentiousness and an honest feeling that one need not take oneself too seriously at any given moment. Al lets us know that it's OK to make fun of yourself as well as the rest of society. Much of what he does is self-deprecating, and UHF is no exception. He doesn't stand around making fun of others and establishing an air of superiority over the rest of society. As George Newman, he becomes the everyman, infusing much of his own personality along with his on-stage comedic persona. And he's not afraid to kick himself around and then proceed to pull himself up via his own bootstraps. Nobody else has to be hurt.

Plot has never been a big necessity in these spoof/parody movies. "The Naked Gun," "Airplane," "Top Secret," "Johnny Dangerously," and many others have had the most skeletal of plots. Cop must find and bring to justice bad guy who shot his friend. Burned out ex-pilot must save aircraft when crew dies. Rock and roll star must overthrow Nazi plot. Mobster must overcome those who wish to take him down. And in "UHF" we have Loser Man must save TV station from evil network exec. The plot is not important; it's just a vehicle to get us from laugh to laugh and set up the next joke.

UHF's comedy, though basic, rings true, and if you'll drop all of your pretentious airs, you'll get it. (We all know you're not nearly as sophisticated as you think you are anyway.) Who among us can keep from laughing while Raul teaches poodles to fly? Who can stifle a chuckle when Stanley is doing... well... doing just about everything he does in this film? Al admits in his commentaries and interviews that "UHF" is no "Citizen Kane." But that's the beauty of it. There's nothing complex here. It's all about the laugh, and there's where this movie really scores.

It's a real shame this beast didn't do better at the box office; thank heaven it has found its niche among cultish Weird Al fans and 9-year-olds everywhere.

I saw this in the theater when it first came out. Although I've seen more cerebral and highbrow comedies I have never laughed so hard in my life as I did at "UHF". From the sight gag at the very beginning with the tiki head giving a raspberry to the karate guys bursting out of the supply closet in the denouement ("SUPPLIES!") this movie is a consistent howler. It's less a coherent whole than a series of set pieces which are almost entirely extremely funny.

Interesting also are the before-they-were-huge-stars performances, notably Fran Drescher and Michael Richards, who is vaguely disturbing as kiddie-show host Stanley Spedowski.

The PG-13 rating is very harsh. There's a lot here that younger kids will get a real bang out of. I'd say anyone over the age of about 7 will flip over "UHF", unless you're an insufferable snob.

For some reason, I never pictured myself watching a film starring "Weird Al" Yankovic. He just looked too weird or too stupid....but he was okay. In fact, he was pretty likable in this fun-but-unmemorable film. He's actually more like Jim Varney''s "Vern" character that was so popular in the '80s: a lame but super nice guy.

That's what "Weird Al" plays in here, a Mr. Nice Guy who prevails against forces of evil against him, in this case a TV station owner: Kevin McCarthy, who plays a totally over-the-top villain.

Yankovic will never win any Academy Awards for his acting but he suffices in this no-brainer comedy. Some of the bits are actually quite clever and some are a bit raunchy (hence the PG-13 rating) but there is almost no profanity in here. Michael Richards was funny as the stupid janitor. Lots of jokes in this movie. You just pick out the ones you like.

The 1989 "Weird" Al Yankovic vehicle is good for some chuckles but far from brilliant. I must admit it was fond childhood memories that led me to unburden myself of the $9.99 that my local Circuit City was asking for DVD. I remembered Conan The Librarian, I remembered Gahandi 2, I remembered laughing my 8-year-old butt off, but would this film stand the test of time.

When they jokes and parodies hit well in UHF they hit very well, and as always Michael Richards is wonderful. The overall impression of the film though that it is a 97 minute Weird Al video. If over an hour and a half long weird Al video is your idea of cinematic ecstasy then by all means buy this film. However, if you are looking for a smart comedy avoid this fill at all cost. Personally I like a good dumb comedy and that coupled with my nostalgia makes the purchase worthwhile. If you lack either you might not be so pleasant following you purchase.

Keep an eye out for Emo Philips though in his amazing part as a sedated shop teacher that segment alone is pure comedy.