UHF on DVD

By Jim Bray

UHF is one of those all-too-rare comedies: it actually made me laugh, repeatedly.

Not only that, but though I've now seen this "Weird Al" Yankovic vehicle numerous times, it still makes me laugh out loud - and in the same places it always does.

This makes it in the same league as "Airplane!" - a subversively funny comedy that was a sleeper hit when it first came out. And if you liked that parody, you'll probably love UHF.

Weird Al stars and co-wrote this yarn about a lovable dreamer who finds himself running a small urban UHF TV station on its last legs. He has no experience, and doesn't really have a clue, but desperation forces him into innovation (necessity being the mother of invention, after all) and his little enterprise suddenly finds itself challenging the dominance of the networks (in a bit of perhaps innocent prescience that's now becoming a reality).

His nemesis is R. J. Fletcher (played by a scenery-chewing Kevin McCarthy), owner of the Big Network Affiliate - a real sleazebag who deserves the comeuppance he receives courtesy "Weird Al" and his zany band of misfit.

And what misfits - and what inspired casting. Al's sidekicks include David Bowe in basically a straight part, along with a pre-Seinfeld Michael Richards (and you can see where Kramer came from), a pre-Nanny Fran Drescher, a post-SNL Victoria Jackson (another straight role that helps keep the lunacy from heading straight into orbit), a post-soap opera heartthrob Anthony Geary. And don't forget Gedde "You're So Stupid" Watanabe and diminutive Billy Barty to round out the characters - and I do mean characters.

The script careens along from the main story to various sidetracks inspired by "Weird Al's" brand of humor, including music video parodies (there's a great poke at Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing") and TV commercials including "Conan the Librarian."

You get into the feel right from the beginning with a terrific "Raiders of the Lost Ark" parody, and it doesn't let up until the very end, though the final "Gone With the Wind" jab is more than a tad lame.

I have no idea how UHF did at the theatrical box office, but it has had a good run on VHS, and now that it's finally available on a DVD I was interested to see if the new disc would do the movie justice.

And it does, fortunately.

MGM has seen fit to put both an anamorphic widescreen (16x9 TV compatible) and a Pan&Scan version of the movie on opposite sides of the same disc which, if you just have to include a P&S version, is the way to do it (unless you put them both on the same side of the disc). I hate this new trend exbited on some DVD's of selling widescreen and Pan&Scan under separate cover.

Since I'd already seen the Pan&Scan version numerous times on VHS I was dying to see the original widescreen version - and I wasn't disappointed.

The picture quality of this low budget movie is first rate, with a sharp and bright picture that features excellent color that's rich and deep. A few scenes are grainy, but not many, and they don't spoil your enjoyment. Audio is Dolby Digital stereo and the quality for the most part is very good, though there's some distortion during some of the louder parts.

There are quite a few extras, too (though most are fairly lightweight), accessible from a menu featuring a much older (and moustacheless) "Weird Al"). There's a running commentary featuring "Weird Al" himself and director/co-writer Jay Levey (which you really must hear!), and you also get a short "Behind the scenes" promotional featurette and some deleted scenes (though widescreen viewers will have to flip over the disc to access them). There's also the original UHF music video, some production stills and other promotional material.

MGM has probably included more extra stuff than is actually warranted, but far be it for me to complain about getting more value for one's dollar….

My hat's off to MGM for giving this guilty pleasure the DVD treatment it deserves.

UHF, from MGM Home Video
97 min. anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1), 16x9 TV compatible, Dolby Digital stereo
Starring "Weird Al" Yankovic, Kevin McCarthy, Michael Richards, David Bowe, Victoria Jackson, Fran Drescher, Billy Barty
Produced by Gene Kirkwood and John Hyde
Written by "Weird Al" Yankovic and Jay Levey, Directed by Jay Levey

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