"Weird Al" Yankovic's feature film, UHF, was set to put Orion on top. Instead, they would eventually file for bankruptcy. That's what happens when you release you movie in the summer of 1989 to contend with the likes of Batman, Indian Jones and the Last Crusade, Ghostbusters II, Honey I Shrunk the Kids and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Oops. For what it's worth, I think the film is a timeless classic.
George Newman ("Weird Al" Yankovic) is a daydreamer whose hyperactive imagination keeps him from holding a steady job...until he becomes the general manager of Channel 62, a local television station his uncle wins in a poker game.Unfortunately, the station is about one week away from bankruptcy. In a moment of desperation, George makes janitor Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards) the star of a dull children's show and stumbles onto a ratings goldmin...who else would treat lucky kids to a drink from a high-pressure fire hose? "Stanley Spadowski's Playhouse" is just weird enough to attract an audience!
Before long, endless reruns have been replaced with bizarre programming that could only have come from one place: George Newman's unique imagination. Shows like "Wheel Of Fish," "Name That Stain," "Conan The Librarian," "The Wonderful World Of Phlegm," and "Raul's Wild Kingdom," where poodles learn to fly from third story windows!
But as Channel 62's ratings start to rise, so does the wrath of TV mogul R.J. Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy), who wants to buy the station and turn it into a parking lot.
Can Channel 62 come up with the money it needs to stay on the air? George Newman's imagination is the only place to find out! - Back of the original VHS
Part soundtrack, part studio album, all what you would expect from the likes of "Weird Al" Yankovic.
As I grew older, I went from a fan of his music to someone who actually despised his work. I would tell people things like, "All he's doing is stealing other people's hard work and putting silly words in it." Which I suppose to an extent is still factual.
However, it finally dawned on me what the real problem was. It wasn't that I had stopped liking "Weird Al". Instead, it was that I had actually stopped liking current music. As a result, his "new" music wasn't resonating with me because I already disliked, or in a lot of cases as of late, didn't know the songs he was parodying. With that said, I actually do prefer his original material to that of his parodies.
Upon returning to the era of his music I knew and loved, 1983 to 1989, I was actually able to rekindle my appreciation for his work. A lot of this was helped by his movie, and to an extent the soundtrack to, UHF.
As I mentioned above, this album is a mix of both soundtrack and studio album. It features, well, I guess all of "Weird Al's" contributed music to the movie, as well as some of the commercial breaks from the film - Such as Gandhi II and Conan The Librarian. Additionally, you get all new material in the form of tracks such as Spam, Generic Blues, Isle Thing, and my personal favorite, The Biggest Ball Of Twine In Minnesota.
UHF is by no means his best material from the 80's, but it's certainly a solid entry. Overall, I'd still rather just watch the movie than listen to the soundtrack. But, that doesn't mean the soundtrack doesn't entertain all the same. It's just more fun to watch "Weird Al" Yankovic's shenanigans than listen to them.
Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.
No comments:
Post a Comment