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UHF is a american film of genre Drama released in USA on 21 july 1989 with Fran Drescher
UHF (1989)
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Add to a movie listUHF (released internationally as The Vidiot from UHF) is a 1989 American comedy film starring "Weird Al" Yankovic, David Bowe, Fran Drescher, Victoria Jackson, Kevin McCarthy, Michael Richards, Gedde Watanabe, Billy Barty, Anthony Geary, Emo Philips and Trinidad Silva; the film is dedicated to Silva who died shortly after principal filming. The film was directed by Jay Levey, Yankovic's manager, who also co-wrote the screenplay with him. It was released by Orion Pictures and presently distributed by MGM.
Yankovic stars as George Newman, a shiftless dreamer who stumbles into managing a low-budget television station and, surprisingly, finds success with his eclectic programming choices, in part spearheaded by the antics of a janitor-turned-children's television host, Stanley (Richards). He provokes the ire of a major network station that dislikes the competitive upstart. The title refers to the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) analog television broadcasting band on which such low-budget television stations often were placed in the United States.
Yankovic and Levey wrote the film after Yankovic's second studio album, looking to apply the musician's parody and comedy to film, and chose the approach of George being a straight man with a vivid imagination to support the inclusion of parodies within the film. They struggled with finding a film production company for financing the film, but were eventually able to get Orion Pictures' support after stating they could keep the film costs under $5 million. Principal filming took place around Tulsa, Oklahoma, with many of the extras for the film from the Tulsa and nearby Dallas, Texas areas.
UHF earned mixed to poor critical reviews, and was further impacted by releasing in the middle of one of Hollywood's largest blockbuster summer periods. While only a modest success during its theatrical release, it became a cult film on home video. Shout! Factory released a special 25th Anniversary edition of UHF on November 11, 2014 on DVD and Blu-ray.
Synopsis
George Newman ("Weird Al" Yankovic) is a Walter Mitty-esque daydreamer whose hyperactive imagination keeps him and his friend Bob (David Bowe) from holding a steady job. George's uncle Harvey Bilchik (Stanley Brock) wins the deed to Channel 62, a UHF television station on the verge of bankruptcy, through gambling in a game of poker, with a couple of sevens ("I was bluffing!"). After prodding by his wife Esther (Sue Ane Langdon), Harvey reluctantly gives control of Channel 62 to George. George and Bob meet the Channel 62 staff which is made up of the receptionist and wannabe reporter Pamela Finklestein (Fran Drescher), dwarf photojournalist and cameraman Noodles MacIntosh (Billy Barty), an unnamed overweight cameraman, (Lou B. Washington), and eccentric engineer Philo (Anthony Geary). George attempts to introduce himself to the rival VHF network station, Channel 8, but its owner, the cynical R. J. Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy), angrily chases him out. On his way out of the station he encounters janitor Stanley Spadowski (Michael Richards), who was recently unjustly fired by Fletcher. George offers him a janitorial job at Channel 62.Actors
Fran Drescher
(Pamela Finklestein)
Victoria Jackson
(Teri)
David Bowe
(Bob)
Kevin McCarthy
(R.J. Fletcher)
Michael Richards
(Stanley Spadowski)
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