Rating of
3/4
Forgotten Nostalgic Classic
Brian - wrote on 10/09/14
When I was growing up, between the ages of 8 and 12, pretty much all I listened to was Weird Al. Of course, that has changed, but he'll always have a special place in my heart. I remember hearing about this movie, and renting it from Netflix. At the time, I thought it was the greatest movie of all time. Now, nostalgia might obscure my vision as to the real quality of the film, but I still think most of it holds up pretty well. The main focus is Al and he carries the movie valiantly, but it's also got a great supporting cast such as a pre-Seinfeld Michael Richards, David Bowe (No, not Ziggy Stardust), Victoria Jackson, Kevin McCarthy, and a surprisingly not so annoying Fran Drescher.
While Al's energy knows no bounds, it's the small snippets of U62 programming that really steals the show. I still laugh when I hear the words "Conan the Librarian", Ghandi 2 sounds better than half the action movies that come out now, and Raul's Wild Kingdom, while horrifying, is extremely entertaining in a morbid sort of way. It's also worth noting that for many years, both scenes of "Uncle Nutsy's Clubhouse" was my favorite part of any movie.
While we would be content just to see scene after scene of U62's programming, the film (perhaps unfortunately) has to have a plot. It's a fairly standard set up of Al inheriting a failing UHF station and turning it around to become a ratings smash. Naturally, this irks the bigwigs at the local affiliate and they set out to do whatever they can to stop Al's dreams. Kevin McCarthy plays the president of the rival station with cartoon-ish amounts of evilness yet never feels hammy or forced. He manages to steal Al's station from him which drives Al to go to extreme measures, including imagining himself as Rambo, to get it back.
The movie isn't perfect but it's a great effort for Weird Al's first and only full length feature. If you are even the slightest fan of the comedian, it's worth checking out. Plus, if you get the dvd, check out the audio commentary with Al himself. It's pretty great in it's own right.
