UHF (1989)

(Third viewing, On DVD, July 2002) Hmm. Though this has held up quite well (considering the critical drubbing it got when it was released and the cult following it then earned in video), it’s not as sustained as I remembered it. The problem with UHF isn’t as much in the set-pieces (Aaah, “Gandhi 2” or “Conan the Librarian”) as in the glue holding them up together. The plot of the film is depressingly familiar, as even star/writer “Weird Al” Yankovic himself acknowledges in the commentary track. There’s zany stuff, but it’s sadly relegated to safely obvious places. Still, the film has its shares of funny moments and anyone who hasn’t seen it ought to do so. The DVD finally delivers UHF to the digital realm, along with a bunch of extra such as an enlightening commentary track (with more than a decade’s hindsight, it doesn’t pull any punches) and a hilarious collection of deleted scenes. It’s worth noting that in this case, it’s Yankovik’s commentary on the lame deleted scenes that provides the added entertainment; apparently, a lot of dull expository material got left on the cutting room floor, proof of the writers’ lack of experience in writing for film.