UHF
Blu-ray
Director: Jay Levey
Screenwriter: Jay Levey, “Weird Al” Yankovic
Cast: “Weird Al” Yankovic, Kevin McCarthy, Michael Richards, David Bowe, Victoria Jackson
Shout! Factory
Rated PG-13 | 97 Minutes
Release Date: November 11, 2014

In UHF, “Weird Al” Yankovic stars as George Newman, a daydreamer with a hyperactive imagination who becomes the manager of Channel 62, A UHF (Ultra High Frequency) TV station on the verge of bankruptcy.

Before long, George’s eclectic programming – including shows like Stanley Spadowski’s Clubhouse, Wheel of Fish, and Raul’s Wild Kingdom – is saving the station. Channel 62’s sudden increase in popularity gains the attention of the nefarious R.J. Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy, Invasion of the Body Snatchers), owner of the rival VHF network station, Channel 8.

Furious that George’s rinky-dink UHF station is beating him in ratings, Fletcher sets out to buy Channel 62 and permanently cancel George’s programming. Absurdity ensues as George and his friends attempt to raise money to out-buy Fletcher through a telethon.

In the early 1980’s “Weird Al” Yankovic sold millions of albums and on occasion infuriated a famous musician or two with his quotable (and often superior) parodies of the most popular songs of the day. He made countless appearances on hit late night talk shows and MTV, and as his fan base grew Yankovic’s music began to make its way onto the rare movie soundtrack (the title track from his 1985 release Dare to Be Stupid received a prominent placement in the following year’s Transformers: The Movie).

Short of writing his autobiography and inventing the Internet years before anyone else, the only obstacle preventing Yankovic from becoming the King of All Media (eat it Stern) was his very own big screen comedy motion picture.