"UHF" was given a one-star review from Roger Ebert, and Weird Al Yankovic's response put it perfectly. "Jeez, Roger, did I run over your dog or something?" While it doesn't have a conventional narrative, does that really matter if the jokes are funny? "UHF"
clearly isn't taking itself seriously, as expected...from a comedian.
Weird Al plays a fast food cook who gains ownership of a TV station. At first, he struggles to gain traction, but after recruiting a janitor, the ratings soar, leading to competition with a major corporation. Most of the runtime consists of shorts from the new TV station,
including a commercial for a superstore that only sells spatulas, a parody of "Wheel of Fortune" where you can only win fish, and a show where poodles get thrown out of an apartment window. A lot of this feels like meme humor, which is remarkable for a time before the internet.
Even though it may appear to be a dim-witted comedy, a lot of effort went into the production, including an Amiga-animated parody of the "Money for Nothing" music video, lots of ad-libbing, and construction of a billboard for the spatula store, which confused drivers. "UHF" was out of print
for years, but it now has the cult following it deserves.
Available on VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray, and UHD
Grade: B