Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

All right, so UHF doesn’t have the largest fan base. It’s downright too silly for a lot of folks, but for fans of Weird Al, like myself, it’s a must-have. I used to have it on VHS until it got destroyed at which time it was out of print and impossible to find even as a rental. I was elated to find it on DVD and mostly pleased with the job.

The movie is about George who can’t hold down a job because he keeps daydreaming. His uncle wins a small TV station in a poker game and decides to let George run it. He clashes with the top network affiliate who attempts to shut the smaller station down. Uncle Harvey gets into trouble by his gambling and must sell the station to cover his other losses. George has the opportunity to buy before Harvey is forced to sell to Channel 8, but where is he going to come up with that kind of money?

Yeah, it’s a simplistic plot, but it’s mostly just a vehicle for all the TV and movie parodies. Some have even called it nothing more than a string parodies tied loosely by a plot… like that’s a bad thing!
SEE Spatula City!
SEE Ghandi 2- no more Mr. Passive Resistance!
The movie doesn’t have the best anything (story, special effects, etc.) but the acting is surprisingly good (Michael Richards especially is delightfully goofy). You have to like parodies to be a fan of Weird Al anyway, so chances are good that if you like his music, you’ll get a kick out of the movie.
It’s pretty much non-stop comical gags but it has a positive, more serious theme of the boomerang philosophy. That is whatever you give, kindness or abuse, comes back to you multiplied.
SEE Towntalk with George Newman!
SEE Wheel Of Fish!
Parodies include Indiana Jones & The Raiders of the Lost Ark, Rambo, and Gone With the Wind with references to Star Wars, Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind, and plenty more.

Content:
This one is PG13!? How stupid! I’ve seen G-rated movies with more questionable content (I’m not exaggerating, go see Planet of the Apes). What little violence you get is purposefully hokey. The foul language, sex, and nudity is nonexistent. The thing that really got the MPAA was the teaching poodles to fly scene. Do they think kids are going to go around throwing dogs out of windows because of this movie? It may not be the best movie for very young kids, but I’d let a 10 year old see it.

The DVD:
The DVD comes in a plastic case with the classic cover art. As far as the packaging goes the big letdown is the lack of an insert with chapter titles. The disc is double-sided with Widescreen and Pan & Scan presentations, but it serves another function as well.
Apparently they couldn’t fit all the extra features on one side so they put different ones on the 2 sides. Hey, if it means more extras than I would have gotten otherwise it doesn’t bother me a bit.
The only other disappointment I can think of is very minor: 2.1 audio only. I guess it was too much for them to remaster it in 5.1. I don’t think anyone really expected that anyway.

Now to the good stuff. The menus are imaginative and fun. They feature some great animation and interaction with Al. They take interaction to a level not often seen even on higher budget releases. For example, if you click on a feature that is on the other side of the disc Al will appear on screen and tell you. The more you click on the feature the more irritated he becomes… loads of fun.

The commentary is easily one of the best I’ve ever sat through. Al is his weird self – full of humor and useless trivia – with Jay Levey throwing in a comment from time to time, not to mention the hysterical cameos by Michael Richards, Emo Philips, and Victoria Jackson, plus a couple of other surprises.

There is a fairly long deleted scenes collage hosted by Al. There’s a lot to be said about being able to select such scenes from a menu on your own, but in this case I don’t think it would have been as enjoyable. Al fast-forwards through the slow parts, talks about the significant stuff, and lets you just watch the interesting parts. There are 3 other deleted scenes/alternate takes hidden throughout the disc as Easter Eggs. Another Egg is a special intro to the movie. If you can’t find the eggs listed anywhere let me know in the comments section, and I’ll post the instructions for you.

My other favorite feature is the UHF music video- very funny. Like the movie, it’s a string of parodies that includes the Beatles, Prince, Robert Palmer, and several others. It’s fun, funny, and fitting of Al’s style. Technically you get 2 videos since the Money For Nothing/Beverly Hillbillies video is shown in its entirety during the movie (chapter 9 I think it is). Both videos are also included on the Weird Al video collections, the newest of which, The Ultimate Video Collection, will be my next review on Epinions.

There are 2 galleries: posters and behind the scenes. Any fan will love flipping through all the scans; there are some great shots including some international ads and rare cover art.

The behind the scenes video is pretty funny and the trailers are more fun than most since they are parody-laden as well (there are 2). There’s a DVD credits page, too, if you care at all.

Rental or purchase depends on how big a Weird Al fan you are. If you have to have all his albums you have to have his movie. It’s as simple as that. If you’re a fan of parody movies (Naked Gun, Spy Hard, even Austin Powers) there’s a good chance you’ll like it, too. But of your idea of good comedy is Hugh Grant movies then you might as well look elsewhere (and maybe speak to a psychiatrist). The thing to remember is that even though UHF bombed when it was released (due mostly to know-nothing critics) its fan base is strong and loyal. Al fans swear by it and it could not be any more of a success in our eyes.

Though the parody haters out there would undoubtedly give the movie 2 stars at best, I give it 4. I considered giving it a 5 because of the creativity of the menus and original Al sequences shot for it. It gets a little bit of mention for using both sides to hold different extras rather than discarding them due to lack of space on a single side. I’m annoyed that there isn’t an insert, but there’s not a lot else that I will complain about. Even though I don’t mind not having the 5.1 sound and all, the lack of it still keeps the release from being exceptional. The movie itself probably deserves 4.5* rounded down only when I compare it to 5* movies like Star Wars.


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12