UHF

PG-13

Released Jul 21, 1989

1 hr. 37 min.

Comedy

Sci-Fi

List

61%

23 Reviews

Tomatometer

77%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

After losing yet another job, George (Weird Al Yankovic) wonders if there is any career that can handle his outrageous personality. When George's uncle (Stanley Brock) hands him the deed to a local TV station, George creates a series of television shows based on social satire and hyperactive humor, with the help of his best friend, Bob (David Bowe). However, a rival station's bitter CEO (Kevin McCarthy) tries to destroy George's wacky programming, forcing him to fight back.

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Critics Consensus

UHF is bizarre, freewheeling, and spotty, though its anarchic spirit cannot be denied.

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nintendo s

This movie is hilarious! Together with the Naked Gun movies this is my favorite comedy! The jokes are really clever, the acting is great, the story is possible and the effects are also really good. Not a masterpiece but you can laugh really loud while watching.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/01/24

Full Review

Daniel H

Weird Al parodies some 80s classics and twists a TV stations schedule for some surrealism. Entertaining in a very casual way.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/13/24

Full Review

Wayne K

Weird Al Yankovic is a true national treasure, a talented musician and songwriter who's created some of the most celebrated and hilarious music parodies ever made. His work is marked by smart wordplay and a cheeky sense of humour. He doesn't have a malicious bone in his body, and as a result his spoofs are always fun and good-natured. UHF was his attempt to make a feature length film, and it produced very mixed results. The movie parodies are, as you'd imagine, hilarious, with plenty of funny observations, such as how serious and stony-faced action movie starts try to be. But the story itself is disjointed and messy, held together by bizarre skits and hammy acting. At times it feels like even the actors don't think the material is very funny, and so they compensate by overselling every single joke they've been given. Al is clearly enjoying himself, and it's great that he wanted to branch out and do something different. There was a lot of it that I enjoyed, particularly the Rambo 2 parody, which I rewound several times because I enjoyed it so much, but some scenes feel painfully forced. I'd definitely watch it again, but for those approaching it for the first time, please don't expect it to be as funny as Al's musical parodies.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/01/23

Full Review

T

Saw this back in the eighties and thought it was a hilarious parody comedy, seen it many times since on holiday family get togethers with my kids (now in their 30's) and we still laugh out loud at this sweet and goofy gem of a movie! So glad we were lucky enough to be in the minority of folks who got to see it and pass the joy of it on to our kids. If you are a serious, full of yourself kind of person, you may not think much of this movie, but if you've managed to still keep simple joy alive in you, it really doesn't get much better! If I was stuck on an island with only one DVD, this would be the one I'd want.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/27/23

Full Review

M M

Cult classic .

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/26/23

Full Review

Timothy D

UHF is rambunctious and hilarious with a surprisingly pleasing story. I'm not a fan of Weird Al's parodies, but even I enjoyed this zany comedic ride.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/13/23

Full Review

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Jay Levey

Director

Weird Al Yankovic

George Newman

Victoria Jackson

Teri

Kevin McCarthy

R.J. Fletcher

Michael Richards

Stanley Spadowski

David Bowe

Bob

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Noel Murray

The Dissolve

It's agreeably goofy, and it feels like something anyone could do, even if that's not the case.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 10, 2014

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Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Rated: 3/5

Jul 29, 2003

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

This is the dreariest comedy in many a month, a depressing slog through recycled comic formulas.

Rated: 1/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Brian Costello

Common Sense Media

Goofy '80s comedy is still funny but has dated stereotypes.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 12, 2019

Full Review

Austin Trunick

Under the Radar

The individual parts may be greater than the sum of the whole, but man, are those parts funny.

Rated: 8/10

Nov 22, 2014

Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

Weird Al's film hasn't aged a bit...

Apr 30, 2012

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

After losing yet another job, George (Weird Al Yankovic) wonders if there is any career that can handle his outrageous personality. When George's uncle (Stanley Brock) hands him the deed to a local TV station, George creates a series of television shows based on social satire and hyperactive humor, with the help of his best friend, Bob (David Bowe). However, a rival station's bitter CEO (Kevin McCarthy) tries to destroy George's wacky programming, forcing him to fight back.

Director: Jay Levey
Executive Producer: Gray Frederickson
Screenwriter: Weird Al Yankovic, Jay Levey
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Cinecorp Production, Imaginary Entertainment
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 21, 1989, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 5, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.6M
Sound Mix: Surround

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