# UHF (film)
**UHF** is a 1989 American comedy film starring, co-written by, and serving as the theatrical film debut of the musical parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic, directed by Jay Levey. It follows an unemployed daydreamer who takes over a bankrupt local ultra-high-frequency television station, Channel 62, and revives it with bizarre original programming while a rival network executive tries to destroy him.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/uhf) Released by [Orion Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/orion-pictures) on July 21, 1989, the film was a box-office disappointment but later became a cult classic.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF) • [3](https://inside.etamu.edu/academics/colleges/humanitiesSocialSciencesArts/departments/literatureLanguages/newsandevents/nethrc/Book_of_Abstracts.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | July 21, 1989 (Los Angeles and New York openings), Orion Pictures; 97 minutes; PG-13[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF) |
| Director and writers | Jay Levey, directing his first theatrical film; written by Al Yankovic and Jay Levey[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF) |
| Principal cast | "Weird Al" Yankovic (George Newman), Victoria Jackson (Teri), Kevin McCarthy (R.J. Fletcher), Michael Richards (Stanley Spadowski), David Bowe (Bob)[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/uhf/) |
| Box office | $6,157,157 domestic gross against a $5,000,000 production budget[5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/UHF-%281989%29) |
| Critical reception | Metascore 32 (generally unfavorable, 11 critics); Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 64% from 25 reviews, Popcornmeter 77% from 50,000+ ratings[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/uhf/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/uhf) |
| Filming | Shot in Tulsa, Oklahoma, beginning July 18, 1988; production completed September 21, 1988[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF) |
| Alternate title | Distributed as *The Vidiot from UHF* in Australia and parts of Europe[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
George Newman is an accident-prone, forgetful daydreamer who keeps losing jobs. At a party at the home of his Uncle Harvey (Stanley Brock), an avid gambler who has just won the deed to a bankrupt Ultra High Frequency television station, Channel 62, in a poker game, George is given the run of the station.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF) • [6](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/uhf) With his best friend Bob (David Bowe), he replaces the reruns with a raft of strange live shows built on social satire and hyperactive humor, and against the odds the station's ratings soar.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/uhf) • [6](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/uhf)
The station's success draws the hostility of R.J. Fletcher ([Kevin McCarthy](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-mccarthy)), the bitter CEO of a rival network station, who vows to bring down Newman and his programming and forces George to fight back.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/uhf) • [7](https://vidiotsfoundation.org/movies/uhf/) The story is largely a framework for self-contained parodies: a daydream sequence spoofing [Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg) films, spoofs of television commercials such as "Spatula City," a trashy B-movie parody called *Conan the Librarian*, and a Kung-Fu film parody, *Gandhi II*, in which Levey himself plays the title role.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF) • [8](https://www.flicks.co.nz/features/retrospective-its-weird-that-1989-audiences-didnt-appreciate-al-yankovics-uhf/)
## Production
Yankovic and Levey, who was Yankovic's manager and had directed his music videos, had been trying to mount a film since Yankovic first came on the scene around 1984. According to a 1988 news item, they completed the script for *UHF* in 1986, but it was rejected by every studio they approached except Cinecorp, which made it the company's first motion picture.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF) • [9](https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/weird-al-yankovic-uhf-live-show-weird-sequel-101974/) Shooting began in [Tulsa, Oklahoma](https://www.edgepedia.org/tulsa-oklahoma), on July 18, 1988, and production was announced complete on September 21, 1988.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF)
The film's centerpiece music video, a parody of [Dire Straits](https://www.edgepedia.org/dire-straits)' "Money for Nothing" set to lyrics about *The Beverly Hillbillies*, was originally planned as a parody of Prince's "Let's Go Crazy." Prince declined permission, so Yankovic got permission from Dire Straits instead, and Dire Straits' lead guitarist [Mark Knopfler](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-knopfler) played guitar on the parody recording.[10](https://www.fast-rewind.com/making_uhf.htm) The claymation for the video was designed by the Chiodo Bros.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF)
The role of Philo, the station's eccentric engineer, was offered to [Joel Hodgson](https://www.edgepedia.org/joel-hodgson), who turned it down because he was overwhelmingly involved in producing the first season of *Mystery Science Theater 3000* at KTMA, a UHF station in [Minneapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/minneapolis); the part went to [Anthony Geary](https://www.edgepedia.org/anthony-geary).[11](https://ink19.com/2002/09/magazine/screen-reviews/to1zvl-uhf) The cast also included Michael Richards as the janitor Stanley Spadowski, Fran Drescher, Billy Barty, Gedde Watanabe, and Emo Philips.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/uhf/)
Trinidad Silva, who played Raul Hernandez, the host of "Raul's Wild Kingdom," was killed by a drunk driver on August 1, 1988, while the film was still in production, and the end credits carry the dedication "This Film is Dedicated to the Memory of Trinidad Silva."[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF) The American Humane Society certified the production under its No Animals Were Harmed program with a modified certification, noting that the flying poodles were fake and the fish nailed to a spinning wheel in a game-show spoof were dead fish purchased at a market.[12](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/uhf/)
## Reception
Contemporary critics were largely negative. The film's Metascore of 32, based on 11 critic reviews, falls in the "generally unfavorable" range, with 3 positive, 4 mixed, and 4 negative reviews.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/uhf/) Roger Ebert of the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times) gave it two stars, calling it "a depressing slog through recycled comic formulas" and faulting the film for alternating uneasily between the station-rescue storyline and self-contained parodies that do not share the same reality.[13](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/uhf-1989) [Gene Siskel](https://www.edgepedia.org/gene-siskel) of the [Chicago Tribune](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-tribune) wrote that "rarely has a comedy tried so hard and failed so often to be funny," while Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times objected that everything in the film is a parody.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/uhf/) More favorable voices included Rick Groen of *The Globe and Mail*, and the *Wall Street Journal*'s Julie Salamon, who called it "almost defiantly silly, but when it's funny it is very funny."[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/uhf/) Retrospective assessments have been warmer: the film now holds a 64% Tomatometer and a 77% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics consensus describing it as "bizarre, freewheeling, and spotty, though its anarchic spirit cannot be denied."[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/uhf)
## Box office and cult status
The film opened in the middle of the summer 1989 blockbuster season, alongside *Batman* and other hits, and was poorly received at the box office, grossing $5.8 million in its first four weeks according to an October 1989 review; its final domestic gross was $6,157,157 against a $5,000,000 production budget.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF) • [5](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/UHF-%281989%29) • [14](https://archive.thedigitalbits.com/reviews2/uhf.html) Yankovic later said the film "had been built up and gotten great audience scores," and that its failure left him gun shy about theatrical releases.[15](https://www.grammy.com/news/weird-al-yankovic-interivew-behind-the-hits-2024-grammys/)
Since its theatrical run, several indicators point to cult-classic status: strong home video sales, midnight-movie screenings where fans shout dialogue in unison in the manner of *The Rocky Horror Picture Show*, and home video editions that have included a commentary track with Yankovic and Levey along with deleted scenes.[3](https://inside.etamu.edu/academics/colleges/humanitiesSocialSciencesArts/departments/literatureLanguages/newsandevents/nethrc/Book_of_Abstracts.pdf) • [14](https://archive.thedigitalbits.com/reviews2/uhf.html) Yankovic has continued to celebrate the film, telling Rolling Stone that he has seen "dozens if not hundreds" of UHF-related tattoos, and in 2025 he appeared at Los Angeles' Greek Theatre, where the film was screened with an orchestra performing John Du Prez's previously unreleased instrumental score.[9](https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/weird-al-yankovic-uhf-live-show-weird-sequel-101974/) On July 21, 1989, Yankovic told a Los Angeles outlet that Orion Pictures had "expressed interest in a sequel," but no other contemporary sources substantiated the claim.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF)
## References
1. [UHF (1989), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/68107-UHF)
2. [UHF, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/uhf)
3. [Matthew McKeague, From Flop to Cult Classic: Analyzing the Production of "Weird Al" Yankovic's Film UHF (1989)](https://inside.etamu.edu/academics/colleges/humanitiesSocialSciencesArts/departments/literatureLanguages/newsandevents/nethrc/Book_of_Abstracts.pdf)
4. [UHF, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/uhf/)
5. [UHF (1989), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/UHF-%281989%29)
6. [UHF, MUBI](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/uhf)
7. [UHF, Vidiots](https://vidiotsfoundation.org/movies/uhf/)
8. [Eliza Janssen, Retrospective: It's weird that 1989 audiences didn't appreciate Al Yankovic's UHF, Flicks](https://www.flicks.co.nz/features/retrospective-its-weird-that-1989-audiences-didnt-appreciate-al-yankovics-uhf/)
9. ["Weird Al" Yankovic Is Celebrating 'UHF' With a Live Show, Rolling Stone](https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/weird-al-yankovic-uhf-live-show-weird-sequel-101974/)
10. [Behind The Scenes of UHF Movie (1989), Fast-Rewind](https://www.fast-rewind.com/making_uhf.htm)
11. [UHF, Ink 19 (2002)](https://ink19.com/2002/09/magazine/screen-reviews/to1zvl-uhf)
12. [UHF (1989), American Humane Society](https://www.americanhumane.org/production/uhf/)
13. [Roger Ebert, UHF movie review, Chicago Sun-Times (1989)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/uhf-1989)
14. [DVD Review: UHF, The Digital Bits](https://archive.thedigitalbits.com/reviews2/uhf.html)
15. [Behind The Accordion With "Weird Al" Yankovic, GRAMMY.com](https://www.grammy.com/news/weird-al-yankovic-interivew-behind-the-hits-2024-grammys/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of the 1980s › Satirical, black, and parody comedies of the 1980s*
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