Rating: ***
Review Date: 7/15/00
Cast: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Michael Richards, Victoria Jackson,
Fran Drescher, Billy Barty
A delightful little comedy romp featuring the creative genius of Weird Al. George Newman (Al Yankovic) is your standard everyday loser until his uncle puts him in charge of a UHF TV station that he won in a gambling bet. With the help of his eccentric team, he transforms the local station into a media phenomenon, catching the attention of the wicked local network affiliate. The story is a cute adolescent adventure about the underdogs coming out on top, like "Better Off Dead", "One Crazy Summer", or "Up The Creek", but the real value comes out of the clever parodies that Yankovic is famous for. He deftly spoofs "Raiders Of The Lost Ark", "Ghandi", "Shaft", "Conan The Barbarian", and "Rambo", along with a great music video parody of Dire Straits' "Money For Nothing." Not all of the comedic gags work, eliciting more groans than laughter, but for the most part the film is just a lot of good clean fun.