The defence The Popcorn Loyalist
“It owes the canon nothing.”
The movie pursues immediacy and audience pleasure without begging institutions to certify its worth.
Back to trending 
UHF
Comedy · 1989
The eccentric new manager of a UHF television channel tries to save the station from financial ruin with an odd array of programming.
Movie details
UHF
“A lot of TV stations have forgotten what "quality" means, but not Channel 62. They NEVER knew what it meant.”
1989 Comedy 1h 37m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.7 / 10
Community rating
The eccentric new manager of a UHF television channel tries to save the station from financial ruin with an odd array of programming.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over UHF?
For the defence
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Bananas
Comedy · 1971
When a bumbling New Yorker is dumped by his activist girlfriend, he travels to a tiny Latin American nation and becomes involved in its latest rebellion.
Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable...
Comedy · 2025
Facing a world gone sideways, comedy icon Dave Chappelle delivers bold truths and potent punchlines in this no-holds-barred special.
Mac & Devin Go to High School
Comedy · 2012
A comedy that follows two high school students -- one overachiever struggling to write his valedictorian speech, the other a senior now going on his 15th year of school.
Jimmy Carr: His Dark Material
Comedy · 2021
Jimmy Carr finds humor in the darkest of places in this stand-up special that features his dry, sardonic wit — and some jokes he calls "career enders."
Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer
Comedy · 2023
From his onstage tackle to the slap heard round the world, Dave Chappelle lets loose in this freewheeling and unfiltered stand-up comedy special.
Scary Movie
Comedy · 2026
Twenty-six years after outrunning a suspiciously familiar masked killer, the Core Four are back in the killer's crosshairs and no horror movie IP is safe.
The TV Set
Comedy · 2007
As a writer named Mike struggles to shepherd his semi-autobiographical sitcom into development, his vision is slowly eroded by a domineering network executive named Lenny who favors trashy reality programming. The irony, of course, is that every crass suggestion Lenny makes improves the show's response from test audiences and brings the show a step closer to getting on the air.
Scary Movie
Comedy · 2000
A familiar-looking group of teenagers find themselves being stalked by a more-than-vaguely recognizable masked killer! As the victims begin to pile up and the laughs pile on, none of your favorite scary movies escape the razor-sharp satire of this outrageously funny parody!
The Hangover Part III
Comedy · 2013
This time, there's no wedding. No bachelor party. What could go wrong, right? But when the Wolfpack hits the road, all bets are off.
Not Another Teen Movie
Comedy · 2001
On a bet, a gridiron hero at John Hughes High School sets out to turn a bespectacled plain Jane into a beautiful and popular prom queen in this outrageous send-up of the teen movies of the 1980s and '90s.
Where it lives
Watch in your region.
Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.
Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Jay Levey
Written by
'Weird Al' Yankovic · Jay Levey
'Weird Al' Yankovic
George Newman
Kevin McCarthy
R.J. Fletcher
Michael Richards
Stanley Spadowski
David Bowe
Bob
Stanley Brock
Harvey Bilchik
Anthony Geary
Philo
Trinidad Silva
Raul Hernandez
Court is in session
Put UHF on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“Easy pleasure, short half-life.”
It moves efficiently through the moment but offers little reason to keep arguing once the credits end.