'Stay Tuned' - A Different Kind of Spoof Film

Hello, and welcome back to Second Chances where the maligned, forgotten, and ignored are always on the air.

Remember when I talked about the movie Cloak & Dagger? Basically, I consider it not only one of my all-time favorite films, but also one of the best video game movies ever made. Some may hesitate to call it a "video game movie" since the titular game is just a plot point rather than the basis for the whole story. I actually consider it a great movie for that very reason. I enjoy the 1992 genre mash-up Stay Tuned for similar reasons.

The film focuses on a couple named Roy and Helen Knable. They are played by two legends of classic TV, John Ritter from Three's Company and Pam Dawber from Mork & Mindy. (Yes, I know John Ritter was the star of 8 Simple Rules, too.) Their marriage is on the rocks. See, while Helen's career is on the rise, Roy is stuck in a dead-end job, leading him to escape into compulsive TV watching, shutting out the rest of the world. One night, Roy is visited by a salesman named Spike, played by Jeffrey Jones (whom I've mentioned multiple times in the past). He offers Roy a new high-end TV and free trial of a new satellite system. He accepts, and that's the last straw for Helen. While arguing, the couple are zapped, pulling them into a TV world. Thanks to a rejected executive named Crowley (Eugene Levy), Roy and Helen learn the truth. The TV shows are very lethal, and if they can't survive for 24 hours, Hell takes their souls.

Like I said, this is a major mix of genres. It's part dark comedy, part action-adventure, and part spoof. Most of the jokes work for an audience with a warped sense of humor. I found Howard the Duck funny; so, I'm in that audience. I'm actually convinced the reason the movie bombed at the box office was because it was much darker than anyone would expect from a movie starring John Ritter. (Sure, he was in the It miniseries before then, but that's beside the point.) The action-adventure part is quite diverse and works very well. One minute Roy is dodging gunfire in a Maltese Falcon knock-off, the next he's swordfighting as Robin Hood against the Sheriff of Knottingham. Even the animated segment where Roy and Helen play mice pursued by a robotic cat (animated by the legendary Looney Tunes director Chuck Jones) got the thrills just right!

That leaves the spoof part which is handled the same way Cloak & Dagger handled its video game part. Unlike the garbage spoof films that Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer pushed out like Epic Movie or the equally terrible Seltzerberg knock-offs like Not Another Teen Movie, the spoofs in Stay Tuned are just a plot point, not the whole point. Along with the parodies that Roy and Helen are thrust into like Northern Overexposure and Duane's Underworld, there are multiple smaller parodies in the commercials like Thirty-Something-To-Life and Autopsies of the Rich & Famous. All of the parodies are well thought-out (even the shorter ones), and none overstay their welcome. Also, since the spoofs are a combination of classic films and things that were current for 1992, it didn't become dated as quickly as Seltzerberg's garbage. Some may not consider this a spoof film since even the best ones like Spaceballs and The Naked Gun make the parodies the basis of the whole plot, but I disagree.

It looked like everyone put their best foot forward in this movie. The performances all around are quite good. John Ritter hadn't lost his knack for physical comedy in the years since Three's Company ended (even falling over a couch when he's zapped into a Three's Company spoof), and he handled the action well, too. Jeffrey Jones always plays a stellar antagonist, and Spike is no exception. He seems to have such glee as a sadistic egomaniac. Pam Dawber kept up with John Ritter as well as she did with Robin Williams back in the day. She always worked well as the exasperated straight woman. Even Eugene Levy looked like he had fun playing a dork. There were also plenty of celebrity cameos from the voice of Don Pardo to the face of Captain Lou Albano. All the spoofs either looked authentic like the Old West (à la A Fistful of Dollars) or looked enjoyably cheesy and cheap like the Star Trek: The Next Generation parody. Finally, the pace is very quick. The movie gets going fast and finishes in less than an hour and a half (that running time INCLUDES the credits).

Stay Tuned is a fun little trip back to the early 90s. It has aged somewhat due to some of the spoofs, but I still think it held up reasonably well. It has some great jokes, some fun action scenes, and it doesn't outstay its welcome. Best of all, it is available to watch on YouTube for free as I write this (as long as you don't mind ads). Check it out for some fun goofs on classic TV.

What do you think? Any other movies that deserve another shot? Let me know. Catch you next time!