Stay TunedThey say that television is only good for turning you into a soulless zombie. Stay Tuned is a fantasy comedy about a major couch potato named Roy Knable (John Ritter), who fills his hours while not peddling plumbing supplies by gleefully watching the boob tube, much to the dismay of his successful advertising exec wife, Helen (Pam Dawber). When a sinister (yet snarky) door-to-door TV salesman named Spike (Jeffrey Jones) signs Roy up for a free trial of an exclusive satellite TV package--with an ominous 666 channels of devilish entertainment--the quarreling couple finds themselves sucked into a twenty-four hour marathon of game shows and sitcoms that threaten to drag them down to Hell...unless they can survive.
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Stay Tuned was made almost twenty years ago (in 1992), and it wears the earmarks of its age. First, there's the antiquated technology--Spike claims that most people would give their "soul" for a 44" TV system with 900 interlace resolution...really? There's also the fashion, brought to the forefront during an inelegantly interjected climactic showdown between Roy and Spike, set to a Salt-N-Pepa music video...no, I'm not joking. Even more, the film has a formulaic approach to plot; it's like it got that little extra nudge into being a theatrical release over a TV movie (which would have been ironic) by virtue of some creative special effects and its talented cast. (Eugene Levy plays one of Spike's unctuous underworld cronies named Crowley, who plots his revenge against his boss by aiding and abetting Roy and Helen in their hellish sojourn.) But Stay Tuned seems to be growing into a kind of cult classic as of late, in spite of its pedestrian plot and a runtime of an hour and a half--most of which is littered liberally with satanic riffs on classic movies and TV shows, à la UHF. This is probably because in our post-Netflix era of consumer entertainment overload, Stay Tuned now resonates even more, like Network did for what passes as news these days. This film is constantly self-aware, and despite some (now) dated references, it plays upon its audience being oversaturated in TV culture; how else would anyone get references like "Three Men and Rosemary's Baby" or "I Love Lucifer" without knowing the source material it's spoofing?
It's no surprise that Stay Tuned opens with a couple sitting down to watch "Doogie Houser, M.D." over an enormous bowl of popcorn (which apparently needs more butter). Stay Tuned is the kind of movie best suited to sinking deep into the recliner and noshing on the iconic movie snack. It is a TV junkie's great inside joke--at least for someone from 1992. It reminds me of that moment in Amadeus where Mozart goes to see a parody of his own works, and finds that everyone (including Mozart) gets the joke and loves it, because--as they say--imitation is the most sincere form of flattery (or plagiarism). The plot (if it can be called that) is shoestring at best. Without the rampant references and sly nods to other pop culture works, there simply wouldn't be enough to fill a half an hour. But as is the case with so many other great satires and spoofs--from The Naked Gun to Last Action Hero, not to mention almost everything by Mel Brooks--ignoring that would be to miss the entire point. Comedies like Stay Tuned exist to provide a crucial counterweight to the dramatic works it pokes fun at--or even the other comedies it subverts. Everyone watching the film gets the references, or at least enough of them to feel like they are in on the fun. The plot shouldn't be complex, because that would distract from the copious frosting on this sheet cake. And Stay Tuned delivers its sly nods rapid fire, with each program--like "Sadistic Home Movies" or "The Exorcisist"--rarely taking up more than thirty seconds or more of the movie, leaving before they wear out their welcome. (There are even some in the credits that barely warrant more than a second of screen time, like a reanimated stand up comedian named "Frankenseinfeld".) Of course, there are classic movie rules that form a narrative just stable enough to justify all of the goofiness. Roy and Helen's son, Darryl (David Tom), narrates for about the first minute of the movie only, and occupies the role of the smart/nerdy kid who can hijack local TVs to put on his own amateur broadcast before it fizzles. And, he can apparently repurpose stereo parts belonging to his sister, Diane (Heather McComb), to do it; what a smart kid! Spike and his cadre of demonic TV programmers are also a none-too-subtle jab at the self-serving "Me Generation". With Roy and Helen stuck in the evil TV, you can rely on that classic comedy cliche where it comes down to the kids to whip up some tech-magic and pull their family back together.
Recommended for: Fans of a deliriously (yet appropriately) simple satire of TV addiction and consumerism, with an overload of overt nods to TV shows and movies. Stay Tuned holds to the position that just because something isn't complex doesn't mean it isn't a lot of fun. And animation fans should look out for a delightful interlude by Chuck Jones when Roy and Helen are transformed into mice.
It's no surprise that Stay Tuned opens with a couple sitting down to watch "Doogie Houser, M.D." over an enormous bowl of popcorn (which apparently needs more butter). Stay Tuned is the kind of movie best suited to sinking deep into the recliner and noshing on the iconic movie snack. It is a TV junkie's great inside joke--at least for someone from 1992. It reminds me of that moment in Amadeus where Mozart goes to see a parody of his own works, and finds that everyone (including Mozart) gets the joke and loves it, because--as they say--imitation is the most sincere form of flattery (or plagiarism). The plot (if it can be called that) is shoestring at best. Without the rampant references and sly nods to other pop culture works, there simply wouldn't be enough to fill a half an hour. But as is the case with so many other great satires and spoofs--from The Naked Gun to Last Action Hero, not to mention almost everything by Mel Brooks--ignoring that would be to miss the entire point. Comedies like Stay Tuned exist to provide a crucial counterweight to the dramatic works it pokes fun at--or even the other comedies it subverts. Everyone watching the film gets the references, or at least enough of them to feel like they are in on the fun. The plot shouldn't be complex, because that would distract from the copious frosting on this sheet cake. And Stay Tuned delivers its sly nods rapid fire, with each program--like "Sadistic Home Movies" or "The Exorcisist"--rarely taking up more than thirty seconds or more of the movie, leaving before they wear out their welcome. (There are even some in the credits that barely warrant more than a second of screen time, like a reanimated stand up comedian named "Frankenseinfeld".) Of course, there are classic movie rules that form a narrative just stable enough to justify all of the goofiness. Roy and Helen's son, Darryl (David Tom), narrates for about the first minute of the movie only, and occupies the role of the smart/nerdy kid who can hijack local TVs to put on his own amateur broadcast before it fizzles. And, he can apparently repurpose stereo parts belonging to his sister, Diane (Heather McComb), to do it; what a smart kid! Spike and his cadre of demonic TV programmers are also a none-too-subtle jab at the self-serving "Me Generation". With Roy and Helen stuck in the evil TV, you can rely on that classic comedy cliche where it comes down to the kids to whip up some tech-magic and pull their family back together.
Recommended for: Fans of a deliriously (yet appropriately) simple satire of TV addiction and consumerism, with an overload of overt nods to TV shows and movies. Stay Tuned holds to the position that just because something isn't complex doesn't mean it isn't a lot of fun. And animation fans should look out for a delightful interlude by Chuck Jones when Roy and Helen are transformed into mice.