Day 82 - 3/23/09 - Movie #79
BEFORE: This is like the "lost" George Lucas film for me - after building up money and recognition from the Star Wars and Indiana Jones series, Lucasfilm decided to branch out in the 90's, with this murder mystery set in the Golden Age of radio.
THE PLOT: On one fateful evening in 1939, WBN, a fourth radio network, is making its nationwide debut--and is engulfed in chaos. As the curtain rises on the opening act, a mysterious voice interrupts the program and menacing events begin to unfold--leading the WBN team to realize that dead air is the least of their worries!
AFTER: This movie had such promise - it was filled with literally dozens of character actors, like Ned Beatty, Corbin Bernsen, Peter MacNichol, Steven Tobolowsky, Michael McKean, Jeffrey Tambor, Christopher Lloyd, etc. But unfortunately, everyone's talents were wasted, most of these actors weren't given anything to do except run around the studio frantically, and then get bumped off.
What really kills this movie is an overabundance of slapstick - really over-the-top physical hijinks that aren't subtle enough for a "Three Stooges" short. Does someone need to get hit with a door EVERY time one opens? Does someone need to run, slip and fall every 5 seconds? I've worked in this crazy business we call "show" long enough to know that things occasionally go wrong, but not everything! Would a radio show really start its broadcast if the scripts aren't written yet? Probably not, but then again, it seems like this movie was made without a script. Too much physical comedy, and suddenly its like an episode of "Perfect Strangers".
RATING: 2 out of 10 microphones - I would have given it a "1", but since this movie came out in 1994, there's a chance that its failure led to Lucasfilm getting back to making more Star Wars films.
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