Happy New Year! While I know not everyone makes new year resolutions, at the end of every year I personally like to reflect on the previous year and, more importantly, correct course and find ways to succeed in the future. On this week’s episode I have picked four movies in which regular people just like you and me are presented with unique opportunities and are able to seize the day. If the characters in these films can find success, so can you!
First up is UHF (1989), starring Weird Al Yankovic. In UHF, George Newman (Yankovic) accepts a job as the station manager of Channel 62, a mostly forgotten UHF TV station that only broadcasts moldy reruns. Soon, Newman and his ragtag group of friends including roving reporter Pamela Finkelstein (Fran Drescher), janitor Stanley Spudowski (Michael Richards) and many others other lunatics, put together a series of original programs that appeal to viewers. While Newman’s overactive imagination originally costs him his job and nearly his relationship with his girlfriend Teri (Victoria Jackson), it becomes an asset as Newman and his pals take Channel 62 to the top of the charts.
Next up is The Secret of My Success (1987) starring Michael J. Fox and Helen Hunt. After his dream job in the big city falls through, Brantley Foster (Fox) is offered a job working in the mailroom of his uncle’s mega-corporation. Before long, he takes over an empty office among the executives and adopted an alias, working two jobs at the same time. Things are complicated when Brantley pursues fellow executive Christy Wills (Hunt), who is sleeping with the boss (Brantley’s uncle) while his wife, Brantley’s Aunt Vera, can’t keep her eyes (or hands) off of Brantley. Eventually, all of Brantley’s hard work in the boardroom — and bedroom — pay off in this wacky comedy.
My third pick is Better Off Dead (1985). After Lane Meyer’s girlfriend Beth dumps him, he can barely find a reason to live. Meyer’s friend Charles points out that Beth’s new boyfriend Roy is an excellent skier, and if Lane could best him on the treacherous K12 course, he might be able to win her back. Meyer’s twisty path to the slopes will teach him who he is, and more importantly, who is important to him.
My final pick of the week is Revenge of the Nerds (1984). In this film, a group of nerds attending Adams College spend half the movie defending themselves from the jocks from Alpha Beta (who kicked the freshmen nerds out of their dorms after burning down their own frat house) but soon go on the offense after accepting who they are and celebrating their strengths… something we could all stand to do.
In each of these films, regular people find themselves in unusual situations and, after looking inward, discover who they are and what they are made of. I hope that in 2025 you are able to do the same.
Happy New Year from all of us at the Video Store Podcast!
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