A husband and wife are sucked into a hellish television set and must survive the gauntlet of twisted versions of shows in which they find themselves.A husband and wife are sucked into a hellish television set and must survive the gauntlet of twisted versions of shows in which they find themselves.A husband and wife are sucked into a hellish television set and must survive the gauntlet of twisted versions of shows in which they find themselves.
- Awards
- 2 nominations total
John Destry
- Sackler
- (as John Blackwell Destrey)
Featured reviews
The concept story where heaven and hell have their war over souls displayed in a positive light involving Hell to lure people who watch too much TV be apart of its programming. It's a charming film with a good cast, John Ritters character becomes the encouraging
Underdog.
This film is easily hidden away and should be apart of any families library. The story may seem light but it executes its purpose.
Character wise their wholesome and an homage to popular films and TV shows the characters ventures through.
Even displaying the TV shows that Roy watches on Hell TV is clever including Salt N Peppa making an appearance. It is an underrated film its charm and innocent.
This film is easily hidden away and should be apart of any families library. The story may seem light but it executes its purpose.
Character wise their wholesome and an homage to popular films and TV shows the characters ventures through.
Even displaying the TV shows that Roy watches on Hell TV is clever including Salt N Peppa making an appearance. It is an underrated film its charm and innocent.
I've read a few bad-type reviews on this, but that just shows what I know. i think Stay Tuned is one of the funnier movies to roll along in a while. Yeah, it's filled with TV rejects like Ritter, Dawber, and Levy, but they're still kinda funny. The funniest thing are the TV parodies (yes, they're funny, dammit), and the whole parody of the modern entertainment industry. Plus you've got a great Chuck Jones cartoon set right in the middle. Moves along just fast enough to keep your interest, and the characters are just tolerable enough you don't want to turn off on it. As was noted, it grows on you.
The things that Ritter's character found 'hellish' back in '92 are now common fare - e.g. stabbing each other in the back (figuratively) in 'The Apprentice', 'Survivor', etc.; paternity tests on 'Maury'; revealing the adultery of spouses (and nude wrestling) on 'Springer'; not to mention Jackass, Southpark or Borat.
I think the word is prescient.
I have often thought over the years about how this movie was so outrageously impossible when it was made, but how, within a few years how mainstream much of the portrayed content had become.
I think this is a movie - although a low budget comedy (dare I use the descriptor "B"?) - that should be recognized for its historical significance, and perhaps studied in sociology courses about the effect of media on society (or more exactly - the effect of media on media).
The significance of this movie has been overlooked.
I think the word is prescient.
I have often thought over the years about how this movie was so outrageously impossible when it was made, but how, within a few years how mainstream much of the portrayed content had become.
I think this is a movie - although a low budget comedy (dare I use the descriptor "B"?) - that should be recognized for its historical significance, and perhaps studied in sociology courses about the effect of media on society (or more exactly - the effect of media on media).
The significance of this movie has been overlooked.
This was a clever and funny movie, much better than I anticipated. Most of the humor involves takeoff or parodies of television programs and movies. Being familiar with most of them, I enjoyed the humor. The takeoff involved having the devil take charge of some of these programs.
John Ritter and Pam Dawber play husband-and-wife "Roy and Helen Knable" who get sucked into buying a TV dish package straight from The Devil. After the purchase, which comes complete with 666 channels, mayhem ensues. There were a number of spots in here I just laughed out loud. Knowing a lot of the TV programs that were being spoofed helps a lot, of course, but there is a lot of good material in this film. The special-effects were pretty good, too, especially for a film that really never got a lot of exposure nor, I assume, had a huge budget.
Jeffrey Jones and Eugene Levy, two guys who are usually pretty funny, supply some good humor here, too. I looked at this strictly for laughs even though I know the devil is somebody to take seriously, but this film was anything but played for seriousness. As a bonus, we even got a Chuck Jones cartoon in the middle of the story.
This is one wacky movie and I'd like to see it on widescreen DVD. I last saw it on tape. This is recommended to those who enjoy dark humor.
John Ritter and Pam Dawber play husband-and-wife "Roy and Helen Knable" who get sucked into buying a TV dish package straight from The Devil. After the purchase, which comes complete with 666 channels, mayhem ensues. There were a number of spots in here I just laughed out loud. Knowing a lot of the TV programs that were being spoofed helps a lot, of course, but there is a lot of good material in this film. The special-effects were pretty good, too, especially for a film that really never got a lot of exposure nor, I assume, had a huge budget.
Jeffrey Jones and Eugene Levy, two guys who are usually pretty funny, supply some good humor here, too. I looked at this strictly for laughs even though I know the devil is somebody to take seriously, but this film was anything but played for seriousness. As a bonus, we even got a Chuck Jones cartoon in the middle of the story.
This is one wacky movie and I'd like to see it on widescreen DVD. I last saw it on tape. This is recommended to those who enjoy dark humor.
I stumbled upon this movie while channel flipping, ironically enough. I thought that the film was very well done, with just enough cheesy humor to keep me groaning and laughing. The jewels of the film were found in it's references and TV jokes. Some humor at actor Ritter's expense gives the impression that movie is making fun of itself. Jeffery Jones plays an excellent role, further showing off the actor's versatility. What the film lacked in plot, it made up for in originality. The highlight of the film is a cartoon segment done by the legendary Chuck Jones, parodying the Tom and Jerry clichés we all grew up with. All in all, a funny if not cheesy film, definitely worth watching.
Did you know
- TriviaWhen sending away for something from ACME as a cartoon mouse, the envelope Roy mails has a stamp featuring a likeness of Chuck Jones, who supervised the animation sequence in the film.
- GoofsWhen Darryl is about to be sucked in to the satellite, a pair of hands is visible, holding him in the air.
- Quotes
[as cartoon mice]
Roy Knable: Boy, this is strange!
Helen Knable: Strange? I'm an animated rodent wearing high-heel running shoes. The word "strange" is somehow lacking.
- Crazy creditsDuring the end credits, the HVTV Fall Lineup is shown, including:
- I Love Lucifer
- The Golden Ghouls
- Murder She Likes
- David Dukes of Hazard
- Facts of Life Support
- Beverly Hills, 90666
- Fresh Prince of Darkness
- Unmarried with Children
- ConnectionsFeatured in True Romance (1993)
- How long is Stay Tuned?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $25,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $10,736,401
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,532,540
- Aug 16, 1992
- Gross worldwide
- $10,736,401
- Runtime
- 1h 28m(88 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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