FM (1978) / Comedy-Drama

MPAA Rated: PG for language
Running Time: 104 min.

Cast: Michael Brandon, Eileen Brennan, Martin Mull, Cleavon Little
Director: John A. Alonzo
Screenplay: Ezra Sacks
Review published March 3, 1998

The key to the #1 radio station in LAs success is playing music people love and want to hear and it's cast of eccentric DJs. The higher ups get a whiff of the station's success and now get their noses in, wanting to increase the advertising and put the music on the back-burner a bit.

FM works better as a feel of the late 70s musically, and the battles between music as an art form and the gross commercialization which would eventually take over the airwaves in the 80s. Using the radio as the battlefield, this art vs. commercialization probably would have worked better had the film not spent so much time in kooky subplots and concert performances. The film has the backbone of a jellyfish, never seeming to know which direction to go or what kind of movie it wants to be, yet it still maintains a watchability due to some good music and likeable actors. FM will most likely appeal to 70s nostalgia buffs than anyone else, and as a peek into that crazy decade, it's a recommended time capsule piece.

Qwipster's rating:

©1998 Vince Leo