'90s Class?: Stay Tuned (1992)

 A Film about TV obsession- that's not a problem anymore!  This is Stay Tuned, a 1992 Horror-Comedy about, well, that thing I just said.  The Plot involves some people getting sucked into their TV due to some evil magic.  I'll get into the why, but, sufficed to say, it's weird.  We have John Ritter and Pam Dawber as the unlucky Couple, so that's some notable TV Credits right there.  I think it's probably a coincidence that they were Cast though, so no points there.  We also have Eugene Levy, which is good, and Jeffrey Jones, which is...awkward.  On the plus side, the Casting isn't reversed, so we're not 'cheering' for Jones throughout this.  The Film really leans into the Topical Humor, so I'm curious how much of it still works.  Alot of is so broadly-silly that it probably has no issue.  That said, a Thirtysomething Parody isn't exactly fresh-feeling in 2021, now is it?  Is this a Film that still holds up after almost 30 years?  Is it a Film that's mostly a time capsule for TV/Film jokes?  To find out, read on...

A random Family- the Neighbors- get a new TV from a shady man- Jones, playing to type.

We eventually get a tease of their dark fate, with a payoff to be seen later.

They move to our Heroes' House next, which raises all sorts of questions about how nobody seems to notice.  Do they pick like 3 Houses and then switch Cities or something?

Regardless, we need the Character Backstory to explain how things play out in, well, TV Land...

John is unhappy with his success and retreats to TV.  He also randomly owns a pair of fencing swords!

Pam is successful, but unhappy with how distant he is.

The kids are, well, kids.  The Son plays with electronics, while the Daughter...has friends.

The Villain is Jones, of course, who works for the Devil.

The new plan to collect Souls is to 1) get them to take a new TV deal  2) trap them in the programming  3) kill them while in said programming.

As a concession to the folks in Heaven (who otherwise aren't mentioned or seen), they only have 24 hours.  That's...fair?

The duo end up in a bunch of TV/Film Parodies along the way.

We also get random 'Commercials' which include the aforementioned Thirtysomething Parody (which is Thirtysomething For Life, which has sensitive Men in Prison picking out paint colors for their Cell) and one lazy one called 'Northern Overexposure.' 
That one literally just explains the Plot of Northern Exposure, only the joke is that he died from the cold.

Ha.

Speaking of bits that date the Film, we get a surprisingly-long Wayne's World Parody.

They barely disguise it at all, which says something about how they feel about the audience.

That was...odd.

On the flip-side, there's an extended bit involving Animation that was mostly-inspired by Warner Bros, but also quite a bit by Who Framed Roger Rabbit? too.

It's fun, vibrant and really makes use of the 'anything goes' format.

Since I'm all about that shameless Cross-Promotion, I should also mention that there's a Professional Wrestling bit.

The lady is, as far as I can tell, not a famous Pro-Wrestler, but the guy is The One Man Gang.  

We haven't had him on Let's Go To The Ring, yet, have we?

The climax involves a bit of silliness and alot of 'here are all of the bits we didn't use yet.'

Pam is freed, thanks to help from the Son in the real World.  

Jones pursues John directly, leading to bits like the Star Trek: TNG Parody below.

Weirdly, she ends up BACK in things to be rescued by Ritter, after he manages to escape the ultimate peril: A Salt & Pepa Music Video?!?

For a Film rife with creativity, this bit is...kind of disappointing.  Oh well.

A fun and frivolous Film that tries to act like it has a big message.  To be fair, it's not like they do a bad job of it.  That said, the whole 'don't watch too much TV' thing is diluted a bit when you consider that the only reason they survive is due to his knowledge gained from, wait for it, watching too much TV.  He needs to be good at Fencing randomly for the climax.  Would he be fencing in his Living Room if he wasn't watching Errol Flynn Movies?  Granted- he might not agree to the new TV if he didn't also watch too much TV.  The message in a Film that's otherwise this silly should be easier to digest, I guess is my point.  With that in mind, there's still alot of fun to be had here.  For every groan-worthy joke/parody, there's one or two that deliver.  Like I said, the worst complaint I can give is that they seem to have picked the worst way to end the Film.  Was the Star Trek Parody, for instance, a worse way to do it?  The Salt & Pepa thing, while fun, seems like a letdown.  The humor balance is all over the place, from the really good bits to some randomly-dark humor.  One of them shows two old men on a couch.  One of them suddenly says that he's gone blind, while the other can't feel his right side.  As they fall over, you get the title- Different Strokes.  So...yeah, it's hit or miss.  Any final thoughts, Mr. Ritter?

Next up, I delve into the DVD pile for some Halloween-time fare.  What horrors will I unleash (upon myself)?  Stay tuned...