FM is the type of movie you discover in the afterhours graveyard
of a cable channel when you suffer from insomnia at 3 a.m. It’s amusing when
you’re sleep-deprived, but doesn’t pack the same punch when you’re wide awake.
This quirky 1978 comedy is set in the
offices of fictional L.A. radio station Q-SKY. The station’s program director
Jeff Dugan (played by Michael Brandon) oversees a bunch of wacky, Morning Zoo type radio personalities
and battles with unhip station management.
The kooky DJ characters include Martin Mull as free-spirited
DJ Eric Swan, who cavorts with groupies
and suffers for his art, Eileen Brennan as Mother, the husky-voiced nighttime DJ,
Cleavon Little as the hip Venus Flytrap
clone, “The Prince of Darkness” and ex-footballer Alex Karras as the low-rated
midday DJ. These zany personalities and their
subplots, along with the ‘70s time capsule music soundtrack, give the film its
appeal. Kids who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s will relate to the quirky DJs
and their loyal fans. Every city had a radio station like Q-SKY in the '70s and '80s.
FM plays like the
feature film version of WKRP in
Cincinnati, except that clueless owner
Mr. Carlson and plaid-suited Herb Tarlek have been replaced by a front
office with a profits before music agenda. The film’s serious main plot is that
old evergreen – big business versus creative peons. The evil owner and sales
guy want the DJs to play pro-military commercials and other conservative
nonsense. The DJs stage a strike/sit-in and commandeer the station, refusing to
give in until the cops come to bash down the doors with a tow truck. The DJs
dedication impresses the station owner, and in fairy tale fashion, all is
forgiven and the DJs are allowed to run Q-SKY their way.
Unlike the film, the FM soundtrack is easily accessible online, and it mimics what was played on the more laidback FM stations
of the time. The soundtrack - and the
film itself- make it seem like the Stones, David Bowie and Aerosmith didn't exist in the late ‘70s, much less the Sex Pistols, the Dammed and Iggy Pop. Save for Queen’s
We Will Rock You and Steely Dan’s
title track, it’s all snooze-inducing mainstream rock that was even at the saturation point by
the time the film was released, like the Doobie Brothers, Outlaws, Linda
Ronstadt and Foreigner.
An amusing film with a lite retro look at the radio biz, FM
may bring back pleasant memories of drinking Boone's Farm wine and smoking pot
in the school bleachers for the 45 and over crowd. Anchor Bay released a DVD
version in 2000, and it has since been discontinued.
WLUP "The Loop" was Chicago's version of the radio station in "FM". Here is their infamous TV commercial.
