While waiting for the movie to start, I overheard a man sitting nearby tell his female companion, “I hope Howard has a $40,000,000 opening weekend and just blows every other movie away.” Howard Stern’s fans are loyal and willing to support his every move. Now, Howard wants to try his hand at movies. Although, the movie didn’t come close to $40,000,000 this weekend, it did win at the box office. It proves that the “King of All Media” may not be an inappropriate monicker for Stern.
For everyone that wonders how Howard Stern became the most popular DJ in America, this movie will tell you. And, believe it or not, it’s not anywhere as offensive or low-brow as you might expect. It portrays Howard Stern as completely misunderstood, monogamous man who decided he was going to “go all the way” with his radio show. That’s the basis of the movie’s plot, such as it is.
The movie follows Howard from his first inklings of wanting to be a radio personality, through college, his marriage and then his attempts to gain a foothold in the radio industry. It’s quite amusing to see Howard’s various phases and different looks. At one point, when Howard himself looks too old to be on campus as a freshman, he looks at the camera and says, “Hey, it’s a movie, you’ve got to be willing to suspend your disbelief a little” and he’s right.
I don’t believe the movie is intended to be a completely accurate portrayal of the man’s life, but it does succeed in the two things it sets out to do: Explain why Howard is so popular and why he does what he does. Howard doesn’t feel complete if he’s just giving the time and temperature four times an hour or if he can only talk between the songs. He feels compelled to say whatever’s on his mind or he’s just not comfortable doing what he’s doing. Fans tune in to hear what he’ll say next. His detractors do the same.
Speaking as a Howard Stern fan, I found the movie to be amusing and enjoyed its pokes at the stereotypical stodgy broadcasting types. Admittedly, though, there’s not much of a story here and the movie relies heavily on the audience’s acceptance of Howard’s clan of personalities like Robin Quivers, Fred Norris and Jackie “The Joke Man” Martling to move things along. If one’s not familiar with these characters, I’m sure it would all seem a bit odd.
Howard Stern, the actor, is very good at playing himself. Other than Mary McCormack, as Alison Stern, there are no real knockout performances in the movie. Everyone seems to be having a good time on screen though. Director Betty Thomas, responsible for last year’s The Late Shift and 1995’s The Brady Bunch Movie, may have seemed like an odd choice to work with Howard’s band of crazies, but it looks like a gamble that paid off.
Frankly, this is one of movies that if you admit to enjoying, people are going to think you liked it for all the wrong reasons. I enjoyed it and think that, as long as you know what you’re in for, you’ll enjoy it too. It’s not a family movie, but it is not about a wild, perverted maniac either. It’s a movie about a man who’s driven by his need for acceptance in what he does. Whether or not that’s an accurate portrayal of the real Howard Stern, I don’t know. What’s presented in this movie, however, is worth seeing.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
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