If you liked 1982's MY FAVORITE YEAR, you'll probably enjoy this silly romp into the world of radio, in the late 1930s when radio was king. A radio station run by "General" Ned Beatty is trying to establish itself as the fourth national network, but its efforts are being thwarted by an unseen killer who is knocking off station personnel in fairly rapid succession. Brian BenBen is the hero of this Woody Allen-ish piece, a writer for the station who becomes a suspect in the killings. Mary Stuart Masterson is a rising radio exec and BenBen's soon-to-be ex-wife. A ton of familiar faces dot the landscape, including good old George Burns, and if you know your character actors well enough, you'll quickly figure out the killer's identity. The film moves at a relatively frantic pace and veers toward the satirical, and you can figures out what popular radio performers of the time are being lovingly mocked, including Frank Sinatra, Cab Calloway and the Andrews or McGuire Sisters (I wasn't sure which). Michael McKean and orchestra do an uncanny Spike Jones imitation. The film does not have the brilliance of MY FAVORITE YEAR, however, and feels sort of empty despite all the junks going on.
Review of Radioland Murders
