FM / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: JOHN A ALONZO / SCREENPLAY: EZRA SACKS / STARRING: MICHAEL BRANDON, EILEEN BRENNAN, ALEX KARRAS, CLEAVON LITTLE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Released in 1978 as punk was threatening to kill off the soft rock dinosaurs of the 1970s, FM inhabits a world where punk may as well not exist. That’s not to say that the world of this AOR radio station is in any way fantastic, more that punk didn’t quite make the in-roads that musical historians might have you believe. No, the world of Los Angeles’ finest, Q-SKY, and its cast of eccentric DJs, is very typical of the musical world of 1978, and the film is all the better for that.
The basic story behind FM is a familiar, comfortable one; a popular radio station is pressured by its corporate owners to compromise on its programming, leading to a revolt by its staff and fans. The spectre of The Man loomed large over all popular culture after the counter-culture revolution of the 1960s, and while Q-SKY specialises in the largely risk-free soft rock of the era, that corporate interference will always rankle with creative types.
The battle is set, then, between Q-SKY’s lead programmer and star DJ, Jeff Dugan (ably played by Dempsey & Makepiece’s Michael Brandon), and the regional sales manager sent to increase the station’s revenues by running hokey ads for the military. Waiting in the wings is Jeff’s counterpart at rival station KLAX, who is all too willing to take the corporate dollar…
FM’s core strength is in its ensemble cast, with Martin Mull making his debut as the womanising Eric Swann (who does a “Tony Blackburn” years before the British DJ ever did) and M*A*S*H’s Eilenn Brennan as Mother, a veteran late night record-spinner, a particular delight. Brandon’s Dugan is a likeable lead, and carries the movie’s inertia well; by the end of the first reel, you’re rooting for him to keep Q-SKY the way it is, and the way its listeners like it.
FM was not terribly well-received when it was released, with poor reviews across the board, but time has been kind and there’s a certain comfort in retreating to the much simpler times FM depicts. There was also criticism for its soundtrack, but for fans of soft rock and AOR (album-oriented rock), and the genre which has recently been christened “yacht rock”, it’s a delight, with live performances from Jimmy Buffet, Linda Ronstadt, and REO Speedwagon as well as copious amounts of Steely Dan, Eagles, Boston, Foreigner and Tom Petty, who also makes a cameo in the movie. The Arrow Blu-ray release comes with a good slice of extras, and of most value to fans of the music is a journey through the film’s soundtrack with music critic Glenn Kenny.
There was nothing groundbreaking about FM when it was released, and there’s nothing life-changing about it now. What it is, is 104 minutes of comedy and pathos, and sticking it to The Man. For fans of the music featured, and fans of movies of its particular type (Roller Boogie, anyone?), it’s a treat, and God knows we all need one of those every now and then.
Extras: No Static At All, a newly filmed interview with Michael Brandon; Radio Chaos, a newly filmed interview with screenwriter Ezra Sacks; The Spirit of Radio, a newly filmed video appreciation of the FM soundtrack by film and music critic Glenn Kenny; image gallery; original trailers; reversible sleeve
