Switching Channels (1988)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Ted Kotcheff

Writers:

Ben Hecht (play) and
Charles MacArthur (play) ...

Release Date:

4 March 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Tonight's News. Romance. Scandal. Intrigue. And that's just behind the camera!

Plot:

A television news chief courts his anchorwoman ex-wife with an eleventh-hour story.

Plot Keywords:

Television | Marriage | Remake | Television News | Prison

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Kathleen Turner	...	Christy Colleran
Burt Reynolds	...	John L. Sullivan IV
Christopher Reeve	...	Blaine Bingham
Ned Beatty	...	Roy Ridnitz
Henry Gibson	...	Ike Roscoe
George Newbern	...	Siegenthaler
Al Waxman	...	Berger
Ken James	...	Warden Terwilliger
Barry Flatman	...	Zaks
Ted Simonett	...	Tillinger
Anthony Sherwood	...	Carvalho
Joe Silver	...	Mordsini
Charles Kimbrough	...	The Governor
Monica Parker	...	Jessica
Allan Royal	...	Obregon

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | Norway:11 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Switching Channels Inc.

Trivia:

The copy that Mordesini wants to photocopy (and is charged 25 cents for) is a page of the script.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Christie is in Sully's office trying to quit, Sully has his shirt tucked in, when he sits down, his shirt is hanging out with no wrinkles. After he stands up again, he tucks his shirt in.

Quotes:

Blaine Bingham: Did you really sign a reporter's contract "Peter Rabbit?"
John L. Sullivan IV: Yes.
Blaine Bingham: What did the reporter do?
John L. Sullivan IV: Christy? She laughed her ass off.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Front Page (1974)

Very funny

Updating of "The Front Page" to 1988. Star reporter Christy (Kathleen Turner) on the Satellite Network News is burnt out. She takes a vacation and meets big, hunky, rich Blaine (Christopher Reeve) and falls in love (only in movies...). She plans to leave work to marry Blaine, but her ex-husband and boss Sully (Burt Reynolds) is unwilling to let her go and tries to sabotage their plans any way he can.

Not as good as 1940s "His Girl Friday" but not as bad as the 1970s "The Front Page"--it really does work. It's quick, loud and never stops moving (especially at the end). It also helps that the entire cast is in full throttle--Turner, Reeve and Reynolds are relaxed, eager and full of energy--they really put across the movie. Turner and Reynolds especially are surprising--who knew they could do comedy? And Reeve kids his goody two-shoes image and his Superman character (he's afraid of heights in this one). Also Ned Beatty has quite a few funny moments as a slimy politician.

The updating from the newspaper world to cable TV occasionally doesn't work and there are some really contrived situations here and there but not enough to destroy the movie. Also quite dated--get a look at those HUGE cordless phones! Still I enjoyed this film a lot.

A bomb (sadly) in its day--this deserves rediscovery.