''The Ratings Game'' is a 1984 comedy

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him a Gold ...

and produced by David Jablin. The Showtime comedy stars DeVito and

Rhea Perlman Rhea Jo Perlman (born March 31, 1948) is an American actress. She played head-waitress Carla Tortelli in the sitcom '' Cheers'' (1982–1993). Over the course of 11 seasons, Perlman was nominated for ten Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting ...

, and features

Huntz Hall Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall (August 15, 1920 – January 30, 1999) was an American radio, stage, and movie performer who appeared in the popular " Dead End Kids" movies, including ''Angels with Dirty Faces'' (1938), and in the later " Bowery ...

, Michael Richards,

George Wendt George Robert Wendt Jr. (born October 17, 1948) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Norm Peterson on the television sitcom '' Cheers'' (1982–1993), which earned him six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Em ...

and Jerry Seinfeld.

Plot

Vic DeSalvo and his brother Goody are successful

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

trucking magnates, but Vic has a desire to make it big as a Hollywood producer. He hawks his scripts and ideas from one network executive to another, but he is turned down at each attempt. Finally, he meets an executive at a second-rate company who has just been fired for promoting a show that attracted zero viewers. To avenge himself, he accepts Vic's script and arranges for a pilot episode of ''Sittin' Pretty'', to be filmed. The resultant episode is abysmally awful, both in acting and story, but Vic is only inspired to greater heights. The director and star actor walk out and Vic decides to act as well as write and direct. He throws a huge party to make himself known to "le tout Hollywood", but no one comes, except Francine, a statistician at a ratings agency. They fall in love. When Francine is passed over for a promotion by her philandering and incompetent boss, she reveals to Vic how the ratings system can be bypassed and results fixed by setting up confederates in Nielsen-ratings households to skew the results. They conspire to run a scam that will make Vic's program the most-watched on television. The scam works and Vic is voted the best new actor at a grand awards ceremony, showing that many viewers (in addition to the confederates) watched his shows. But the agency has now discovered the scam, and as soon as Vic has accepted his award, he is arrested by the police. Francine and Vic are married in jail.

Cast

as Vic DeSalvo *

as Francine Kester *

Gerrit Graham Gerrit Graham (born November 27, 1949) is an American stage, television, and film actor as well as a scriptwriter and songwriter. He is best known for his appearances in multiple films by Brian De Palma as well as appearances in two '' Star Trek' ...

as Parker Braithwaite *

as Benny Bentson *

Barry Corbin Leonard Barrie Corbin (born October 16, 1940) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Maurice Minnifield on the television series '' Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), which earned him two consecutive Primetime Emmy Awar ...

as The Colonel *

Louis Giambalvo Louis Giambalvo (born February 8, 1945) is an American actor, frequently seen on television in guest roles. Early life and education Giambalvo was born and raised in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, where he attended Ca ...

as "Goody" DeSalvo *

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as House Majority Leader under spea ...

as Wes Vandergelder *

Basil Hoffman Basil Harry Hoffman (January 18, 1938 – September 17, 2021) was an American actor with a film and television career spanning five decades, mostly in supporting roles. He starred in films with many award-winning directors, including Alan Paku ...

as Frank Friedlander * Michael Richards as Sal *

Vincent Schiavelli Vincent Andrew Schiavelli (; November 11, 1948 – December 26, 2005) was an American character actor noted for his work on stage, screen, and television. Described as an "instantly recognizable sad-faced actor", he was diagnosed with Marfan s ...

as Skip *

as Mr. Sweeney *

Jason Hervey Jason Robert Hervey (born April 6, 1972) is an American actor and television producer. He is best known for his role as Wayne Arnold on ''The Wonder Years''. Early life and acting Hervey was born in Los Angeles, the son of Marsha, a talent agent, ...

as Todd Sweeney *

Ron Rifkin Ron Rifkin (born Saul M. Rifkin; October 31, 1939) is an American actor best known for his roles as Arvin Sloane on the spy drama '' Alias'', Saul Holden on the drama '' Brothers & Sisters'', and District Attorney Ellis Loew in '' L.A. Confiden ...

as TV Director * Jerry Seinfeld as Network Rep *

Jayne Meadows Jayne Meadows (born Jane Cotter; September 27, 1919 – April 26, 2015), also known as Jayne Meadows Allen, was an American stage, film and television actress, as well as an author and lecturer. She was nominated for three Emmy Awards duri ...

as herself *

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

as himself *

Allyce Beasley Allyce Beasley ( Tannenberg) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as rhyming, love-struck receptionist Agnes DiPesto in the television series ''Moonlighting''. From 2001 to 2007, she was the announcer on Playhouse Disney, a mor ...

as Paisan Receptionist *

Selma Diamond Selma Diamond (August 5, 1920 – May 13, 1985) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actress, and radio and television writer, known for her high-range, raspy voice and her portrayal of Selma Hacker on the first two seasons of the NBC televisio ...

as Francine's Mother

Production

''The Ratings Game'' was the first original movie financed by Showtime. The feature also marks Danny DeVito's film directing debut. The film garnered a WGA Award for Best Original TV Comedy Movie, and an International TV Movie Festival Award for Best Comedy. Writers Michael Barrie and Jim Mulholland also won a Writers Guild Award for their script. Jerry Seinfeld makes an early appearance in the cast of the film (his future ''Seinfeld'' co-star Michael Richards also appeared alongside him).

Home media

''The Ratings Game'' was issued on VHS and Laserdisc by

Paramount Home Video Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...

.VHS and Laserdisc packaging On July 19, 2016, Olive Films, a boutique distributor of classic and independent films, released ''The Ratings Game'' on DVD and Blu-Ray. It is a premium packaged "Special Edition" that has been restored in full HD from the one print in existence. The discs also include as extras the four short films directed by Danny DeVito prior to making his feature directing debut with ''The Ratings Game''. Other special features include a behind-the-scenes featurette, the original trailer and some deleted scenes. It also includes a 28-page collectors booklet with detailed liner notes and art from the film. A poor-quality bootleg version of this film has been widely distributed as ''The Mogul''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ratings Game, The 1984 comedy films 1984 television films 1984 films Films about television Films directed by Danny DeVito American comedy television films Showtime (TV network) films 1980s American films