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''Switching Channels'' is a 1988 American
comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
that is a cable television newsroom-based retelling of newspaper-based 1928 play '' The Front Page'', the 1931 film of the same name, and the 1940 film ''
His Girl Friday ''His Girl Friday'' is a 1940 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell and featuring Ralph Bellamy and Gene Lockhart. It was released by Columbia Pictures. The plot centers on a newspaper ...
''. It stars
Kathleen Turner Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. Known for her distinctive deep husky voice, she is the recipient of two Golden Globes, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy, and two Tony Awards. After debuting ...
as Christy Colleran,
Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...
as John L. Sullivan IV,
Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, activist, director, and author. He amassed Christopher Reeve on stage and screen, several stage and screen credits in his 34-year career, including playin ...
as Blaine Bingham,
Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 film and television roles. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest ac ...
as Roy Ridnitz,
Henry Gibson James Bateman (September 21, 1935 – September 14, 2009), known professionally as Henry Gibson, was an American actor, comedian and poet. He played roles in the television sketch-comedy series ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 to 1971, w ...
as Ike Roscoe, and George Newbern as Sigenthaler. The film was notorious for its harsh infighting between Reynolds and Turner during filming. The film was a box office failure and received mixed reviews from critics. It is available on DVD in
Regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
2 and 4. It is also available as a burn-on-demand DVD-R in Region 1.


Plot

John L. "Sully" Sullivan, IV, is the news director of Satellite News Network (SNN), a Chicago-based TV cable news station. Christy Colleran, his best reporter and ex-wife, goes on vacation, where she falls in love with Blaine Bingham, the owner of a sporting goods company. Christy returns to Chicago with Blaine and meets with Sully, who orders her to attend the execution of convicted murderer Ike Roscoe. Christy announces she is quitting the TV station and marrying Blaine the day after tomorrow in New York City. Not wanting to let Christy leave him, Sully orders his junior reporter Siegenthaler to buy up all available transportation tickets out of town. During lunch with Christy and Blaine, Sully explains that Roscoe is in prison for killing his son's drug dealer, not realizing that the dealer was an undercover cop. The execution has become a political issue, related to the Democratic primary contest between the Governor and Roy Ridnitz, the State's District Attorney. Blaine manages to purchase some train tickets to New York. Sully, who has discovered Blaine is afraid of heights, tells Siegenthaler to lure Blaine to a skyscraper. After getting on the glass elevator with Siegenthaler, Blaine has a crippling anxiety attack as the elevator rises and presses on the emergency stop button, trapping both of them there. After the interview with Roscoe, Christy rushes to the building and saves the two men. The Governor is inundated with calls from citizens asking him to pardon Ike Roscoe. He decides to issue a pardon during the 11:00 pm news. Ridnitz orders the execution moved up to 10:00 pm and invites the media to televise it live. As Ike is strapped into the chair, a power surge occurs and he escapes. Christy sees Ike escaping while riding in a limousine with Blaine on her way out of town. She gets out and tells Blaine she will meet him at the train station. After catching up to Ike, Christy tells him to go to the second floor courthouse press room. Christy telephones Sully from the press room and tells him she found Ike. After she hangs up, Ike hides inside the press room photo copier as other reporters arrive. Ridnitz appears with armed police and announces that Ike was seen on the third floor. After a series of comic escapades, Christy stalls Ridnitz long enough for Ike's pardon to come through. Christy turns on a news camera and tricks Ridnitz into confessing that he wanted Ike executed in order to win the election. Sully hands the tape over to Siegenthaler and tells him to run the story. Blaine graciously steps out of Christy's life, saying that her true loves are the news and Sully. Sully and Christy go to Hawaii for their second honeymoon.


Cast

*
Kathleen Turner Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. Known for her distinctive deep husky voice, she is the recipient of two Golden Globes, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy, and two Tony Awards. After debuting ...
as Christy Colleran *
Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...
as John L. "Sully" Sullivan IV *
Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, activist, director, and author. He amassed Christopher Reeve on stage and screen, several stage and screen credits in his 34-year career, including playin ...
as Blaine Bingham *
Ned Beatty Ned Thomas Beatty (July 6, 1937 – June 13, 2021) was an American actor. In a career that spanned five decades, he appeared in more than 160 film and television roles. Throughout his career, Beatty gained a reputation for being "the busiest ac ...
as Roy Ridnitz *
Henry Gibson James Bateman (September 21, 1935 – September 14, 2009), known professionally as Henry Gibson, was an American actor, comedian and poet. He played roles in the television sketch-comedy series ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 to 1971, w ...
as Ike Roscoe * George Newbern as Siegenthaler * Arlene Mazerolle as Hotel Recepitionist Filmed primarily in Canada with a Canadian director (
Ted Kotcheff William Theodore Kotcheff (; April 7, 1931 – April 10, 2025) was a CanadianUS Director Ted Kotcheff Granted Bulgarian Citizenship. Bulgarian Justice Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva on Friday granted citizenship to Ted Kotcheff, a US director bor ...
), ''Switching Channels'' features many popular Canadian character actors in supporting roles: Al Waxman as Berger, the station manager, Ken James as Warden Terwilliger, Barry Flatman and Anthony Sherwood as television reporters Zaks and Carvalho, Joe Silver as newswriter Mordsini, Tony Rosato, Jackie Richardson, Philip Akin, Laura Robinson, Fiona Reid and Jack Duffy. It also co-stars
Charles Kimbrough Charles Mayberry Kimbrough (May 23, 1936 – January 11, 2023) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the straight-faced anchorman Jim Dial on ''Murphy Brown''. In 1990, his performance in the role earned him a nomination for ...
as the hapless Governor.


Production

The male lead was meant to be played by
Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...
but he was delayed filming '' Jaws: The Revenge''.
Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...
was cast instead. Reynolds recalled:
I wasn't doing anything other than sitting around mulling over the lint in my belly button... I've always been a great fan of Ted Kotcheff - I really liked ''North Dallas Forty'' - and I loved the period of films, the thirties and the forties, ''The Front Page'' comes out of. I hope Cary Grant, whom I knew and admired, won't be whirling in his grave over what we've done. But we're keeping it fast and talky: some scenes are eight pages of dialogue.REYNOLDS RAP Scott, Jay. The Globe and Mail27 June 1987: E.1.


Turner-Reynolds Feuding

Kathleen Turner and Burt Reynolds had a very strained working relationship on set, and both have commented negatively on one another in years since. In 2018, Kathleen Turner said the following of her experience working with Burt Reynolds on ''Switching Channels'': In March 2018, when he was asked by
Andy Cohen Andrew Joseph Cohen (born June 2, 1968) is an American radio and television talk show host, producer, and writer. He is the host and executive producer of ''The Real Housewives'' Multimedia franchise, franchise and Bravo (American TV network), B ...
who the most overrated actor of the 1970s and 1980s was, Reynolds cited Turner.


Reception


Critical response

'' Siskel & Ebert'' gave ''Switching Channels'' mixed results: Ebert was positive about the film and liked how the film did overall; however, Siskel expressed strong disappointment in the film and gave ''Switching Channels'' a thumbs down.
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
currently lists ''Switching Channels'' with a 60% rating based on 15 reviews. Reeve, who played against type as the hapless fiancé, later expressed regret in making the film, believing he "made a fool of himself" and that he had taken the project as a distraction from depression following a breakup. He also reportedly had to act as "referee", as costars Turner and Reynolds feuded with each other during filming. According to his autobiography ''
Still Me ''Still Me'' is a 1998 autobiography by American actor Christopher Reeve. The book tells of Reeve's experiences of making the ''Superman'' films and about his horseback riding accident which resulted in his quadriplegia and its effects on his li ...
'', one of the main reasons he took the role was because
Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...
was originally lined up to play Sullivan, and he had enjoyed working with Caine six years earlier in '' Deathtrap''. Another scene Reeve was in disfavor of was his character suffering acrophobia by showing fear when in a scenic glass elevator, a likely spoof of Reeve's best known role as
Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...
. The film was nominated for two
Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic failures. Co-founded by University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John ...
s: Burt Reynolds was nominated for Worst Actor and Christopher Reeve for Worst Supporting Actor. However, they respectively "lost" to
Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...
for '' Rambo III'' and
Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...
for '' Caddyshack II''.


References


External links

* * * {{The Front Page 1980s American films 1980s English-language films 1988 comedy films 1988 films American comedy films American films based on plays Comedy of remarriage films Films about journalists Films about television Films directed by Ted Kotcheff Films scored by Michel Legrand Films set in Chicago Films shot in Chicago Films shot in Miami Films shot in Montreal Films shot in Toronto Films with screenplays by Jonathan Reynolds (writer) Remakes of American films TriStar Pictures films Films set in television stations