tvspace
FM is kind of silly and broad... the characters are two-dimensional weirdos out of a TV sitcom, and the plot feels paint-by-numbers. Despite this, the movie is quite charming and for me, poignant, because it manages to capture something about the now-departed era when rock music and FM radio were a cultural force to be reckoned with. In a time when music listeners are far more likely to be isolated in their iPod headphones, it's somewhat painful to realize what has been lost in music in terms of the communal listening experience that a locally-run, idiosyncratic radio station provided. When the plot briefly passes through the Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard --- now as lost to the ages as the library at Alexandria --- you are confronted with the fact that the entire culture of rock n' roll that many of us grew up with at the center of our lives -- radio, record stores, and arena concerts -- is essentially a thing of the past. Even though this isn't a great movie, it does a great job of taking you back in time to that era.The soundtrack is pretty middle of the road, but it's good to hear songs that the years have ground into mush briefly re-contextualized into their natural habitat. I can't think of a better way to hear a lot of late 70's radio fodder ("Baby Come Back"; Billy Joel) than within the confines of this movie.
memery-1
In some ways, this films seems to be a blueprint for the sit-come "WKRP," but it's just not quite as good. For one, the music selected for the soundtrack (save of course for the great Steely Dan title track) is middle of the road white man's rock...Ronstadt, Buffett, etc. While the audience is supposed to cheer for the charismatic jocks as they fight the "man," it's hard not to roll one's eyes at the script. Eileen Brennan plays Mother, a burnt out jock who wants to see what life is like when she's not on an "ego trip for five hours a night". Give me a break. Like DJing at the hottest L.A. station is such a grind! Then, the Ronstadt concert is broadcast live on the air at the last minute!!! Logistically and legally, this is impossible. The message is not to sell out, which isn't a bad statement. When you consider the alternatives, however, how can one NOT sell out? What harm would come of running a few lame commercials as opposed to losing a job playing rock n' roll? As mentioned, the only positive thing about FM is that probably had a hand in spawning "WKRP" (the Dugan and Prince of Darkness characters are pretty much carbon copies of Andy Travis and Venus Fly Trap).
zekemike
I was in radio in the area the movie took place in the late 1970's, most of my friends felt the movie was molded after 94.7 KMET, "The Mighty Met" which at the time was king, with KLOS always nipping at their heels. Sadly, corporate money won out, the MET went "NEW AGE" and KLOS survived. Remember Paraquat, Ace "Space" Young, "The Gonzer" and Jim Ladd to mention a few Met Cats! None of us even thought about "WKRP in Cincinnatti" as a off shoot to "FM" although it was a great show. Myself and many others worked at a station much like "WKRP" at one time or another! "FM" was excellent and reflected a wild time in radio, when there was some pretty weird music out there and some great ones too!
Paul G. Gardner II
If you lived in Los Angeles during the 60's and 70's, you'll definitely understand and relate to this wonderful "un-official" send-up of what happened to shut down real rock 'n roll at radio station KMET-FM, the last surviving "underground" FM radio station of the 70's.Conglomerate KLOS-FM and independent KMET-FM were in a ratings and cultural battle that pushed the envelope of radio decency and the right to free speech unlike no other.The radio personalities: B. Mitchell Reid, Mary "Mounds" Turner, etc.Situations like "Champagne PayDays" where the DJ's would drink while spinning records, as well as "suspected" pot-smoking while on-the-air, along with playing as few commercials as possible, helped to bring down the station at the middle of the seventies. If you were there and want to reminisce, or, if you wanna see what it was like during a time when 'the people' REALLY controlled the airwaves, FM is the movie for you.Plus... you can't beat the music and the performances by artists and stars of the era.IF YOU LIKE ROCK 'N ROLL and YOU BELIEVE THAT IT WILL LIVE ON FOREVER, then, "FM" IS THE MOVIE FOR YOU!
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