Meet Wally Sparks

Meet Wally Sparks
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Peter Baldwin
Produced by Leslie Greif
Written by
Starring
Music by Michel Colombier
Cinematography Richard H. Kline
Edited by Raúl Dávalos
Production
company
Distributed by Trimark Pictures
Release date
  • January 31, 1997 (1997-01-31)
Running time
 105 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Box office $4.1 million[1]

Meet Wally Sparks is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Peter Baldwin, written by Harry Basil and Rodney Dangerfield. It stars Dangerfield in the title role, with Debi Mazar, Michael Weatherly, Cindy Williams, Alan Rachins, Burt Reynolds and David Ogden Stiers costarring.

Plot

Wally Sparks (Rodney Dangerfield) is the host of a sleazy tabloid-style TV talk show who makes Jerry Springer seem gentle by comparison. His show has become so foul that he's alienated his not-especially-discriminating viewers, and his ratings are taking a nosedive.

Lenny Spencer (Burt Reynolds), head of the network carrying his show, gives Wally an ultimatum—he has a week to clean up the content and boost his ratings, or his show gets cancelled.

Wally's producer, Sandy Gallo (Debi Mazar), comes up with an idea—Floyd Preston (David Ogden Stiers) is the governor of Georgia and a staunch conservative known for his attacks on the lowbrow content of Wally's show, so what better way to demonstrate that Wally is trying to change his ways than to have Preston on the show as a guest?

In order to persuade Preston to appear, Wally attends a reception at the Governor's Mansion, where he makes the mistake of participating in a drunken game of strip poker with Preston's wife, Emily (Cindy Williams), while somehow involving himself in a plot to blackmail the Governor. Further complications ensue when Wally's son, Dean, begins a romantic relationship with the Governor's daughter.

Cast

Michael Bolton, Jay Leno, Geraldo Rivera, Roseanne, Jerry Springer, Morton Downey, Jr., Sally Jessy Raphael, Alana Stewart, Rolonda Watts, John Henson, Tim Allen, Richard Bey, and George Hamilton appear as themselves.

Release

Box office

Meet Wally Sparks opened in 1,552 venues on January 31, 1997 and ranked number 13 in the domestic box office in its opening weekend, earning $2,131,001.[2] At the end of its run, the film grossed $4,073,582.[1]

Critical reception

The film received largely negative reviews from critics. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 14% of 14 reviews gave the film a positive review.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 "Meet Wally Sparks (1997)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for January 31-February 2, 1997". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. February 3, 1997. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Meet Wally Sparks". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
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