Private Parts
The meteoric rise to fame that Howard Stern went through to become one of THE most popular figures in the history of modern pop culture (or as he calls it, The King Of All Media) was one built on a wave of pure anti establishment, rebellious attitude, challenging the old ways and mores of the radio industry to mark his place as introducing a new (and crude) way of doing things. And he certainly didnât do it alone, picking up his own handpicked crew of on air sidekicks along the way which eventually expanded to there being literal acolytes (some crazier than others) who would even take the liberty of ambushing respected figures such as Larry King (at one time constantly tormented by Stern callers on his show) and through his on the scene reporter Stuttering John, various celebrities who would be caught like deer in the headlights when confronted by embarrassing questions on camera. The point? To send a message that one day soon, the old guard represented by these respected figures would finally fall and we would live in a somewhat freer world without the crippling standards of taboo which we have all tiresomely lived with. Stern himself would move into writing books with his first opus hitting number one on The New York Times bestseller list and finally in 1997 he would enter the world of movies with this film based upon that book, a highly sanitized (how could it not be?) and really only a partial adaptation of the bestseller, featuring Stern taking on the lead role as himself along with crew members Robin Quivers, Fred Norris, Jackie âThe Joke Manâ Martling and Gary âBaba Booeyâ DellâAbate (seen mostly in vignettes trying to get various starlets to introduce different parts of the movie). As for Stern though, there would be trouble in paradise AFTER the release of this movie, as Martling would be fired after a money dispute (and virtually blackballed from the industry as a result) while Stern and wife Alison would go through an acrimonious divorce which since the movie itself is more or less a love letter from Howard to Alison (played by Mary McCormack in the movie) for sticking by him for all of those years, it would lead to Stern quietly distancing himself from the actual movie, not getting involved in later incarnations of the film on either DVD or Blu Ray for any sort of interviews or special features and apparently forbidding his people from doing so as well. As a broad comedy with various bits based upon real events in Sternâs life and career, it works extremely well, getting immediate shock value from the opening scene showing Stern making his entrance at The MTV VMAs as Fartman (a infamous Stern character who is never shown or referenced again) and then getting laughed at by a bunch of cameoing rock stars backstage (including Tiny Tim who had long since passed when this movie came out) and getting especially dressed down by none other than Ozzy Osbourne before we get the first childhood memory of little Howard hearing two other little kids using the N word during a conversation. From there we meet his dad (whose favorite father / son activity is in constantly telling Howard to shut up) and finally we see Stern matriculate to Boston University where he hooks up with McCormackâs Alison before graduating and getting his first DJ gig in Westchester NY where he gets told that he sucks as a DJ but nonetheless is offered a management spot, one which he walks away from when he is told that part of his job would be to fire people. Howard moves on to Hartford, CT, where he meets Fred Norris for the first time. Norris can probably be considered the one scene stealer of the whole original crew and for good reason, playing stoic much of the time and only speaking when he has to (in time he became more or less known as Sternâs sound effects guy who would chime in at the most random moments on air with various sound bites that are usually related to the conversation at hand). From there itâs off to a quick stint in Detroit and finally he lands in Washington D.C., bringing Fred with him and meeting up with Robin Quivers, his newsreader who became his faithful, loyal sidekick and voice of reason, someone whom despite being a black female would always maintain a veneer of good cheer even in the face of utter racism (something which Stern himself would often engage in for his beloved âshock valueâ while also having KKK guests on his show as well). Along the way, Stern figured out the secret to standing apart from other DJs (and changing the face of radio): NOTHING was sacred, NOTHING was off limits as a topic, and provided that he didnât continuously violate the rules of standards and practices, then long discussions about sexuality (including his own sex life or lack thereof) were definitely on the table up to and including bringing lesbians onto his show in order to discuss THEIR sex life (something which his listeners loved and he knew it). It isnât long before heâs locking horns with the DC radio stationâs management (including Alison Janney) but they neednât worry because since Howard has now come to completely dominate the DC market, he gets the fateful call to come to New York and the enormous corporate giant WNBC. This is where the movie kicks into high gear as the executives already know that Stern (despite his high ratings) is going to be a handful to deal with, so they assign whom they consider to be their âbrilliantâ program director (Paul Giamatti) to rein Stern in and make him into who they want him to be, only for Howard to go in his own direction, saddling Giamatti with the degrading nickname Pig Vomit and (knowing at this point that they would have to buy out his contract to get rid of him UNLESS he quits) waging an all out assault of comedic mayhem much to the delight of his listeners but not so much for Giamatti and the other suits. It is also at this point that we come to realize that Giamatti is going above and beyond to give a brilliant comedic performance here, breaking the film away from Stern and his cronies doing the self reflexive thing and drawing laughs even in a number of closeup reaction shots and more interestingly acting with disbelief but not disdain when he sees Sternâs numbers. Whatâs even more significant about this time period (although only touched upon briefly in the film) is in the beginning of Sternâs real life feud with Don Imus, the legendary original bad boy of radio and the much acclaimed golden goose in the heavily corporate environment of WNBC who rubbed Stern the wrong way so severely that after Stern left WNBC for the world of syndication, he vowed to bring Imus down and made it a very personal (and often referred to) vendetta in the worse way possible and bring him down he did, although Imus would still maintain a very strong fanbase of his own and knew that he could do a lot worse than to be number 2 to Stern. Sternâs basic strategy (to undermine and subvert the fatcats paying his salary by using their own radio facilities) would become the stuff of legend and his long run in syndication afterwards (even getting his own TV shows including his amazing early 90s WWOR program which featured sketch comedy and his notorious New Years Eve pay per view) would be tantamount in proving that bucking the system will make you a broadcasting folk hero. Unfortunately, Sternâs downfall would come with his most lucrative venture, leaving broadcast radio behind to enter into the world of pay radio instead (effectively cutting his listener base down by 75%) and embracing the burdens of partisan politics (when his previously apolitical attitude had been the basis for much of his success), an especially cynical series of moves given his prior man of the people veneer. And with Alison (portrayed through much of this movie as being a proper, loving, supportive type who only fretted about the massive amounts of female temptation which she knew he encountered) divorcing him as well, it is not out of line to speculate that Howard had at least some of his spirit broken over this, a development that caused him to (if nothing else) put some distance between himself and this particular film, an hilariously entertaining look at his glorious rise to powerâŠ
8/10