Feature film numbed the radio star

What variety! As much of a big NPR nerd that I am, it'll be a while before I understand what possessed them to make a movie of PHC. There are probably certain particular ways in which this film might have worked, but what we're given is this sort of bizarre melancholy mish-mash that would probably be a confusing downer to anybody that doesn't know the show, and kind of frustrating to folks like me who generallylike the show.

I really like the voice actors on the radio show, but the movie pretty much sidelines them in bit roles and calls in mainstream talent to do their characters. Keillor, who literally makes the show what it is, is stuck playing himself in the film while Kline gets to have the fun as Guy Noir, and Dusty and Lefty are played by Harrelson and Reilly.

All the radio show's characters aren't real characters either, but performers or staff on the show. That is to say, Dusty and Lefty aren't out on the range, they're basically country music stars. Guy Noir isn't a detective, he's an ex-detective working as the show's manager. Gone are the creative little radio ads they do for the Ketchup Advisory Board, Rhubarb Pie, etc. No news from lake Wobegon.

The polished, name-brand cast also kind of muddles the radio show's folksy mid-western vibe as well. Instead of quirky stories about simple prairie folk getting themselves into unusual jams, we're watching divas and showbiz types hamming it up in a loose and meandering plot surrounding the last broadcast of a fictional version of the show. Tommy Lee Jones is some radio tycoon who's shutting the show down. Virginia Madsen shows up as some kind of angel. Lindsay Lohan is a gloomy teen whose mother and aunt are performing on the show. Some old performer guy passes away in his dressing room backstage.

How this is supposed to seem coherent to the uninitiated is beyond me. It isn't exactly a bad film, just sort of confused. If it's inaccessible for somebody who doesn't know the show, then who is it for? And if it is for the PHC-initiated, why play so fast an loose with canon?

I can't help but wonder now if NPR will be the next vein Hollywood will tap for movie ideas. Car Talk kind of got a cameo in Cars. What's next? Flora's indicated some interest in Wait! Wait!. This American Life, maybe? We can watch the mishaps that occur as Sarah Vowell visit historical sites while David Sedaris works through issues with his family. Ira Glass just sort of sits agape at the whole thing.