There was a funny movie staring Weird Al Yankovic called UHF. It also, starred, among others, Michael Richards of Seinfeld fame. Al plays a man given a UHF TV station to run, and Richards plays a janitor who was fired from a rival TV station just as Yankovic's character, George, pays the station a visit.
Now this janitor, Stanley Spadowski, loves being a janitor, and he loves the mop he was given as a child. It's a silly idea, but it makes Stanley an endearing character to me. The other station takes his mop away from him, just as George is leaving. George takes pity of Stanley and hires him as his janitor.
Well, Stanley is as happy as can be to be a janitor again and get a new mop. His love of his job reminds me of the scene in Crazy People where all of the people get new cars for their work on the commercials. But one guy is sad, because he wanted an old beat up Saab. When an old flatbed shows up with that car on the back, he is just as happy as can be. For some reason, he loves Saabs.
Anyway, George's TV station is going under, so he decides to let Stanley host a show. Why not? It's over anyway. Well, the kids love Stanley, and he is the star of Stanley Spadowski's Clubhouse. He gives a great speech about how life is like a mop.
What I liked was when George comes back to the studio, he tells Stanley that he can be the new host of the show. You'd think George would be thrilled, but he wants one more thing. He wants to still be the janitor of the station. It's supposed to be funny, but there's a message here too.
George has found the thing in life that makes him happy. It gives his life meaning. He loves to clean and mop, and the title of janitor is good enough for him. It's nice when you can find the thing in life that gives you life purpose, whatever it is.
By the way, UHF is an underrated movie with some good laughs in it. Sure, it's off the wall. Weird Al is the star, so what do you expect? The critics weren't in love with it, but the best critic of what is good and bad is the viewer themselves.
Life Is A Mop Speech: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHe6ar-X2cQ
