Private Parts (1997)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Betty Thomas

Writers (WGA):

Howard Stern (book)
Len Blum (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 March 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

He turned on everyone who tuned in!

Plot:

The auto-biographical story of Howard Stern, the radio-rebel who is now also a TV-personality, an author and a movie star.

Plot Keywords:

Radio | Disc Jockey | 1970s | College | Nbc

Awards:

2 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Howard Stern	...	Howard Stern
Robin Quivers	...	Herself
Mary McCormack	...	Alison Stern
Fred Norris	...	Himself
Paul Giamatti	...	Kenny
Gary Dell'Abate	...	Himself
Jackie Martling	...	Himself
Carol Alt	...	Gloria
Richard Portnow	...	Ben Stern
Kelly Bishop	...	Ray Stern
Henry Goodman	...	Moti
Jonathan Hadary	...	Griff
Paul Hecht	...	Ross Buckingham
Allison Janney	...	Dee Dee
Michael Murphy	...	Roger Erlick

Also Known As:

Howard Stern's Private Parts
Parties intimes (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Czesci intymne (Poland) [pl]
Gizli noktalar (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Howard Sternin intiimit osat (Finland) [fi]
Intim részek (Hungary) [hu]
Naga resnica (Slovenia) [sl]
O Rei da Baixaria (Brazil) [pt]
O Rei da Rádio (Portugal) [pt]
Partes privadas (Spain) [es]
Private Parts - Dirty Radio (Germany) (TV title) [de]
Private Parts - Howard Sterns liv och under (Sweden) [sv]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language, nudity and crude sexual humor.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Netherlands:12 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | UK:18 | USA:R (No. 35067) | Canada:18A | Canada:16+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The film's use of interviews with the characters in between scenes is similar to the film Lenny (1974) which, according to the book, Howard Stern saw on his first date with future wife Alison Stern.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Howard's chicken is run over, the bucket cap is placed differently when the camera switches.

Quotes:

Researcher: The average radio listener listens for eighteen minutes a day. The average Howard Stern fan listens for - are you ready for this? - an hour and twenty minutes.
Pig Vomit: How could this be?
Researcher: Answer most commonly given: "I want to see what he'll say next."
Pig Vomit: All right, fine. But what about the people who hate Stern?
Researcher: Good point. The average Stern hater listens for two and a half hours a day.
Pig Vomit: But... if they hate him, why do they listen?
Researcher: Most common answer: "I want to see what he'll say next."

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Howard Stern on Demand: Hank, the Angry Drunken Dwarf" (2006)

Soundtrack:

All Along The Watchtower

A little one-sided in it's story telling but it's all very funny

The true story of Howard Stern's "rise" from schoolboy nerd to leading DJ in the USA. This is adapted from his book and is a whirlwind ride through 30 years, with the main focus being on his career at small stations and his big break at NBC. The fact that it is from Stern himself means that the story focuses on his good sides and tends to brush over the more difficult issues relating to his insensitivity towards his wife etc, but that doesn't stop this being a funny enjoyable film.

Stern plays himself with a great sense of self - most of his jokes put himself down rather than being arrogant. This helps endear the audience to him with great effect and makes him more sympathetic. The comedy is very sharp (and rude) throughout and even if we don't get any great insights at least we have a good laugh.

Stern is good in the lead role (admittedly if he can't play himself what can he do!) And his colleagues are also good as themselves. Paul Giamatti is great as the put upon producer at NBC and the rest of the cast is filled out with weird characters. One complaint would be the copious amount of nudity in the film - I realise that it's a true story but it did seem to be put in just to get the audience at times (well....like Stern's show itself I guess).

Overall this plays like a rude Woody Allen film (funny narrative voice-overs) and it has a certain charm to it that towers over the smuttiness to make it feel a much nicer film than it is. Even if you don't know who Stern is (i.e. most people outside of America) this is a very funny enjoyable film.