Private Parts Reviews

• Great movie, coaster of a DVD

  
  By A37CEPJD6L41SG on 2002-08-29
  Paramount is famous for this. Overpriced DVD's. They like to charge you over twenty dollars for a bare-bones DVD. No extras, nothing. Almost all of their DVD's are like this. I have been thinking about buying Wayne's World on DVD, but when I saw it's whopping price and no extras, I decided to stick with my VHS copy. You'd be highly advised to do the same with this movie.
  
  

• Stern gives away his Privacy

  
  By A1C7QKP8PU0XS8 on 2000-07-13
  The man which radio program directors thought had no talent showcases at least part 1 of his extaordinary life in this film. This movie on it's face is a great story about a one time nerds battle with the radio industrys management to do his style of radio. Sterns movie is an autobiograpical look at his life in front and behind the scenes. Whether or not your a fan you can't help but relate to his triumphs and tribulations. This movie is not only about the radio business, it's about the unwillingness of corporate america to handle unproven change. Mary Mc Cormack plays Allison, Stern's supportive wife and she fairs well as a confidant who at times can't help but be affected by her husbands on air personal actions. Robin Quivers recaptures her memorable moments well enough with Stern as does Fred Norris. Howard tries to display his humble side and even till this day proves that he can stay unaffected during his on air promotion of the seductive women who may have never noticed him. In my opinion Howard Stern is an enigma with a special quality of intelligence. He may not credit his family enough in this movie but he does Allison. For if it wasn't for their support Howard just might have failed at bringing Comedic Talk radio to it's present state of success. Howard you have lived to prove there is radio life beyond music and it doesn't have to be dialogue about Republicans!
  
  

• "Can I Tell You Something"

  
  By A141HP4LYPWMSR on 2006-04-19
  'Private Parts' is a surprisingly enjoyable film based on the life and career of radio talk show host and innovator Howard Stern. It's everything you'd expect it to be; overtly sexual, irreverant, crude and definitely not for children. It is also quite funny and insightful showing that Howard can laugh at himself and wonder in disbelief at his meteoric rise to fame on the American airwaves. This film was particularily surprising to me since I've never been one of his fans.
  
  Definitely not for everyone, but remarkably good especially considering the subject matter.
  
  

• Good biography of Howard Stern

  
  By A2QRB6L1MCJ53G on 2000-08-19
  I first saw "Private Parts" about a year ago and it was a lot different than I thought it was gonna be. It's pretty much just a biography of Howard Stern. It shows how he first became interested in becoming a disc jockey and how he achieved the fame that he currently has as being the only DJ of his kind. But unlike most people might think at first, the movie presents Mr. Stern as more of a sensitive guy than it does gross or immature. It tells of all his struggles and conflicts he had to go through to become the Howard Stern he is today, especially how he struggled in getting his wife to accept his kind of humor on the radio.

  That's not all that's good about the movie. "Private Parts" is hilarious at times and all the naked women in the movie look good, especially Jenna Jameson.

  If you'd like to learn more about Howard Stern, you need to see "Private Parts." It's entertaining and it might change your mind a little bit about Mr. Stern after you see it.
  
  

• Fred Norris steals the show!

  
  By A3OI841P5R6FCH on 1999-12-10
  In Private Parts, you get to see Howard Stern's meteoric rise from his humble beginnings to his reign as the King of All Media. You also get to see him meet and recruit his allies in broadcasting- Robin Quivers, Jackie Martling, and...
  
  ...Fred Norris, the King of Mars. The "King of Mars" moniker was given to him by Howard for his rather strange & unusual behavior and demeanor. Fred reprises his earlier self & behavior beautifully in Private Parts, which at times would come very close to upstaging Howard's own on-air antics. Fred's performance in some ways reminded me of Christopher LLoyd's portrayal of "Reverend Jim" from the Taxi TV sitcom, a character I found both scary and funny at the same time. Fred has been known to be both as well... even to this day.
  
  Other great moments in the movie were peoples' reactions to what Howard would say on the air. Be it someone listening to the show in his car, the radio management suits at the station, or even Howard's wife Alison, whenever Howard says or plays something that's sure to cause a reaction, it does... with riotous results. It makes those funny moments even funnier. Enjoy!
  
  'Late
  
  
• The book gets 5 stars the movie gets 3
  By A36SZI12JHB5ZY on 2003-01-17
  I'm a big Howard Stern fan however, I'm giving this movie 3 stars because it falls short of living up to the geniune vulgar comedy present in the book. yeah I said vulgar and its damn funny.
  This film hardly shows us Howards funny but, true childhood expereinces such as when his mother made him wear her underwear to school because all of his were dirty. We didn't see him get beat up by blacks when living in a predominantly black community. We didn't see his comical sexual experiences during his adolescent years as he described in this book. The list goes on and those were the funniest parts of the Book yet, this movie didn't take advantage of it.
  It appeared Ivan Riteman (whatever way his name is spelled) chose to only focus on Howards career & marriage and put a lighthearted spin on it. Yeah, I know Howard eggxagerates his personality on the radio but, the book had more of a politically incorrect NC-17 tone to it. This Movie however, fails to capture that but, instead makes Howard into a likeable goodhearted person. That was obviously Paramount's strategy to make this film appeal to a broad mainstream audience however, That clearly backfired since it only earned 42 Million and most of that revenue came from loyal Howard Stern Fans. I think this movie could have been the funniest movie ever made if the director used Howards book as a blueprint, however it ends up being a tame watered down version of what it should have been.
  
  
• Has Its Moments
  By A11PTCZ2FM2547 on 2003-11-19
  Yes, this watered-down pseudo-autobiography has some genuinely funny moments, but for the most part PRIVATE PARTS fails to deliver the same raunchy "shock" available daily by listening to Howard Stern's syndicated radio show or by watching his cable telecasts. If I--your humble reviewer--wish to get Mrs. Mikels upset in a New York minute all I need do is tune in to a Stern TV broadcast, then watch this normally tolerant woman start foaming at the mouth.

  Yep, couch time again.

  Unfortunately, Stern's outrageous, misogynistic persona is neutered in this film--no doubt to appeal to a mainstream audience. But by softening Stern the character becomes a superficial parody; a "kinder, gentler" Howard is unappealing to both his fans and his dissenters. Granted, the movie depicts some of Stern's famous (infamous?) radio spoofs, but only as a device to show Howard as a disc jockey trying to break free from the bondage of management nimrods rather than the broadcaster's true psychological inclination.

  Kind of takes all the fun out of the man, if you ask me.

  On the positive side (and the film, as I've said, does have its moments), Stern is surprisingly comfortable and believable in front of a camera, and his unwavering loyalty to fellow broadcaster Robin Quivers is fascinating. But if you're looking for a real dose of Howard Stern I suggest you bypass PRIVATE PARTS and tune in to his cable show. That is, if your wife will let you.
  --D. Mikels
  
  

• I don't care
  By A1B5AFBD7S1Y89 on 2005-01-14
  Look, I am the king of all media, and if you don't like my movie, I don't care, I just don't care. I don't care if I lost Alison, Alison. I don't care if I never got the offer to do a sequel. I don't care that I talked for months about how I got all these offers to act in other movies, and it never happened. I don't care, I just don't care. I know it sounds like I care, when I say I don't care, but I don't care. You think I am upset that I am slowly being replaced my Opie and Anthony? I don't care about Opie and Anthony. I don't care. I just don't care. I invented Radio Robin. No one cares about that, but I don't care that they don't care.
  
  
• whoever says Howard Stern can't act can suck it
  By A3MQ672FYFNM7B on 2007-07-18
  Howard Stern is awesome. He's totally vulgar but a total genius. When I was little I used to watch his old channel 9 show and marvel at his total comedy. He is so naturally funny. And I don't think there has ever been a man in American media that has done more in the spoken oral format (no pun intended.) This movie describes Howard's long battle to become "the king of all media." He played the role as him very well, and whoever says he can't act can eat it. I saw some old clips of him on You Tube and they were very close to what's in this movie. Rock on.
  
  
• A little too self-congratulatory
  By A1JH5J1KQAUBMP on 2001-11-08
  Howard Stern delivers a pretty standard, formulaic account of his rise to the top of the radio industry. His struggles with radio management are generally well-done, but the parts about his private life are not as interesting. To its credit, the film does not shy away from some of the difficulties in the Stern marraige. Nevertheless, the generally glowing tone comes off as a bit odd in the wake of their divorce. After all, Alison's primary complaint seems to have been the way that Howard aired the intimate details of their private life on his radio show. Now they are depicted on film for all to see.
  
  
• "No, Say it again... W- NNNNN- B- CEEEEEE!!!!"
  By A1OBJ2263JCK5 on 2004-01-13
  Radio personality, Howard Stern is one of those polarizing entertainment figures, who you either love or hate. There really is no middle ground, when it comes to him. For anyone living in a cave for the last twenty years, he is the comedic 'shock jock', who pretty much pioneered the ideal, that you could talk & do just about anything on the FCC controlled radio air waves. The movie comedy, "Private Parts" is a hilarious portrayal of Stern's life and his rise to fame & success in the radio business. But it is also something else. Who would have thought, that the so called 'shocking', "King of All Media" would create for his first theatrical film ...a good old fashion love story? Thats right, instead of going the easy route of bimbos and bodily functions (O.K., there in the movie too!) he presents, what is essentially a love letter to his (now ex) wife, Alison. This autobiography gets everything right, from his geeky, introverted childhood ("Seinfeld's" George Costanza's parents have nothing on Howard's mother & father!) to his early days as a really bad Disc Jockey to his rise to fame as the #1 radio personality in the #1 radio market, New York City. Eventually Stern would reach national prominance in radio syndication. All along this journey the movie features all the ups and downs of Howard's marrige & relationship to Alison (well played by actress Mary McCormack). Director, Betty Thomas does a credible job at presenting us with an entertaining and very funny movie. The cast does quite well. It might not be big stretch to play himself, but Howard Stern proves he can actually act and his brand of humor can make the leap from radio to film. Kudos also for the rest of the Stern show regulers Robin Quivers, Jackie "the Jokeman" Martling and the always stone faced, Fred Norris. But the real scene stealer of the film is comic actor, Paul Giamatti.Giamatti plays the thankless but gut busting funny role of Howard's WNBC boss, who was nicknamed "Pig Vomit" on the radio show. With eyes and veins bulging the character tries to reign in and censor Stern and his often scatological program.Giamatti is just truely hilarious as he practically has a nervous breakdown, while Stern harangues him, live on the air! A classic comic moment that has to be seen to be believed! If you are a Howard Stern fan or just a fan of really good comedy, I would highly recommend this very funny film
  
  
• I just don't get it
  By A1JHZNFAUXPTGC on 2004-03-02
  I decided to watch this movie because my wife as well as my best friend from college are both Stern fans, and have often told me how I fail to understand him as he truly is. Well. after watching this bilge, I can honestly say I truly understand Howard. He is a dorky loser who learned early on that developing a potty mouth would get him attention. He married a woman who was way too good for him (something she apparently finally realized)and dragged her through the mud till she got sick of it and dumped his sorry carcass. He persists to this day saying purile clap trap that only appeals to children in adult bodies, not to adults. The most laughable part of this whole sorry tragedy is the praise he receives for "having the courage to speak his mind." Well, when your mind consists of half a dozen curse words and a neurotic need for attention, it doesn't take long for it to speak all it has to say. This movie is pathetic schlock for losers.
  
  
• One of the best biographical films ever made!
  By A1IKOYZVFHO1XP on 2004-05-25
  In this film starring and based on the book by radio personality Howard Stern,he,as himself,narrates from beginning to end about his childhood through 1985. Robin Quivers,as herself,met Howard in 1981 when he joined DC 101 in Washington,D.C. as a talk show host and she was a newswoman. Mary McCormack is Alison Berns Stern who Howard met while he studied for his communications degree at Boston University. Paul Giamatti is Kenny "Pig Vomit" Rushton,the program director at New York City's now-defunct WNBC 660 AM. Howard is returning home to his family and supermodel Carol Alt sat next to Howard on the aircraft in which they traveled. As themselves are Howard's other team members,Fred Norris,who Howard met in Hartford,Connecticut in '79,Gary Dell'Abate,the producer and Jackie "Jokeman" Martling,the head writer. Alison Janney is Dee Dee,the DC 101 programming director. Norris and Quivers,since Howard first met them,have stuck with Stern everywhere he went to this very day. Stern met Dell'Abate and Martling at WNBC in '84(Stern came to the station 2 years earlier). If you're a Howard Stern fan,this film is for you. WNBC was bought out by WFAN,a sports station,in 1988. Stern and his team were fired from WNBC in September 1985 and two months later,they went to the newly christened K-Rock,where they still are today. Howard and Alison have been divorced since 1999 after 21 years of marriage. The couple have had three daughters. Betty Thomas,who starred on NBC's Hill Street Blues,directed this film. She also directed "The Brady Bunch Movie". Giamatti also appeared in "Donnie Brasco","The Cable Guy" and "Big Fat Liar". We all know that Stern is a comedian in his own right,delighting his audiences with gross,sexual and racial humor.
  
  
• not recommended
  By on 2004-06-14
  this is a real awful and boring movie which i would not recommend to people with good tastes at all.watch black hawk down instead.
  
  
• Propaganda movie
  By A739JU8TX5IKY on 2004-07-04
  This is Howard's propaganda movie. Much like Michael Moore, he'd have the world believe he is just an ordinary, average guy who has been wrongfully shamed by the majority of Americans. The most accurate part of this film is the beginning when it shows what a lame pencil-neck geek Howard really is. Here we are, 7 years later and , just like Mike Moore, the truth has come out and Howard is a farce. He is no longer married. He has a model for a girlfriend, and is no longer the "everyman" that this film proclaims him to be. Also, nowadays he accuses the President to be trying to get him off the radio. Funny coming from him. Here's a guy who, as soon as Opie and Anthony started making fun of him when his wife left him, went to his company and put a stop to it by taking them off the air. He says himself on the radio that he runs the company. O and A worked for Infinity- his company. Maybe Howard is right, maybe people are out to get him. After all, it would take one to know one.
  
  
• this film deserves TEN STARS!
  By A25Z25KA7J9S1B on 2004-09-06
  Howard Stern is saving America, Mother Earth, and her entire Universe. His film is a must see, for all those with a brain. Also, Michael Moore's film, "Fahrenheit 9/11" is a must see, for all those who care about their children AND grandchildren. Both Howard and Michael speak the truth, and deserve every award they receive, which are numerous. The Cannes Film Festival recognizes Fahrenheit 9/11 with their highest honor. Howard Stern will soon go from radio, to other media outlets, and become even BIGGER! Howard is already the number one most listened to radio personality! Thank whomever you believe in that Michael Moore and Howard Stern are here to save us from Satan's troops of which Laura Schlesinger and George W. Bush are Corporals. Thank you Howard, and thank you Michael. Good and truth will surely conquer lies and evil. VOTE FOR KERRY/EDWARDS! michaelmoore.com, howardstern.com, johnkerry.com, georgecarlin.com, fasst.com, bont.com, nytimes.com, bushorchimp.com,
  
  
• Incredible delirious
  By A12TDDLZH0GIN8 on 2005-01-26
  This guy can't write books, has a garbage mouth on TV, radio he is nothing but rude, and now a movie that is worse than all the rest [well almost all the rest]. He better hope he doesn't lose his cult following, otherwise he'd be out of business, what can he do...the movie's a sham. He should learn how to do something positive, instead of self glorification.
  
  
• Great movie of the Life of a radio God.
  By A3ASR7JA7MPKW4 on 2005-05-07
  If you've been listening to Stern over the years or have heard his outrageous show and have been stunned, shocked, aroused, amused etc.. then this will not fail to touch you in those key areas. This movie is an autobiography which follows Stern from childhood to radio God. I've been listening to the show daily for over 5 years now and only watched this film a few months ago. It is a amazing to see how much the shows content and the personalities have changed over that period. Stern ain't married to Allison anymore. Stuttering john has gone to do his thing with Leno. Robin has gained a little weight. Howard's lost some. Pig Virus has gone, but dead air dave and Tom Chiusano is still making Howards life a misery.
  Booey wasn't in the film much, and Fred didn't say a word as usual. The acting was great by all involved, especially Paul Giammati who played Pig Virus and Howard Stern who played himself, of course.
  Looking forward to Sirius Radio. F-Jackie.
  
  
• You hate him, but you got to love his movie!
  By A3DY46ZABF4CMQ on 2005-12-29
  Howard Stern is the world's most famous radio DJ. He's obnoxious, sleazy, perverted, silly, and overrated. However, his 1997 semi-biographical film Private Parts, adapted from the book with the same title, is outrageously funny.
  
  The movie gives us a closer look at Howard's college years, his beginnings on live radio, and rise to fame. But the movie focuses more on his romantic life with his wife-to-be Allison, played by Mary McCormack, his hysterical confrontations with WNBC's executive, the one Howard calls Pig Vomit, played by the even more hysterical Paul Giamatti, and his collaboration with long time partners Robin Quivers and Fred Norris, played by themselves.
  
  I personally do not approve of or like Howard's show, but this movie cracked me up laughing when I first saw it, and still does today.
  
  Recommended
  
  B+
  
  
• Terrific movie!
  By A1COW0UIB5HA9J on 2006-01-05
  The life of Howard Stern (plays himself) on how he first started as a child with a dream to become a radio jockey then growing up to be a college nerd who falls for his future wife "Alison" ( Mary McCormack)then he fulfils his lifelong dream of becoming a radio jock as he adds some special talent to make higher ratings even if it's moving from Detroit to Washington then New York as he has a new sidekick for his show Robin Quivers ( Playing herself as well). His special kind of humor is almost getting the nerves of WNBC president Kenny "Pigvomit" Rushton ( Paul Giamatti) then becomes a media legend.
  
  Entertaining and humorous biography comedy drama that follows Howard Stern's autobiography very well! the acting is very good even Howard maybe a little stiff at times, there is some cameos by Ozzie Osburne, AC/DC, Mia Farrow, and more. I recommend this movie for a good laugh and to learn how Howard Stern became a big time star.
  
  
• Howard Stern's Private parts
  By A3JWZK00OXU0LN on 2000-01-24
  I loved the Howard Stern movie, I have seen it st least 7 times. The story was funny and some of us can relate to being unpopular and finding that certain someone who loves you for who you are. I am dedicated listener to his show and find his crude humor entertaining and no way insulting. I highly recommend this movie to who are not Howard fan's, your point of view will change after you see it and you may end up with some kind of respect for a guy who got to the top by just being himself.
  
  
• WHY STERN IS THE KING OF ALL MEDIA
  By A2ZLROGIL2V7GV on 2001-07-19
  There are people who love him, and there are people who hate him. And then, there are people who really, REALLY hate him. But, love him or hate him, this movie should be seen by everyone.

  This movie is based on Howard's Stern's life, and how he got into radio. You'll see a bunch of interesting characters, good and bad, who impact his life in some manner. You'll learn how Howard struggled and fought his way to the top while others doubted him and called him a moron, (mostly his father). And, you'll also see him take on evil top guys in radio as they try to censor the shock jock.

  I wasn't really a fan of Howard Stern, until I saw this movie, and that's why I think everyone should see this. Who knows, maybe you'll like him more after watching it. The movie shows that Howard is a real person who's trying to make it in the world by doing what he does best, being himself, even if it means raising a few eyebrows. Because of this film, I now listen to his show religiously every morning, and also listen to other talk shows on the radio as well.

  This is an outstanding film, filled with humor and more. "Private Parts" should be on everyone's list of movies to see. After watching this movie, you will realize why Howard is the king of all media
  
  

• 'Annie Hall' in blue.
  By A27CFNHYZG6WS8 on 2002-03-21
  Before 'Private Parts', Howard Stern was a virtual unknown round these parts, at best a shady creature of rumour. Whereas for an American audience, presumably familiar with the dj's shock-shtick, the film has a nostalgic impulse, offering a quaint re-run of censorship- and taste-baiting episodes; this material was new to us - the shock-jock phenomenon has had very little impact in a Europe long inured to shock. So some of the material was predictable and juvenile; the on-air naked masseuse or the proxy orgasm; some of it was simply funny, such as the 'fill-in-the-blanks' word-game after rude words are banned by WNBC management; but some of it was genuinely unsettling, in particular Stern's personal jokes on radio in reaction to his wife's miscarriage. It shows the unexpected extent to which Stern has made you care for his characters in spite of yourself, that your laughs at this point are uncomfortable at best.

  Stern is ostensibly telling his life-story to a pretty woman on an airplane. Originally repulsed by his reputation as a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, foul-mouthed jock, she admits, in his words, that he grows on you, like fungus, and this is the effect his film has. In a weird way, Stern is a kind of soft-rock Woody Allen, adapting the intellectual loser/little man, New York Jewish persona in a pseudo-autobiographical tale that has him walking through the important episodes of his life. There is even a (parodic) allusion to Ingmar Bergman (an obscene puppet show staged for an old folks' home), and a cameo by Mia Farrow. Stern is a film-maker manque, who made an award-winning short at college.

  While Allen's self-absorption tends towards negation and psychic self-flagellation, Stern's is whitewashing and self-congratulatory - but the intense egotism has the same effect: you initially resist, you eventually succumb. Stern becomes engaging, not because you buy the self-pity of the sickly happy-families routine or the 'it's only an act' justifications, but because his limited acting talent fits in ingratiatingly with the vignette-structure, which bypasses psychological realism to achieve a cartoon honesty. His spat with WNBC won't tell you anything about the state of the American media, or the corporate suppression of free speech, but it does tell you a lot about Stern, consistently anxious about being 'a real man', and his need to find a ridiculous straw target he can knock down and emasculate to feel good. Significantly, the film finishes in 1985, with Stern at his peak, and nowhere else to go. It would have been more interesting to see how he dealt with THAT pressure, than the old loser-rises-to-the-top story. The film IS misogynistic, not at the obvious, demeaning level, but in the way women simply exist to make Stern whole, whether it is his anchorwoman or his angelic wife. They have no lives or reasons to be outside his needs.
  
  

• Orchestrated madness
  By on 2003-03-05
  Zany radio/TV personality Howard Stern plays himself in PRIVATE PARTS, a fast-paced, funny bio-pic. Most noteworthy is the performance of Paul Giamatti, playing a control-bent radio executive who tries to make Stern conform to company standards. Also, Stern writer Jackie Martling brightens the screen playing himself - if you can see PRIVATE PARTS in letterbox format, Martling even turns up the energy in the background, doing the bump with Stern's cohost Robin Quivers in the AC/DC concert scene. Just as on the radio show, Howard Stern shares the spotlight in this film, orchestrating madness with no dull moments. PRIVATES PARTS doesn't hold back on the nudity, something some people may wish to imagine on the radio rather than see in the movie. If the naked parts don't bother you, see PRIVATE PARTS.
  
  
• Why is Robin always portrayed as Mrs. Incredible?
  By A2DEQK446KFMF5 on 2003-09-19
  I always was a Stern fan (up until Jackie left and Artie Lange took over, who's as funny as a lightswitch) but, once again, Robin Quivers is shown as some amazing entity as she always was on the show (even though her job is to recycle everything Howard says and to gather up other people's news reports, as long as they're funny in some way, and soundbytes). It's obvious they're trying to cover up the truth, her incredible stupidity and lack of talent.

  Howard bows to her in the film and she's the only one who's 'allowed' to tell Howard to eff himself. If you ask me, she's a spoilt brat who has her backside kissed on the show (one of Howard's rules), and, inevitably, it clearly shows in this film.

  C'mon guys. Just because she was raped by dad, doesn't mean she has to be praised a la Kim Jong-Il. I've known girls who were raped by Dad but they don't go shouting about it. Enough already...
  
  

• How do I Love Howard? "Private Parts" Counts the Ways...
  By A13YRJJHN4Q0OE on 2004-01-03
  Last week, I was languishing in the confining comfort of my small apartment, idly perusing the contents of old videotapes in a mostly-futile attempt to assuage the holiday blues. Christmas is, after all, a time to spend with those you love....and if you're a 45-year-old, premenopausal, recovering manic depressive spinster with a longstanding resignation to your own pain, then a celluloid tonic is usually a welcome panacea.

  At length, I saw that I had taped 1997's "Private Parts" during its inaugural television broadcast. Happily, the film featured clips of The King of All Media interrupting the proceedings, interjecting the teleplay with his own sardonic sermons. As I laughed timidly (OK, OK, I laughed exuberantly...get off my back) at Howard's infamous inflections and enjoyed the film for the first time since 1997, I remembered these salient points: In 1994, I believed with firm conviction that Howard Stern was the devil incarnate. An uncaring, insensitive lout who wouldn't know good taste if it bit him in the generals.

  By March 1996, I regarded him as a comedic genius.

  "Private Parts" depicts the radio magnate in all his irreverent, groundbreaking and glorious humanity. His romance and subsequent marriage to Alison (whom he has since divorced and who is now remarried), is sweetly presented here. Yes, the shock jock is frequently maddening, and some of his material contains questionable taste. (All right, I'll come out and say it - some of his stuff is downright gross. "Butt Bongo Fiesta" has about as much appeal for this hetero as a Sapphic Satyricon has for Anita Bryant.)

  But "Private Parts" doesn't represent the nadir of Stern's career. Rather, it reveals layers of sensitivity and kindness beneath the rough-hewn exterior. In some ways, Stern is Everyman - a testament to his massive success. Although by now fabulously wealthy, Stern has many of the same problems that millions of others share: marital issues, childrearing dilemmas, anal-retentive bosses, etc. - and "Private Parts" presents the endearing vulnerability at his core. (His scenes with Robin Quivers present this skillfully.)

  In a nutshell, this film is a fitting explanation for why I came to love Howard Stern. And that's probably why my depression lifted last week upon viewing this film.

  I don't watch Howard's E! shows much any longer. Most of them now concern strippers, sophomoric stunts and assorted juvenilia that I have no interest in watching. However........

  In 1999, soon after separating from Alison, Stern devoted a portion of his morning radio show to "Sheera, Princess of Power." Sheera had recently died, and, true to form, the softhearted Stern had taken her in when she was an abandoned kitten. A lifelong feline-o-maniac, I found myself riveted to Stern's monologue, not even realizing I was weeping my eyes out. Soon enough, my Great King interjected some brutal humor into the proceedings, describing how he "spilled Sheera's ashes all over the carpet." Now I began laughing uproariously through my tears.

  That, to be sure, is the man I love.
  
  

• All The Right Parts!
  By A1RGJ0D25VK437 on 2004-06-17
  A great man who is as relevant now as he's always been. I saw this movie 10 times and can't get enough of it. It is brilliant. A fantastic DJ, who spoke openly and didn't hold back.
  No has-been here people. He represents freedom of speech and does a fantastic job of upholding it.
  The movie should of won many awards, but since societies so uptight it didn't get the praise it deserved.
  Buy it and enjoy a great movie.
  
  
• The movie is 4 stars, the DVD 2. Special Edition treatment!!
  By A36CHPMHHD1IO5 on 2004-07-03
  Even though the film came out in '97, he's no longer on FM radio, or married to his wife. However, this is still a funny film in its own right, and gave him a little more dimension to his radio personality and why he was so outrageous to begin with.
  
  Based on his book, the movie covers some ground in his childhood, with a father constantly yelling at him and a (s)mother, that it starts going into Woody Allen territory, but the seeds are planted that he wants to be on the radio as a personality.
  
  I think that with Second City actress turned director Betty Thomas and Ivan Reitman producing, they took a potentially one dimensional crassfest into a real story, starring someone who had no acting experience that did a great job in seeming natural at it.
  
  Robin and Fred have significant roles in the film, the point is that the show was not just him, but the group assembled, without which he never would have succeeded the way he did.
  
  In true Stern fashion, the film has no shortage of naked women, featured in between scenes being interviewed by his producer Gary.
  
  Another reason to watch this is for the people who broke out of this film and have since become well known in their own right:
  
  There are 2 future "West Wing" actors on here. One is Mary McCormack, who plays Howard's wife Allison, who supports him through thick and thin, although the marriage fell apart early on in the marriage, and made comedy out of a personal tragedy. Allison Janney plays a radio producer that gets under Robin's skin.
  
  The biggest reason to watch this is for Paul Giamatti's breakout performance as Howard's nemesis. Even if you're not a Howard Stern fan, Giamatti is the biggest reason to watch this over the top performance that even "Sideways" didn't capture.
  
  Longtime character actors Richard Shull and Richard Portnow have great scenes, the former as Symphony Sid and the latter as Howard's father, and "Tilt" actor Michael Murphy as Roger Erlick.
  There are a lot of veteran character actors in this film (as well as well known adult film stars like Jenna Jameson.... The MTV awards shows have a bunch of cameos (Tiny Tim at the awards?), and a brief clip of "Soprano" Edie Falco as one of Alison's friends driving in the car. AC/DC is also in the film towards the end. And of course the "Wack pack" put in an appearance as well.
  
  However, Howard is the central character through it all, and brings forth a warmth that isn't shown so much on the radio show, which can be very mean, that he was just a misfit that never fit in whether he was unknown or the king of all media. I think that this film converted more women to his audience because of his relationship to Alison in it.
  
  The shortcoming of the film is that for the longtime fans, they would expect something far less mainstream. It stops in the mid 80s, where "Miss America" would pick up the man in his prime.
  
  The DVD itself is barebones, but the price is good. It screams for a special edition due to his following and the film itself having been up for AFI's all time comedies (it barely missed the top 100). It had a platinum selling soundtrack with a killer collection of songs (which had originally slated Tool to cover Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter" and VH with David Lee Roth's "Can't Get This Stuff No More"). THe actors have since gone on to bigger things since, and chances are that he'll never make another movie. There has been a TV version and had mentioned a lot of outtakes, behind the scenes footage as well as the MTV premiere featuring Rob Zombie and Janes Addiction. A commentary with the actors, or just Stern and his crew would have been great to have been able to include on here, especially since he had made the movie AT THE SAME TIME he was doing his morning radio show.
  
  Other recommended films: FM, Pump Up The Volume, Good Morning Vietnam, Talk Radio, Play Misty For Me, High Fidelity, Airheads, Network, Broadcast News, American Graffiti, and Lenny.
  
  
  
• I have Alison, Alison....
  By A2VHI35UG9RSNF on 2004-12-28
  This is the story of a loser shock jock, picking on a bunch of regular DJ's that didn't have the gual to fight back. And when he kicked them when they were down, they completely submitted to Howard. Howards rise to fame is wonderfuly depicted in this stunning movie of a man with no backbone. Had Mel Karmizen not been there like Micky in Rocky III carrying the "King" to all these easy wins over has beens, Howard would be Side by side with Wobble Dobbley Doo on LIVE365 internet radio. The true farce of this movie is that this famous DJ is only concerned for Alison, the girl of his dreams. And in reality, she left him because his husband and father qualities equal those of Scott Peterson, which is why his daughter is banging anything that moves at radio station parties in NYC.
  
  If Opie and Anthony had been around druing this mistake of a file, they would have been omitted from it anyway. Howard is scared of them and their XM channel 202 High Voltage radio show that only costs a mere $.07 a day for shocking comedy and Lil Jimmy (eatabullet.com). Howard had been afraid of them since they began taking his crown away in the 90's.
  
  You can buy this movie if you like science fiction comedies, but if you want a real story, get XM radio. You will never see a sequel to this movie, since the second the movie ends, when they were on top of their game with the Howard Stern Show, Howie's career began sinking lower then Laci and Conner wrapped in plastic and duck tape, weighted with concreate in the pacific ocean.
  
  
• Highly Recommend This Movie
  By A7TJCELNMEE3Q on 2005-01-21
  This movie is worth seeing! While Howard and crew are great, I must go a different direction with my review. A real scene stealer is Paul Giamatti as Howard's boss at WNBC. After reading the book, I was curious to see how it would play out on screen, and I feel it was perfect. Only a few years later, we see how brilliant Giamatti can be in his character roles. The book is also great, I recommend it, and the DVD is priced great!
  
  

• Too Fat to Fish
• Artie Lange's Beer League
• Artie Lange - It's the Whiskey Talking
• Private Parts
• Dirty Work