Meet Wally Sparks

Meet Wally Sparks
Directed by	Peter Baldwin
Produced by	Leslie Greif
Written by	Harry Basil Rodney Dangerfield
Starring	Rodney Dangerfield Debi Mazar Michael Weatherly Cindy Williams Alan Rachins Burt Reynolds David Ogden Stiers
Music by	Michael Colombier
Distributed by	Trimark Pictures
Release date(s)	January 16, 1997
Running time	105 min.
Language	English

Meet Wally Sparks is a comedy film released in 1997 by Trimark Pictures. It stars Rodney Dangerfield and was directed by Peter Baldwin.

Plot

Comic Rodney Dangerfield co-wrote and stars in this outrageous comedy. Wally Sparks (Dangerfield) is the host of a sleazy tabloid-style talk show who makes Jerry Springer seem genteel by comparison. Wally's show has become so foul that he's alienated his not-especially-discriminating viewers, and his ratings are taking a nosedive. Lenny Spencer (Burt Reynolds), head of the network carrying Wally's show, gives the host an ultimatum -- he has a week to clean up the show and boost his ratings, or his show gets cancelled. Wally's producer Sandy Gallo (Debi Mazar) comes up with an idea -- Floyd Preston (David Ogden Stiers) is the governor of Georgia and a staunch conservative known for his attacks on the lowbrow content of Wally's show, so what better way to show people that Wally is trying to change his ways than having Preston on the show as a guest? In order to persuade the Governor to appear, Wally attends a reception at Preston's mansion, where he makes the mistake of getting in a drunken game of strip poker with Preston's wife Emily (Cindy Williams) and somehow involving himself in a plot to blackmail the Governor. Meet Wally Sparks is packed with cameos in which noted show business figures play themselves, ranging from Tim Allen, Jay Leno, and Bob Saget to Michael Bolton, Ron Jeremy, and Jerry Springer himself. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Cast

• Rodney Dangerfield as Wally Sparks
• Debi Mazar as Sandy
• Burt Reynolds as Lenny
• Cindy Williams as Emily Preston
• David Ogden Stiers as Gov. Floyd Preston
• Michael Weatherly as Dean Sparks
• Lisa Thornhill as Priscilla Preston
• Eamonn Roche as Miller

Production

The film is notable for its cameo appearances by a number of entertainers, including Tim Allen, Sally Jesse Raphael, Lenny Clarke, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Gilbert Gottfried, Julia Sweeney, Michael Bolton, Tony Danza, Ron Jeremy, John Melendez, Bob Saget, Jerry Springer, George Hamilton, and Roseanne Barr.