But these, explained away as the Yankovic character’s daydreams, are not really integrated into the story. What plot there is is a simplistic triviality that is overlong and short on any real ideas. For Yankovic, who makes great mileage out of taking the piss out of people, his plot here seems to only to readily rely on cliche, being no more than an extremely naive simple but good-hearted good guys vs the ruthless corporate sharks plot. And required to act rather than do extended stand-up or operate at a length beyond that of a music video, Yankovic seems to lack what it takes as a performer – opting for an almost simple-minded ingenuousness from which he seems to explode at random into shrieking histrionics and emotively overwrought double-takes. One who does engage somewhat is Michael Richards, sometime before his cult stardom on Seinfeld (1990-8), whose bizarre muggings prove vaguely engrossing. (Talking of pre-stardom, one can also see Fran Drescher, pre-The Nanny (1993-9), in a minor role as a secretary).

The film has enough zany gags popped away in it to prove occasionally affable, but having to suffer the painfully simplistic and paper thin plot almost proves more than it is worth. The film is included here solely for the character of an eccentric electronics technician who at the end announces he is returning to his home planet then flies off in a ball of light.