Radioland Murders is a slapstick murder mystery set during the launch of a new live radio network in 1939. The entire movie takes place over the course of a single night. The show starts, people die, people run around, killer is revealed, the movie ends, and I can go on with my life. Sadly, the movie is overly long and lacks heart.

I couldn't help but have flashbacks to the recent A Prairie Home Companion while I watched this movie. If I hadn't seen that, I may have been more inclined to like this movie, but that wasn't the case. Where Companion was a sweet and humorous love song to live variety radio, Radioland Murders is a broad stroke at a bygone era that fails to capture anything except the structure of the age.

If there is one thing that the movie succeeds at doing, it is the structure and frenetic flurry of activity that must have accompanied putting on a continuous feed of live entertainment. Unfortunately, throughout the activity, the characters are mere charicatures and never really take flight, yet always seem to be in flight. All action and no heart, which is a shame, because this could have been a fun romp.

The setting is the new WBN studio, the hopeful network is looking forward to a big night. Potential affiliates are in the house, and in their hands the future of Radioland is held. So, the entire crew is working hard in preparation for the big night, then the head honcho comes in and throws out most of their scripts, throwing everyone into a frenzy. This kicks off the fast pace, as the writers work on writing new scripts as the show goes live. Then a mysterious voice booms through the feed with a riddle, following that the first victim dies. This repeats itself throughout the evening, while the head writer, Roger (Brian Benben), constantly finds himself in the vicinity of the recently deceased, making him the logical suspect.