Movie Review: SATURDAY NIGHT

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: October 4th, 2024 / 09:35 AM

SATURDAY NIGHT movie poster | ©2024 Sony Pictures

Rating: R
Stars: Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Corey Michael Smith, Matt Wood, Dylan O’Brien, Ella Hunt, Nicholas Braun, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Emily Fairn, Tommy Dewey, Cooper Hoffman, Willem Dafoe, Catherine Curtin, Finn Wolfhard, J.K. Simmons, Matthew Rhus, Nicholas Podany, Corinne Britti, Naomi McPherson, Jon Batiste
Writers: Gil Kenan & Jason Reitman
Director: Jason Reitman
Distributor: Sony/Columbia Pictures
Release Date: September 27, 2024 (theatrical limited); October 11, 2024 (theatrical wide)

October 11, 2024 is the fiftieth anniversary and start of the fiftieth season of that NBC staple, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, still cranking out episodes and minting new comedy stars lo these many decades after its debut.

But once upon a time – specifically, on October 11, 1975 – there was doubt that SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE would see the light of broadcast.

To commemorate this, director Jason Reitman and his co-writer Gil Kenan have crafted SATURDAY NIGHT, a fictionalized dramatization of the ninety minutes before the show premiered live on NBC at 11:30 PM EST.

We are introduced to a whole batch of characters, a few who will be familiar to almost everyone, more who will be recognized by viewers over a certain age, and some known primarily to students of TV history.

On the production side, there’s SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE creator/producer Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle), still struggling to articulate what the show actually is. At the outset, he is quoted as saying, “The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready. It goes on because it’s 11:30.” This sounds realistic, and it’s possibly still true.

There’s sharp-witted, savvy writer Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott), married to Lorne and dating one of the actors. There’s sardonic writer Michael O’Donoghue (Tommy Dewey), who drips with contempt for practically everyone. There’s executive producer Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman), who is stuck in the awful position of reassuring Lorne while placating the network executives.

Then there are the network folks, including powerful and paradoxical executive Dave Tebet (Willem Dafoe) and suspicious censor Joan Carbunkle (Catherine Curtin). The NBC page (Finn Wolfhard) outside 30 Rockefeller Plaza doesn’t know what he’s selling to prospective live audience members, but he’s selling it hard. Comedy legend Milton Berle (J.K. Simmons) shows up as well.

We also meet original SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE cast members. Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith) is ambitious. John Belushi (Matt Wood) is hot-tempered and refusing to sign his contract. Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O’Brien) is a peacemaker among the men and a sexual harasser (he doesn’t seem to be serious, but he’s pretty hands-on) with the women. Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt) is optimistic, daring, and a gentle voice in conflict. Andy Kaufman (Nicholas Braun) seems as sweetly innocent as Latka, the character he will later play on TAXI. Broadway actor and opera singer Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris, no relation) wonders what he’s doing here. Jane Curtin (Kim Matula) is cynically able to sum up what she’s doing here. Laraine Newman (Emily Fairn), as on the SNL itself, gets short shrift here.

We also see guest stars. Jim Henson (Braun again, doing double duty) worries about how his Muppets (at this point, an unknown commodity) will be perceived. George Carlin (Matthew Rhys) can’t tell what’s happening and doesn’t like it. Stand-up comic guests Billy Crystal (Nicholas Podany) and Valri Bromfield (Corinne Britti) fear their sets may be cut down for time. Musical guest Janis Ian (Naomi McPherson) is uncomplaining; other musical guest Billy Preston (Jon Batiste) is charismatic, and his bandmates supply pharmaceuticals to those who ask.

If that sounds like a lot of people to accommodate narratively, it is. There isn’t a whole lot of room for character development. There’s a little bit for Lorne. Chevy Chase likewise gets a few beats – there’s a great scene between actors Smith and Simmons (whose take on Berle is uncanny).

We mostly get vignettes that illustrate moments of weirdness, rage, panic, and inspiration. These are funny and energetic, and occasionally illuminating.

But it’s hard for the filmmakers to create real suspense about the outcome, given that whole fifty-years-on-the-air business.

It would seem the task, then, would be to make us wonder how all this chaos can possibly come together by the appointed hour. However, SATURDAY NIGHT doesn’t do this, either. It plays with the space-time continuum too much for that.

No, we’re not taken to the planet Remulak, but anyone who has been in a big city can attest to the fact that you don’t get from the seventh floor of an office building to a bar, have a chat, and get back to the seventh floor in a matter of minutes. This would be less relevant if SATURDAY NIGHT was not trying so hard to impress us with its ticking clock.

Likewise, there are things that simply seem apocryphal (you’ll know them when yousee them). Yet somehow, this feels in keeping with the spirit of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, which compared to most scripted television continues to fly by the seat of its pants.

SATURDAY NIGHT, like the TV series it honors, has some material that’s insightful, some that works, some that falls flat. It showcases real talent and it exists largely to make us grin and even occasionally laugh. It’s not much of a history lesson, but it’s agreeable company.

Follow us on Twitter at ASSIGNMENT X
Like us on Facebook at ASSIGNMENT X

Latest Buzz

Movie Review: SATURDAY NIGHT

An agreeable showbiz fable

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie Review: SATURDAY NIGHT

Related

Related Posts:

Leave a Comment

Assignment X Poll

Newsletter subscription status

Latest Buzz

Movie Review: SATURDAY NIGHT

An agreeable showbiz fable

Article Source: Assignment X Article: Movie Review: SATURDAY NIGHT

Related

Related Posts:

Leave a Comment

Assignment X Poll

Article Source: Assignment X
Article: Movie Review: SATURDAY NIGHT