Ivan Reitman made a lot of movies starring Saturday Night Live cast members. I guess it was only fitting that his son Jason (who had already picked up the reigns to his father’s Ghostbusters franchise) would make a movie about SNL. As expected, there’s a lot of hero worship at play here. If you’re a fan of the show, you’ll probably enjoy it.
The film chronicles the chaotic struggle to get the show ready for its premiere episode. Facing enormous pressure from the network, producer Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) has to wrangle wild cast members, a less than enthusiastic crew, and pestering censors to bring to show to air.
If you are familiar with the events surrounding the first taping, you might have a leg up on casual viewers as Reitman drops you into the thick of things with little background or set up. He plows forward full steam ahead and never looks back. The long takes and overlapping soundtrack are at times reminiscent of a Robert Altman movie. Unlike Altman films, the characters never really stand out. That’s mostly due to the ticking time bomb nature of trying to get the show on the air. However, it’s a tad disappointing considering how colorful the characters were in real life.
Only Michaels and Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman) really feel like fully developed characters as they are constantly at odds at what the show should be about. The cast members who essay the roles of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players do a fair job playing their well-known counterparts. It’s just a shame that they are mostly kept on the periphery of the film’s drama.
Overall, I enjoyed Saturday Night, but I can’t help but think what Reitman might’ve been capable of if he had given the script another polish. Still, it’s fun seeing who is going to pop up in small roles (like J.K. Simmons as Milton Berle). Plus, it makes for a fine vehicle for LaBelle, who is quite good at keeping the film from spinning off the rails (much like what Michaels did for the show).
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