'Saturday Night' film review: Love letter for SNL fans
Before Saturday Night Live became a late-night institution, it was just an edgy experiment in the comedy-drama 'Saturday Night' (in theaters nationwide Oct. 11).
In short: A behind the scenes look at the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live. Written and directed by Jason Reitman (‘Juno’ and ‘Up in the Air’).
As with any 'based on a true story' docudrama, it's less important how historically accurate 'Saturday Night' is in recounting the exact events leading up to the first taping of Saturday Night. This is more about capturing the chaos leading up to an unproven commodity helmed by a showrunner desperate just to get Saturday Night on the air. The choice to basically make this a story told in real time energizes the chaos.
'Saturday Night' can be summed up as Loren Michaeals (Gabriel LaBelle) effectively trying to wrangle cats as he attempts to will the sketch show into existence - while he's surrounded by a small army of creatives do everything make his job impossible. Contract disputes, executives without faith and a barely functional television studio conspire against Michaels' effort to produce a TV show ... that even Michaels struggles to articulate.
And because it has to be mentioned, yes the ensemble cast does a solid job portraying the Not Ready for Prime Time Players. Cory Michael Smith taps into the nonchalant confidence of Chevy Chase and Matt Wood radiates a temperamental anarchy of John Belushi. Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris and Dan Aykroyd are well represented in this look to the lead up to what would become a renowned cast of comedy icons.
Given that any docudrama is an exaggeration of reality and history, it's sort of impossible to divorce this film from the reality of what 'Saturday Night Live' would eventually become. The movie relies heavily in the audience's love for Saturday Night Live - specifically for its place as a revelatory piece of TV history rather than just a sketch comedy show that's existed since forever. The fact that SNL would become a landmark in television is a foregone conclusion - and this film relies a bit too much on this idea. And this is where ‘Saturday Night’ teeters into the areas of self indulgence and a love letter written by an SNL fan for SNL fans about SNL. The script pours almost all of its energy into placing hurdle after hurdle in front of Lorne Michaels - so having everything wrap up so nicely in a beautiful little bow feels too nice and cutesy ... and anti-avant-garde.
Final verdict: Great editing, sharp banter power and ever-ticking clock powers this kinetic celebration of the iconic comedy series that SNL superfans will love.
Score: 4/5
'Saturday Night' opens in theaters nationwide Oct. 11. The drama has a runtime of 109 minutes and is rated R for language throughout, sexual references, some drug use and brief graphic nudity.
