The idea of telling the story of putting on a live TV show as a high anxiety thriller is a stellar one, especially when it features a lot of funny people. As a comedy geek, I was very much looking forward to see Jason Reitman and his co-writer Gil Kenan tackle the chaos behind the very first airing of Saturday Night Live – then just titled NBC’s Saturday Night on October 11th, 1975. The film tells the story almost in real time, building up the 90 minutes prior to the start of the show as Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) tries to wrangle his cast and crew in time for air.
But like with any kind of production, there’s problems happening left and right, which doesn’t make the journey easy. From cast members second guessing things, crew members walking off, comedians trying to get extra time in for their bits, supplies not arriving or even working, to even a hostile executive threatening the very existence of the show. Plus, it’s New York in the mid 1970s, so you know there are drugs aplenty thrown into the mix. So, it becomes a race against time for Lorne to get everything ready to go as 11:30 approaches.
I think there is a lot to like about this film. The biggest being the cast who all do a tremendous job playing these people. It’s eerie how close some of these folks are in capturing their general look and cadence and rhythm, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Nicholas Podany as Billy Crystal, Kim Matula as Jane Curtin, Matt Wood as John Belushi, among many, many others. There’s really not a single weak link among any of the countless faces that will make their way into the movie, and it’s a great mix of relative unknowns, newcomers, and established faces.
Unfortunately, I think the real time gimmick ends up hurting the narrative more than serving it. This results in various contrivances, conversations between characters that you don’t buy happening in the moment they’re happening in, and a general lack of real characterization of the people involved, often relying on either caricatures or weirdly uncharitable approaches like with John Belushi, George Carlin (Matthew Rhys), Andy Kaufman, (Nicholas Braun), and Jim Henson (Nicholas Braun again). The format also doesn’t allow for a ton of context and follow up for everything that happens in the film, and where the show goes following the ending.
Obviously, Saturday Night is going to feature changes made for dramatic effect, but the combination of all these makes the film feel superficial as a whole once it’s all said and done. But to be fair, this is mostly feelings that only came to being after the movie was over. In the moment, it’s very engaging and entertaining. It’s also very well made. The 16mm cinematography from Eric Steelberg, the editing from Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid, as well as the score Jon Batiste (who also plays musical guest Billy Preston), all contribute to the hectic atmosphere of the film, and it makes for a really fun and engaging watch. I wish there was a bit more to the film, and I’m curious as to how general audiences will react because the film is made as if you are already fully aware of who many of these people are and what their contributions were to the creation of such a massive comedic institution (it’s also worth noting that the film doesn’t give much time and credit to the women who helped make the show a huge success). So, it could have been better, but as a nostalgic little exercise, it’s not a bad time.
Saturday Night is now out in theaters.
And in case you haven’t read my recent announcement, please read this.