It’s 10pm on the night of Saturday, October 11th, 1975, and Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) is chewing his fingernails. In an hour and a half, his new sketch based variety comedy show ‘Saturday Night’ will go to air… maybe. Because all hell is breaking loose behind the scenes and in live television, nothing is certain and anything could happen.
His revolutionary young cast of comedians are in revolt against the show itself. Among them, the volatile John Belushi (Matt Wood) hates his outfits and refuses to sign his contract. Chevy Chase (Corey Michael Smith), who is only starting out, already has the ego of a A-list movie star. Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris, no relation) is a classically trained actor that questions his role as “the token black guy”. Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), loved by all, tries to keep spirits up. Jim Henson (Nicholas Braun) worries his Muppets won’t be used properly, while Billy Crystal (Nicholas Podany) worries he won’t be used at all. Tonight’s host, George Carlin (Matthew Rhys) locks himself away in his dressing room. Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O’Brien) is at least having fun… in character, sexually harassing everyone he can. And that’s just the cast.
Lorne is losing crew members by the minute. His co-writer “wife” Rosie (Rachel Sennott) won’t decide if she wants to be credited under his name. The set just caught fire and the unions are arguing over who to put it out. His lead writer, Tommy Dewey (Michael O’Donoghue) is purposefully antagonising the network censor. To top it off, network executive David Tebet (Willem Dafoe) is ready to shitcan the whole show entirely. Lorne has to hold it all together for the most important Saturday Night in television history.
Saturday Night Live (formerly Saturday Night) is an institution of the entertainment world. For half a century, it has had its ups and downs (currently we’re in a down period) but it has seen an ever changing cast of comedic talent, many of which have gone on to have immortal careers in Hollywood.
The likes of Sarah Silverman were fired from the show, Jim Carey couldn’t even get hired and even Robert Downey Jr was brought in at one point. But it all started with an experimental chaotic first episode and director Jason Reitman teams up once more with his Ghostbusters: Afterlife co-writer to tell us the (mostly) true story of how it all happened.
I personally grew up watching the early 90s iteration of SNL and it is little wonder why most of that entire cast remain as household names. Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, Mike Myers, all the way up to Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig and Tina Fey. But I’ve always enjoyed the classic seasons even before the likes of Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy joined the roster.
So, as a fan of the original alumni, I am absolutely floored by just how recognisable the cast of Saturday Night compared to their real life counterparts. They not only look like the real deal, but they act like it too, right down to minor quirks and mannerisms. You don’t need to be told Podany is playing Crystal or Smith is Chevy Chase, you can immediately recognise them as the genuine article.
This also translates to the countless references to sketches and characters whether they be explicitly shown or just hinted at throughout the movie. From start to finish, Reitman creates a feeling of nostalgia and familiarity with his story. This was accomplished not only through his own familiarity with many SNL cast members (both he and his father Ivan Reitman having directed many of them), but through a year’s worth of interviews and research.
Everyone who was around at the time and could be interviewed, was. This provided insight and first hand recollections that were often admittedly conflicting accounts of just how this behemoth first got started. While many stories within Saturday Night have been embellished or timelines have been twisted, the vast majority of them have at least some basis in reality. For example, Tebet might not have been ready to pull the plug as much as Lorne himself, but for the sake of the narrative, the truth has been altered to tell a good yarn.
Unfortunately, there isn’t much in the way of an actual plot to Saturday Night besides the ever growing chaos and weight on Lorne‘s shoulders. Characters fair no better with Garrett Morris‘ crisis-of-self wearing thin, and Belushi‘s will he/won’t he signing drama simply resolving itself with little fanfare. The complexities of Rosie‘s marital status show the incestuous nature of the New York comedy scene but go nowhere beyond showing Lorne to be a cuckold.
Saturday Night isn’t so much of an exposé or deep character piece as it is a love letter to a very crucial night in history. One we all know that was successful in the end and yet still Jason Reitman has us on the edge of our seat, watching it like it was happening in real time. We want to see these rebels pull off the impossible and they make us howl with laughter when they do. Saturday Night is definitely for fans of comedy and is one which has reverence for the greats who made it what it is today.