Rating 7/10
What happened behind the scenes in the minutes leading up to the first Saturday Night Live (SNL) telecast? A whole lot of chaos, apparently. Director Jason Reitman, who co-wrote the screenplay with Gil Kenan, did research. They interviewed surviving cast members, writers, and crew. Reitman also draws from when he was a guest writer for SNL in 2008. The mounting tension and mayhem are a blending of genuine facts with a hypothetical narrative. This account explores the birth of a cultural institution.
Saturday Night imagines the pressure cooker backstage on October 11, 1975 as a countercultural clash between young upstarts versus the old guard. Gabriel LaBelle portrays Lorne Michaels as a visionary who juggles a lot of moving parts. Actor LaBelle was great in The Fabelmans, but he’s even better here, guiding this rebellious new TV comedy to air. Writer Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott), who also happens to be Michaels’ wife, gives valuable input. Actor Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris – no relation) questions his place, John Belushi (Matt Wood) is unruly, Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith) clashes with Milton Berle (J. K. Simmons) backstage, Jim Henson (Nicholas Braun) complains, and host George Carlin (Matthew Rhys) thinks the show’s a joke.
In contrast, the chronicle portrays network executives and established comedians as symbols of the old establishment. Michaels’ boss, Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman), warns that NBC executive David Tebet (Willem Dafoe) has no faith in the program. Meanwhile, acerbic head writer Michael O’Donoghue (Tommy Dewey) battles NBC censor Joan Carbunkle (Catherine Curtin), and assistant Neil Levy (Andrew Barth Feldman ) ends up on LSD thanks to Paul Shaffer (Paul Rust). Original members Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O’Brien), Laraine Newman (Emily Fairn), and Jane Curtin (Kim Matula) are also featured. Despite the turmoil, Michaels somehow rallies everyone together for a historical debut.
The presentation is most effective for those already decided that this SNL ensemble was the greatest. If you were a senior in high school watching this episode, you are likely among the converted. The movie doesn’t need to do anything more than what it does. However, it doesn’t offer enough evidence to convince those who need it. The reverence for a specific time and place lacks the critical eye of a deep examination. As such, the characters come across as self-absorbed with an over-inflated sense of their own importance. I mean, every era has its rule-breakers. Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour did it before. In Living Color and Chappelle’s Show did it after. But this study would have you believe that the creatives behind SNL were iconoclasts, and that’s all there is to it.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the reconstruction of the dizzy 90 minutes before the broadcast, almost in real-time. The ticking clock shapes the narrative, heightening the suspense. This ensemble features a large group of actors, and I appreciated how the screenplay keeps all the different components in motion. Cory Michael Smith is particularly effective as Chevy Chase, depicting a man whose infamous ability to rub people the wrong way is legendary. Oddly, Chase’s outsized ego seems justified as he masterfully charms a room full of suits in one scene and connects with the younger generation in another.
The film offers a bold reimagining of iconic figures from television history, but not without stirring mixed emotions. Nicholas Braun does double duty as both Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson. I admired his rendition of each, although the celebrated Muppet creator does not get the respect he deserves here. Ditto Johnny Carson. The Tonight Show host doesn’t physically appear, but his overbearing presence is felt during a memorable phone call to Lorne Michaels. I found myself wanting to defend the people they were tearing down and questioning the worship of those being venerated. I didn’t always swallow the spin and embellishments, but the high energy and spot-on performances kept me enthusiastically engaged.
10-10-24