“Saturday Night” had the potential to be an in-depth film about the first airing of “Saturday Night Live,” however the movie was “eh” at most.
The movie follows the creator of “SNL,” Lorne Michaels, and the 90 minutes leading up to the first show in 1975. It features the beginning careers of:
It also displays comedian George Carlin as the first host and Billy Preston as the first musical artist, along with Janis Ian—who wasn’t represented in the movie.
The plot, following the 90 minutes, was meant to be anxiety-inducing and intense. However, despite all the chaos going on, I left the movie theater feeling underwhelmed; nothing about the events in the movie was memorable.
What worked
While the movie as a whole was lacking in a “so what” factor, it was a hilarious watch, which I would expect nothing less from a movie that features comedian characters. This is due to the fantastic young actors and actresses that played these comedians.
While the actors are relatively unknown, they brought these household names to life through their performances. Gabriel LaBelle portrays Michaels, so the focus is widely on him throughout the movie. LaBelle is only 22 years old playing a 30 year old—that’s insane. His performance was mature and convincing through his facial expressions and tone of voice.
Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris and Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd were hilarious. With scenes like Smith tripping over a trash can, Morris singing “Kill All the Whities” that Garrett Morris sang and O’Brien in his tiny shorts, there were nonstop moments of laughter.
Rachel Sennott plays Michael’s wife at the time, Rosie Shuster, who was a writer for “SNL.” She portrayed Shuster as the strong female lead I wanted to see among a film full of men. The other women comedians in the film, unfortunately, took the back burner and didn’t have a lot of light shone on them. However, Sennott playing Shuster was bold, and when she was on screen, I immediately paid attention to her commanding presence.
What didn’t work
While Sennott portraying Shuster was a bold female lead, the women comedians were given barely any screen time of their own. Although the overall focus of the film was on Michaels and the behind-the-scenes of “Saturday Night,” there were still hilarious moments from the male comedians.
I wanted to see more of the women. They had one prominent scene rehearsing a sketch where the gender norms are switched, but that’s really all we see from these brilliant, humorous women.
Although this movie was entertaining to watch, I left the theater thinking, “I don’t really remember what happened during this movie.” Yes, they were all hyper-focused on getting the first show on air, yet I can’t remember what specifically happened throughout the plot and how they got on air.
I understand the point was to have chaos everywhere, but that left the film feeling surface-level without any depth to it. I didn’t feel like I could empathize with any of the characters, even Michaels who the movie focused on. There were zero emotional moments that made me feel connected to the chaos; I did not feel transported into the time and space of this film.
Just because this movie is set within the same space in the 90 minutes leading up to going live, it still could’ve had emotional depth. I like stagnant movies like “One Night in Miami” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” that display heavy themes and show emotion, but this movie didn’t do that.
The verdict
“Saturday Night” didn’t show the depth it needed in order for me to feel connected. It was funny and entertaining but lacked a “so what.” I honestly don’t even know what the point was supposed to be. Yeah, it was fun, but I can’t tell you what happened.
Because this film was unmemorable for me, I give it three out of five stars. I would not spend money to go see this in theaters. In fact, I’d wait for it to stream for free. It’s something to watch when you want a good laugh and don’t want to think too heavily into what you’re watching.
The young actors in this gave accurate performances and I felt the presence of these comedians come to life, but it wasn’t enough to make me feel connected to the story—especially Michael’s story that the film focused on.
It’s unfortunate that these actors’ talent wasn’t fully shown with any depth to the story. Save your money and wait for something that gives these talented actors the material they deserve.
