It’s October 11, 1975, and NBC is about to air what seems to be a trainwreck of a live show. The viewer, of course, knows that this show will go on to become pop culture phenomenon Saturday Night Live – but with Studio 8H in shambles, will they be able to pull it off? The incredible Jason Reitman (known for his direction of Juno and Thank You for Smoking) takes on the challenge to show off the chaos behind the first episode of Saturday Night Live.
Releasing 49 years to the day after the first episode’s original airdate, Saturday Night is a rollercoaster of a film that shows the chaos of the night of October 11th – and how the show became a staple in American television. As a long-time SNL fan, this film provides a captivating look into the start of one of the best comedy sketch shows in history. I believe SNL presents us one of the most mystifying enigmas of television. The show’s presence seems like second nature to those of us who grew up with it. Saturday Night shows, however, that SNL’s varied journey to a vaunted cult classic held many unexpected challenges.
In true SNL fashion, there are a lot of young, up-and-coming stars to be in this film. Gabriel LaBelle plays the ambitious producer Lorne Micheals, previously known for his work in The Fablemens. Bottoms and Shiva Baby star Rachel Sennott plays the writer and separated wife of Micheals. The two star alongside long-time actors such as Lamorne Morris, of New Girl fame, and the Columbus-born Cory Micheal Smith, known for May December. The son of the legendary Phillip Seymour-Hoffman, Cooper Hoffman, also makes an appearance as well.
The cast consists of a collage of stars and newbies, much like that of the original Saturday Night Live. It’s a mishmash of household names and soon-to-be stars that all work together cohesively to deliver great sketches each week. This film contains a standout group that highlights the new faces in Hollywood that are definitely going to be known for years to come. They also all fit the attitudes and appearances of the real-life people as accurately as possible, which I found astonishing
I found this film’s camerawork to be notable. A lot of scenes are shot on a handheld camera, which gives the film a shaky and hectic and at-times hard to watch. Throughout the night, it seems as though everything that can go wrong does go wrong. The handheld camera adds to the disarray and commotion prevailing throughout the studio that night. Despite so much happening in every second of this film, I could not stop laughing and smiling and stressing alongside the characters. I felt like I stood right next to them in the studio, participating in all their misfortunes.
I found the calmer moments in the film , though few and far between, a breath of fresh air. They effortlessly juxtapose the move’s otherwise frenetic pace. In one scene, Jim Belushi finds himself at the Rockefeller ice rink dressed in a bee costume for a sketch later that night. He only has about 15 minutes before show time, and Micheals seems to finally catch a break as he coaxes Belushi to come back and do the show. I found this endearing, quiet, and reflective in a way. The film leaves it ambiguous as to the actual truth of this event, but it makes for a touching little “everything will be okay” moment in the film.
Spoiler alert: the show does go on, and it becomes a pivotal moment in television history. As the final words of the film played – the iconic “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!” – I was reminded of my love for cinema and comedy. I see myself revisiting this film over and over again as it combines all of the best things people love about movies. I give this 4.5 stars out of 5. Reitman has truly hit another home run.
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