Rent Saturday Night on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Gil Kenan & Jason Reitman
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Starring: Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O'Brien, Nicholas Braun, Matt Wood, Finn Wolfhard
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
At 11:30pm on October 11th, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever. Find out what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live.
Verdict
This doesn't depict what actually happened, but it does depict what I want to have happened. The pacing remains frenetic from the first scene as cast and crew scramble to ready the first episode as they're nearly derailed time and again right up to show time. This does a great job of developing the characters just enough so it feels like they have a plight while capturing why this show has endured. This isn't far from being a sketch about a sketch show, and that makes it a lot of fun.
Watch It.
Review
It's the premiere night of a unique comedy show that's still trying to figure out an identity and how to sell it. The hectic energy of everyone converges as they rehearse and refine the skits. No one has ever tried to do a live comedy show.
Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) tries to pull the comedians and skits together before showtime, but they've scheduled too many. He's making promises, but he's the only one that can envision what this could be. Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith) clearly can be difficult, already thinking he's bound for bigger venues. Garret Morris (Lamorne Morris) feels out of place, wondering why he's on this show as his theater background doesn't seem important for a comedy show.
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| Rachel Sennot, Gabriel LaBelle, Matt Wood play Rosie Shuster, Lorne Michaels, John Belushi |
The show's premiere keeps getting close and nothing seems to be coming together. Lorne tries to put out fires. Belushi (Matt Wood) doesn't like his skits and hasn't signed his contract. The bosses are betting on the show to fail despite what they tell Lorne. Why else would NBC put a collection of twenty year old counter-culture comedians on a live sketch show? This is a movie that's after energy and mood more than history. It captures the emotions and the feel of what it was like daring to launch an endeavor.
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| Dylan O'Brien, Gabriel LaBelle, Tommy Dewey, Rachel Sennott Robert Wuhl play Dan Aykroyd, Lorne Michaels, Michael O'Donoghue, Rose Shuster, Dave Wilson |
Just as they're about to premiere, NBC's head of talent David Tebet (Willem Dafoe) doesn't see the point and refuses to let them air. They have to convince him. Though Lorne falters, Andy Kaufman (Nicholas Braun) does a Mighty Mouse routine and just hired writer Zweibel gives Chase a bit for Weekend Update. While Tebet still doesn't get it, he sees the energy of the laughing crowd and gives them the green light. We've seen a brick platform being built slowly throughout, but now everyone pitches in to get this done, even Chase. The energy and belief is contagious.
Is this what happened? I doubt it, but this movie is what we wanted to have happened. It's the energy and nervousness we imagine the cast and crew felt right up to the point where the classic phrase is first uttered, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night."
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