Saturday Night is a film about the first ever episode of Saturday Night Live and the two hours before they go live. While this sounds like a fascinating topic to dissect, it’ll take multiple viewings for what is a juggling act at breakneck speeds. Director Jason Reitman does his absolute best to fill in as many tiny factual stories, minute details and jokes into every scene in a way that makes the film fly by. It’s really a spectacle much in the way that I’m sure SNL really is behind the scenes. A giant amalgamation of dozens of people all working almost at random to produce something that miraculously comes together at the zero hour. There’s so much to love about Saturday Night that I can’t even describe fully as I only saw it once.
The story takes place at 30 Rockefeller center, in the fabled studio 8H. We have a young Lorne Michaels producing what can only be described as a series of plate spinning acts, all wobbling and threatening to go out of control. From organizing the talent, all fighting to be more than what they are, to handling execs, script ideas, and even executing on a llama delivery. It’s fascinating to watch Gabriel LaBelle play a Michaels who is firing on all cylinders, struggling to maintain his composure as his show keeps threatening to spin out of control. Gabriel's acting is composed yet vulnerable, as what I would imagine this iteration of the SNL founder would be. Never wavering in his determination and belief behind his product.
We mostly follow Lorne, but the rest of the cast round out nicely with stand outs by Corey Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Elda Hunt as Gilda Ratner and Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris. Each attempting to find their own place amongst the crew. Chevy with a budding fame, Gilda with a cast and crew all in love with her, and Garrett with his place as the minority without a comedy background. Each of their dynamics together as well as separately inner weaves seamlessly with the rest of the chaos that you can pick just one thread and follow it to a satisfying conclusion. That’s really what I enjoyed most about Saturday Night, the fact that all of these different stories converge into this finely woven tapestry that is this film.
Another fun aspect of the film are the numerous cameos, not just of actors but the celebrities they are playing. J.K. Simmons plays a hilarious Milton Berle that acts as a foil to Chevy Chase’s rising ego. Nicholas Braun of Succession fame pulls double duty as Jim Henson and Andy Kaufman, both comedic gold and even Nicholas Podany as a lost and confused Billy Crystal got a laugh out of me. There are so many blink and you'll miss cameo moments that I’m already excited for a second viewing to catch the portrayals of Al Franken, Billy Preston and Paul Schaffer. These act as easter eggs more than anything but for the avid SNL historians, these are worth the second viewing.
Saturday Night successfully depicts the chaos of the two hours before the initial first episode of Saturday Night Live, but also how I imagine two hours before ANY of their episodes. It’s a fun piece of television history that delves into both the corporate and personal stakes that come with the show's original airing. The cast pulls together to create a magnetic energy that can only come from a live show, and the tension is both stifling and exhilarating. There's so many things being juggled at any given time that it’s impossible to track them all. As a fan of SNL and the history of those that participated, I found this a fascinating look into the gamble Lorne took all those years ago. I’m more appreciative of SNL now than I was before watching the movie, and am excited to watch it again to see what other details I may have missed. This is definitely worth checking out!
Did you see Saturday Night? What did you think? Sound off in the comments below!
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