In Saturday Night, the curtain is drawn back on comedy-sketch show Saturday Night Live’s 1975 debut, revealing a wonderfully chaotic lead-up to the show.
Director Jason Reitman takes the audience on a wild ride through long one-shots and scenes that melt into one another.
The frenzied madness of preparing for the show begins instantly and is heightened by the grating, horror movie background tracks. The show also features an ominous countdown to midnight that periodically appears on the screen.
For the actors and crew, disaster after disaster occurs. Fires erupt on set and cast members walk out on the show. At times, this build-up is almost too much to bear.
[‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ is a divisive, musical whirlwind]
As if the cast and crew didn’t have enough to deal with, they’re embroiled in a fight against their host network NBC, which tries to censor their script and tank their show. This not-so-subtle nod to the culture wars in the 1970s is surprisingly relevant today.
In between the mounting stress, there are brief moments of vulnerability from the cast.
Laraine Newman, played by Emily Fairn, sends longing looks to Dan Aykroyd, played by Dylan O’Brien, despite his flirtations with other actors. Chevy Chase, played by Cory Michael Smith, experiences a small identity crisis, where he wonders where his career is going.
Familiar faces such as New Girl’s Lamorne Morris and Teen Wolf’s O’Brien appear disguised in 70s mustaches and sideburns. Influencer and actress Kaia Gerber plays a small role as Jacqueline Carlin, Chevy Chase’s then–girlfriend.
Reitman times many short, dramatic moments to allow the audience just enough exposure to the characters, before abruptly pushing them away, contributing to a the-show-must-go-on feeling that envelopes the film.
But this technique comes at the cost of the film’s emotional depth. The characters have no substance, or at least none that feels justly explored.
Emotional moments come sandwiched between quick-witted jokes and slapstick comedy, so the audience lacks time to understand the characters’ dimension. These small breaks in the plot appear inauthentic and cliché, a sort of overdone “tortured artist” trope.
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Saturday Night Live’s producer Lorne Michaels, played by Gabriel LaBelle, captains the counterculture. He and the SNL cast defy old producers such as network executive David Tebet, played by Willem Dafoe.
The film’s emphasis on the off-beat, counter-culture nature of the show is ingenious.
Saturday Night Live premiered almost fifty years ago, which means a younger Gen-Z or millennial audience might not recognize the cast from their past comedic stardom.
But the suppression from the old, soulless, greedy producers makes audiences root for them regardless. They’re not just 1970s comedians, but young artists trying to stand up for themselves.
By the end of the movie, there’s a swelling sense of pride for the cast. Even though they are a drugged-out, rag tag, almost Bacchic cult of comedians, you can’t help but root for these underdogs to make it to midnight and premiere their show.
