The final 90 minutes before the premiere episode of Saturday Night Live is dramatized in Saturday Night. It is October 11, 1975 and producer Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) is preparing for the launched of his new sketch comedy series on NBC. With the show yet to have a finalized script. network executive Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman) warns Lorne that that NBC chief Dave Tebet (Willem Dafoe) is dangerously close from pulling the live show and replacing it with a rerun of The Tonight Show. With the help of wife and writer Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott), Lorne rushes to ensure that Saturday Night goes on the air at 11:30 pm.
Saturday Night Synopsis
Saturday Night is a biopic about the frentic 90 minutes before the first episode of Saturday Night Live, co-written and directed by Jason Reitman (Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Tully). The film stars Gabriel LaBelle (The Fabelmans) as SNL producer Lorne Michaels, who finds everything going wrong before the show hits the air. This includes the planned format being way too long, head writer Michael O’Donoghue (Tommy Dewey) having repeated conflicts with the censor Joan Carbunkle (Catherine Curtin), and cast member John Belushi (Matt Wood) having yet to sign his contract.
The vast ensemble cast of Saturday Night includes Cory Michael Smith (May December) as Chevy Chase, Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner) as Dan Aykroyd, Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris, J.K. Simmons as Milton Berle, and Nicholas Braun (Succession) playing both Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson. The action of the film plays out more or less in real time, with Dick Ebersol, played by Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza), being one of the few executives at NBC to be on Lorne Michaels’ side. As the clock ticks down, it remains a question whether these not for prime time players will ever hit the air.
My Thoughts on Saturday Night
Arriving in time for SNL‘s 50th anniversary, Saturday Night does a solid job of building suspense other whether the show will make it to air, even though the outcome is already history. One of the challenges of Saturday Night is the depiction of the first season cast, all of whom go on to become comedy legends. Without a doubt, the best performance goes to Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, who steals the film and gives an Oscar-worthy performance with his pitch perfect imitation. Some of the other standouts include Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Matt Wood as John Belushi, and Nicholas Podany as Billy Crystal.
Gabriel LaBelle does a fine job as Lorne Michaels, even though I’ve personally only known Michaels as an older man and not the young upstart as depicted in this film. Rachel Sennott (Shiva Baby, Bottoms) is also memorable as Lorne Michaels then-wife, and SNL writer, Rosie Shuster. While he’s not in the film for long, J.K. Simmons also leaves an impression as Milton Berle, who is depicted as an antagnonistic representation of the old guard at NBC.
As Saturday Night focuses primarily behind the scenes, the film opts not to recreate too many moments from the premiere episode. However, the second Nicolas Braun as Andy Kaufman turns on a record player, as the cast is trying to prove their worth to Willem Dafore’s Dave Tebet, most would know exactly what is coming. Ultimately, Saturday Night ends up being an immensely crowd pleasing depiction of October 11, 1975, which ends the now legendary phrase of LIVE FROM NEW YORK IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT!
