Saturday Night (2024) * * 1/2

 

Directed by:  Jason Reitman

Starring:  Gabriel LaBelle, Cooper Hoffman, Willem Dafoe, JK Simmons, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Dylan O' Brien, Matt Wood, Nicholas Braun, Robert Wuhl, Matthew Rhys

Saturday Night could have benefited in the early going with an onscreen introduction to the numerous writers, producers, production team members, and assorted people running around backstage ninety minutes before the first Saturday Night Live episode was set to air on October 11, 1975.  Creator Lorne Michaels (LaBelle) puts out one fire after another in his quest to ensure the show aired, while NBC executives led by Dave Tebet (Dafoe), who is not shy about telling Michaels a Tonight Show rerun is ready to be played in Saturday Night's place if Michaels can't get the show's act together.

Saturday Night jumps from one problem to another for the ambitious Michaels to solve at a frenetic pace which is sometimes difficult to keep up with.  Having an insider's knowledge of the early days of the show doesn't hurt either.  The actors playing the Not Ready for Primetime Players are spot-on and not merely impersonators.  We sense the angst that the erratic John Belushi (Wood) causes everyone, and he refuses to sign his contract to boot.  Michaels is forever trying to talk him off the ledge, and we get the feeling he would have to do this numerous more times in the ensuing years.   Chevy Chase (Smith) is already seeing himself as the next big Hollywood star and SNL will be a stepping stone for that.  Host George Carlin (Rhys), high on cocaine, is not thrilled with the writing and sees hosting the show as a step backward for his career.  

There is so much more and it's impossible to recap, but LaBelle is a steadying influence with whom we sympathize.  He has a lot to carry on his shoulders and most members of the audience wouldn't want his job for all of the tea in China.  Michaels' boss, executive Dick Ebersol (Hoffman), supports Michaels but like everyone else wonders if the show will ever make it to air and if it does, what will it look like?  How will it play with audiences?  As SNL begins its fiftieth season, history has told the tale.  The movie Saturday Night has a correct sense of time and place.  It feels like the era of post-Vietnam 70's and even more about a period when late night television was all the rage, but the overall effect is one of good moments that don't make up a satisfying whole.  

Mr. McMahon (2024) * * * (Streaming on Netflix)

 

Directed by:  Chris Smith

Starring:  Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Paul Levesque, Dwayne Johnson, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Shane McMahon, Mark Calaway (The Undertaker), Tony Atlas, Bruce Prichard, Eric Bischoff

It was a curious move for former WWE head Vince McMahon to ask viewers to "keep an open mind" when watching Netflix's new documentary series, Mr. McMahon.  The documentary itself consists of interviews with Vince McMahon, colleagues, family members, friends, and enemies recorded beginning in 2021 before Vince's ouster from WWE due to lawsuits and sexual allegations with former employees.  

Mr. McMahon takes us through the billionaire wrestling promoter's life from an abusive childhood which he doesn't talk much about to his rise to power in the WWF (which later became WWE following a lawsuit by the World Wildlife Fund).  McMahon did not meet his biological father, Vincent J. McMahon, then-owner of WWF until he was twelve years old.  Vince then followed his dad into the business and after buying him out circa 1983, he set his sights on nationwide expansion in an era dominated by territorial wrestling organizations.  It was a gentleman's agreement between promoters that they would not run shows in other areas, but Vince wasn't interested in being a gentleman.  As he states more than once, "I don't fight fair,"

Hulk Hogan was essential in aiding the WWF in becoming a worldwide phenomenon and he features heavily throughout many of the episodes, including being a witness at Vince's federal steroid distribution trial in which McMahon was found not guilty.  There is also extensive time devoted to New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick, who has it in for McMahon and the WWF for reasons not made clear, but whose steroid accusations paved the way for the government to file charges.   McMahon is no stranger to lawsuits, indictments, or accusations.  

Mr. McMahon serves the target audience, those who grew up enjoying professional wrestling, very well.  As a history of WWE, covering the famed "Montreal Screwjob", Wrestlemania, and the Monday Night Wars with WCW which nearly put WWE out of business, Mr. McMahon is well-crafted and thorough.  However, those wanting to learn the inner workings of Vince McMahon won't find much here that they don't already know.  McMahon is cagey in how he protects himself, like the magician who is reticent to reveal the secrets to his tricks.  We learn how he feels about certain things, but only superficially.  But, it's fun to take a look back in history anyway.  Then, the scandalous lawsuits happened, and McMahon cancelled the remainder of his interviews.  Mr. McMahon could've been renamed History of WWE and no one would've noticed any difference.  Anyone expecting insight into the wrestling mogul has come to the wrong place, but Mr. McMahon is a comprehensive look at the palace that he built. 

The Bear (Season Three) * * 1/2

 

Starring:  Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Oliver Platt, Olivia Colman, Matty Matheson, Jon Bernthal, Abby Elliott, L-Boy, Liza Colon-Zayas, Molly Gordon, Jamie Lee Curtis

The Bear sizzles when it depicts the grind of running a top-flight restaurant.  "Every second counts" is the mantra and a few lost moments can be the difference between a happy customer and a bad review.  The pressure to produce great food is intense, and the pressure to earn a profit even more so.  Chef Carmen Berzatto (White) orders the most expensive butter around to make his dishes stand out, but Uncle Jimmy (Platt) sees his investment and any chance of recouping his money flying out the window.  Is something wrong with Land-O-Lakes?  

Then, there is the other side of The Bear, in which characters engage in looooong conversations which certainly cause this viewer's attention to wane.  The episode in which Natalie (Elliott) is in labor is one extended conversation between her and her estranged mother (Curtis).  The acting is superb, but the incessant talking is not.  A balance between the two would bring The Bear back to the quality of the excellent first season.  The last two seasons, while they've had their moments, have not been able to match season one.  

The Bear is now open for business.  The first episode consists mostly of elliptical flashbacks and Carmen beating himself up for being locked accidentally in the walk-in refrigerator during opening night.  Usually, you have to wait until mid-season to see the filler episode, but The Bear gets it out of the way early.  Carmen has two expressions:  Mopey and more mopey.  He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, triggered by past trauma and verbal abuse by the head chef (a terrific Joel McHale) of the New York restaurant where he worked.  When Carmen has a chance in the season finale to confront this demon, it doesn't disappoint.   

We also witness the continuing evolution of Richie (Moss-Bachrach), who in season two learned under Chef Andrea (Colman) how to become a maitre-d and under his steely, shifting gaze, sees all in the restaurant and of course finds himself wanting to strangle Carmen more than once.   In the middle is Sydney, whom Carmen wants to make a partner but receives a tempting offer to be head chef at a friend's upstart restaurant.  She is tormented by the decision and the internalized pressure.  

Despite its strengths, The Bear's third season is a mixed bag.  The strong aspects are very strong, but then we have whole sequences of talk-a-thon conversations which lull us into boredom.   When we think they're over, they drag on.  I like these people and their camaraderie is infectious, but look out when they start expounding on things.