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.
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