Saturday Night – Film Review
by Fran Winston

Directed by: Jason Reitman

Starring: Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, J. K. Simmons

While people outside the US know the long-running comedy entertainment show Saturday Night Live, it doesn’t have the same cultural impact here as it does in its homeland. After five decades on air, it is an American institution. During that time, it gave a start to many of the biggest names in comedy, including Chevy Chase, Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey, Gilda Radner, and Kate McKinnon, to name just a few.

Therefore it is unsurprising its origins story is getting the big screen treatment to mark its golden anniversary. LaBelle is tasked with playing the show’s creator and creative visionary Lorne Michaels and all of the huge cast list have the daunting task of playing some of the most recognisable faces in comedy.

Reitman co-wrote this with Gil Kenan and they made the interesting choice to follow the tense hours up to the first broadcast. Hence the 109-minute running time features crisis after crisis as no one except Michaels seems to know what is actually going on.

The soon to be well-known faces bicker backstage or prove just generally obstreperous, the writers are at war with each other while the frazzled Michaels is put under pressure by studio heads and faces scrutiny from TV veterans. Since he is the only one who actually seems to know what is going on, the pressure on him is intense and LaBelle captures his tension perfectly.

Some of the cast capture their character’s mannerisms more than others but most will be instantly recognisable to people who have a knowledge of the comedy stars of the 70s. However, if you have no clue who Dan Ackroyd, John Belushi or Andy Kaufmann are they may not resonate as much with you since with such a huge ensemble cast it is impossible to get a feel for them all.

The cast does have a fabulous frenetic energy, which is something of a trademark of the show itself, and no one tries to outshine anyone else, which is always a danger in an ensemble cast.

The chaos of live TV is also perfectly captured. Again, many people won’t have been privy to the inner workings of the TV industry but if you have even a passing interest in how shows are made this is fascinating.

The era also feels perfectly captured despite the claustrophobic surrounds of the TV studio setting. You can almost feel the brown-hued nylon clothes scratching the characters’ bodies.

Film and TV nostalgists will love this however a huge amount is going on at any one time which may prove a struggle for those who are unfamiliar with the characters to begin with. At times it feels like several short films spliced together as each character has their own struggle or issues.

Chaotic and messy, much like the debut events it is portraying, this is one of the films where your enjoyment and entertainment will probably be dictated more by your knowledge of and interest in the subject matter and the characters than anything the filmmakers have put on screen.