Documentary/Biopic Jason Reitman to Direct Film About Opening Night of SNL

[Drizzle]

Seeing this tomorrow, definitely excited for it.

They could keep the same cast and center the first sequel on the episode where Chevy Chase hosted and got into a fistfight with Bill Murray backstage.

They really could turn this into a sort of anthology series but I don't know how sustainable that would be as theatrical films.

 

[Sawyer]

 

[blueharvest]

 

[Dave McFly]

seeing this later today looking forward to it

 

[Drizzle]

This was great, as a huge SNL fan I had a blast because even though it of course wasn't totally accurate and took creative liberties, it was right up my alley. It was a total love letter to the show and pretty much all of the actors were spot on in their roles, particularly Dylan O'Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris and Matt Wood as John Belushi, who I'm pretty sure is a Belushi clone created in a lab. I also continue to be impressed by Gabriel Labelle being a capable lead between this and The Fabelmans, especially at such a young age.

Such as it is, I can't imagine someone who isn't as big into SNL being as big a fan of this. That isn't to say they wouldn't enjoy it but if someone who had never watched an episode of SNL and/or was totally unfamiliar with the early seasons of the show watched this, I have to imagine it'd be similar to someone who's never watched a Marvel movie watching Infinity War. It felt like it was made for fans by fans. Maybe I'm wrong on that one, I don't know.

Either way, this has probably secured a spot in my Top 10 for the year.

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

Okay. I was 99.99 percent right about how this movie would end. As for the film itself? Chaos. Sheer, bloody chaos.

That's how I'd describe Saturday Night. It's crazy to think that this movie, about a pivotal point in Saturday Night Live's history, is itself also part of SNL history. This is the equivalent to watching a lit fuse head towards a stick of dynamite as the world collapses around you. In a way, it reminded me of how chaotic Birdman was at times, with similar direction at times through the narrow hallways of NBC.

Surprisingly, the standout performance for me was not Cory Michael Smith, but Lamorne Morris. This man truly embodied Garrett Morris in speech, mannerisms, and presentation. You look at him, and you believe he is Morris ripped right out of 1975. Really, the majority of the cast is great and no one gives a bad performance.

However, with a movie this frantic plus seven SNL players, obviously not everyone is going to get something noteworthy to do. That's Kim Matula and Emily Fairn as Jane Curtin and Larraine Newman, respectively. They aren't bad in their roles, just not given as much to do as the others outside of one fun rehearsal sketch. Heck, Nicholas Podany as Billy Crystal has more input to the film than two of the original prime time players. But again, this film has so much to juggle that it'd be insane for everyone to get equal development without the movie being longer.

And it moves along at a brisk pace, taking time to breathe when necessary and then getting back into the chaos. It does hit more if you're a fan of Saturday Night Live, whether this era or otherwise, but I think as a film, it also works as just a comedy of errors and look at the challenges of producing live television. How Saturday Night Live is still doing this 50 years later is nothing short of miraculous, even if I myself haven't actively watched the show since 2009.

Reitman should take a bow. I would absolutely love to see more films about SNL in this style, sort of an American Horror Story-style anthology where we get different eras. It probably won't happen, but for now, this is easily going to be one of my favorite films of the year.

Also...show Jim Henson some respect!

 

[Drizzle]

However, with a movie this frantic plus seven SNL players, obviously not everyone is going to get something noteworthy to do. That's Kim Matula and Emily Fairn as Jane Curtin and Larraine Newman, respectively. They aren't bad in their roles, just not given as much to do as the others outside of one fun rehearsal sketch. Heck, Nicholas Podany as Billy Crystal has more input to the film than two of the original prime time players. But again, this film has so much to juggle that it'd be insane for everyone to get equal development without the movie being longer.

Totally agreed on Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman getting shortchanged here, especially Laraine. Jane at least had that scene with Garrett where Matula was able to convey how much she was channelling Jane in her performance but Fairn as Newman had practically nothing to do except tag along with Gilda and Jane and glance longingly at Aykroyd. Which had to be part of some deleted scenes because as was hinted at in the movie, Aykroyd got around during his time on the show. I'm assuming there was more between him and Laraine that was left on the cutting room floor. I was also worried that Gilda was getting shortchanged with screentime at one point but they gave her that poignant scene with Belushi and Lorne at the ice rink.

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

Totally agreed on Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman getting shortchanged here, especially Laraine. Jane at least had that scene with Garrett where Matula was able to convey how much she was channelling Jane in her performance but Fairn as Newman had practically nothing to do except tag along with Gilda and Jane and glance longingly at Aykroyd. Which had to be part of some deleted scenes because as was hinted at in the movie, Aykroyd got around during his time on the show. I'm assuming there was more between him and Laraine that was left on the cutting room floor. I was also worried that Gilda was getting shortchanged with screentime at one point but they gave her that poignant scene with Belushi and Lorne at the ice rink.

I felt exactly the same about

Spoiler

Curtin's moment with Morris. She at least got a moment, even with it being initiated by Morris, and Newman may as well have not been there. But I am very curious about what was cut because there had to have been so much more filmed for this.

 

[BeserkerHilf]

Now that it's out on Digital, I watched it last night. Perfect love letter and victory lap for Lorne and SNL. I'm 37, and as someone who grew up on Dan Aykroyd movies (Ghostbusters, My Girl, etc), got into SNL in the early 90s and immediately went back to anything that was available from the first five years, it was extremely unnerving how Dylan O'Brien nailed him. I was dying over the gun exchange, because that embodies Aykroyd's madness. I caught a box of Colon Blow on one of the writers' desk, so it has me wondering if I were to go back, is there more easter eggs laying around.

I will say though, the only thing I didn't love was Lorne as a character, or I guess how he was written. I think the show's cast did an amazing of making more of their characters than just doing impressions, whereas Lorne as a character is a narrative device wrapped up in an impression. Understanding this was a victory lap approach and the need to avoid constant narration, I still would have preferred a version of Lorne more in the moment rather than the retrospective waxing poetic about greatness.

 

[Sawyer]

 

[blueharvest]

 

[Sawyer]

lol still making friends wherever he goes.

 

[OrbOfConfusion]

lol still making friends wherever he goes.

“So, Chevy comes in to watch the movie, and he is there with [wife] Jayni and they watch the film, and he’s in the group, and he comes up to me after and he pats me on the shoulder and goes, ‘Well, you should be embarrassed,'” he told Spade and Dana Carvey on their Fly on the Wall podcast.

Spade and Carvey were right- that sounds exactly like what present-day Chase would say.