“Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”
“Saturday Night Live” (“SNL”) is one of the most revolutionary television shows, winning 84 Primetime Emmy Awards. Creating a movie that could replicate such an iconic show sounded impossible to my ears, but Jason Reitman, director of “Saturday Night,” did it wonderfully.
“Saturday Night Live” uniquely follows the premise of comedians getting together to perform a series of skits on live television every Saturday night from the fall to the spring. About 20 shows are produced each year, and the process of being ready to perform a show live isn’t easy, especially when it hasn’t been done before.
“Saturday Night” is short and sweet when compared to current movies. It follows the 90 minutes leading up to the first-ever “SNL” episode, which premiered on October 11, 1975. These 90 minutes are about to change television forever, but will they actually happen? Everything seems to go wrong, then right, then wrong again. The plot is a quick story that doesn’t stop for anybody — a story that marks the beginning of a tremendous legacy. According to past “SNL” cast members such as Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon, Reitman created an accurate depiction of the tense energy that can occur at “SNL”’s home, Rockefeller Center, before the show goes live.
With a cast packed with fresh actors such as Rachel Sennott, Dylan O’Brien, Ella Hunt, Cory Michael Smith, Gabriel LaBelle, Kaia Gerber, Lamorne Morris and renowned actors such as Willam Dafoe and J.K. Simmons, you get a taste of many different people’s personalities under pressure. Along with Gil Kenan & Reitman, screenwriters of “Saturday Night,” you begin to feel as if you are right beside each character experiencing every second of it.
A clear highlight of the movie was how each cast member brought silly, authentic energy to each of their characters. My personal favorite performances being Labelle, Sennott and O’Brien.
LaBelle plays Lorne Michaels with charm and determination, capturing Michael’s fierce energy towards creating his vision for “SNL.” His character guides the whole movie, making him likable since he is so human and comforting. I felt connected to LaBelle’s performance and was on his side right from the beginning.
Sennott is vibrant and powerful in her portrayal of “SNL” writer and first wife of Michaels, Rosie Shuster. Sennott is witty, fierce and notable from the moment she enters, stopping a rack and walking off, displaying her power in the making of “SNL.” What made her stand out was how natural Sennott is, quickly making her the audience’s favorite thanks to her humor and confidence. Sennott’s performance as Shuster is exciting nonetheless. It seemed like the perfect addition to Sennott’s filmography. I already adored her roles in films such as “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” “Bottoms” and “Shiva Baby.”
With his tiny jean shorts and flirtatious, charming personality, Dylan O’Brien’s performance as Dan Aykroyd is instantly loveable. Aykroyd is written as the attractive cast member with tons of charisma, and O’Brien lives it up. One of my favorite scenes from the movie includes O’Brien, where he does a sketch in hilarious short-shorts as his fellow cast members pick on him during a sketch. This scene adds to the complex mixed emotions like anger, happiness, laughter, frustration and fear happening during this first episode. O’Brien continues to move the audience with laughter from his flirtatious interactions and comedic performance. For instance, his shock when reacting to Neil Levy, portrayed by Andrew Barth Feldman, when Levy is intoxicated, or his heated argument with Shuster over his costume for the skit “Hard Hats,” demonstrated his acting skill to bring the audience laughter.
Willam Dafoe as Dave Tebet and J.K. Simmons as Milton Berle are other examples of great performances played by highly acclaimed actors. Dafoe, portraying Tebet, creates a fatherly performance where he helps guide the frenzy surrounding the first episode of “SNL,” but he is harsh and recognizes that many want to see Michaels fail. In one scene, his cutting remark about Michael’s risky vision helps you understand how serious the pressure they are under is. Simmons, on the other hand, is the epitome of Hollywood-esque charm. Tebet is a veteran in this business, and he and his show are superior to “SNL.” You see this in the way he carries himself, especially in one specific scene including him, Gerber as Jacqueline Carlin and Michael Smith as Chevy Chase. You then begin to understand what kind of person he is.
Within the cast’s performance of “Saturday Night,” a delightful juxtaposition is explored of watching Hollywood’s past and future.
Reitman’s skill of showing multi-layered humans on the screen was clear in a previously directed film of his, the Academy Award-winning film “Juno,” and it continues in “Saturday Night.” Reitman’s directing style for this movie was so fast and experimental; it’s far from classical. He shines light on the severe pressure each person is under with rapid cuts from one scene to another and overlapping dialogue. The experience reminded me of Emma Seligman’s “Shiva Baby” because they both shared the same feeling of a countdown until something possibly insane occurs. Seligman and Reitman both bring you to the stressful world each is displaying.
All in all, “Saturday Night” is a movie filled with laughs and stressors. It’s not a common type of movie, with its fast-paced, chaotic plot, yet it works to show the true experience of October 11, 1975. I left the theater feeling thankful for how they got through the first episode and all the hilarious moments “SNL” has given. “SNL” was and continues to be a hilarious television show, and it couldn’t have been easy to transport an audience back to their beginning. Still, Reitman found a way and created a movie that will leave you satisfied.
