SATURDAY NIGHT

An expansive cast that uncannily channels their real life counterparts is a saving grace for Saturday Night which on most other accounts struggles to keep your attention for 90 minutes.

In 2025 it will be exactly fifty years since the first airing of Saturday Night Live, the often trending, intermittingly funny sketch show that has become a staple of American television. A movie that recounts the 90 minutes leading up to that very first ‘Live from New York … it’s Saturday Night!’ thus seems a good idea. Unfortunately, despite plenty of potential for drama and poignant commentary, Saturday Night – not unlike its subject – fizzles more than it sparkles.

Unsurprisingly, a lot goes wrong in the preparation of that first episode, from feuding comedians to a wildly overlong script and a total lack of faith from broadcaster NBC, which is using the sketch show as a bargaining chip in contract negotiations with late night host Johnny Carson. And apparently most of what you see on-screen actually happened, in some form or shape. So why isn’t Saturday Night not nearly entertaining enough?

Partly to blame is undoubtedly a screenplay that fails to hammer home the time lock. Sporadic time mentions that punctuate the action cannot conceal that the picture lacks tempo, heart-racing moments or stakes that are high enough to keep you engrossed.

Director Jason Reitman also struggles to give the many, many characters enough of a unique personality. This impacts your emotional involvement and definitely made me wonder how the late, great Robert Altman would have tackled this film. His anarchic, rebellious vision would certainly have been a better fit for Saturday Night than Reitman’s polished, formally conservative approach.

Still, in individual scenes the movie grabs you, mostly thanks to a cast that uncannily captures the likes of Chevy Chase, Andy Kaufmann, John Belushi and lots of other famous names that got their big break on Saturday Night Live. If only there were a true beating heart underneath the film to support their valiant efforts.

release: 2024

director: Jason Reitman

starring: Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman