This past weekend, Saturday Night Live (SNL), celebrated 50 years of the program. To celebrate, I watched the new movie, Saturday Night, a film about the 90 minutes leading up to the first episode of SNL.
Image Credit: Universal Pictures
Directed by Jason Reitmen, it is available on Prime Video and Apple TV for purchase and is free with a Netflix subscription.
Gabriel LaBelle plays Lorne Michaels. “I didn’t expect this to happen,” LaBelle said in his interview with Derek Lawrence for Backstage. “It’s been such a whirlwind.”
The rest of the cast plays the original sketch comedians, Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), Gilda Radnar (Ella Hunt), Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O’Brien), Laraine Newman (Emily Fairn), John Belushi (Matt Wood), Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris), Jane Curtin (Kim Matula).
Singer, composer, and actor, Jon Batiste co-wrote the score with Gil Kenan, and plays the first musical guest, Billy Preston.
The movie starts with a young NBC page (Finn Wolfhard) advertising the new show. Then as Lorne Michaels comes into the scene, the story picks up with him. Reitmen’s direction for this film was interesting. There was no clear distinction between scenes, following characters as if walking side by side.
Some viewers however, did not love the pace of this movie as much. “The cast works hard and brings off some antic moments, but too many of the riffs fall flat,”The Hollywood Reporter said.
The film is shockingly accurate. The set, wardrobe, and even actors are almost identical to those in the original episode. Wood, who plays John Belushi, was by far one of the most entertaining. Apart from being a dead-ringer for John Belushi, he perfected the characteristics and mannerisms of the SNL star. Ella Hunt who played the late SNL comedian Gilda Radnar embodied her character and loveable personality.
I recommend watching this movie with friends, it will make you laugh and keeps the audience entertained.
