In the new movie “Saturday Night,” fans of “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) get to see the events that took place 90 minutes before going on air for the first time. SNL almost didn’t happen, mishap after mishap occurred and the executives of NBC didn’t want “Saturday Night” to succeed. Despite all of this, the show went on and is still running to this day.
More about the movie
The movie transports viewers to Oct. 11, 1975, when a series of disasters threatened the show’s premiere. A fire broke out, cast members fought, drug use was rampant and everything kept going wrong. The show was not figured out and its fate remained uncertain until moments before broadcast.
You always hear how musicians and actors use drugs, and in this movie you see it take place the night of the first show. The R-rated film runs 1 hour, 49 minutes and doesn’t shy away from depicting the era’s drug culture.
Cast and crew
According to IMDb, some of the actors include Gabriel LaBelle, Dylan O’Brien, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Colby James West, Nicholas Braun and Ellen Boscov.
According to IMDb, the writers of “Saturday Night” are Gil Kenan and Jason Reitman. Reitman was also the director of this movie. Kenan was the director for “Monster House,” and was the writer for “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.” Reitman was the director for “Juno” and “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.” These are just some of the movies they have worked on.
Skits that are in “Saturday Night”
O’Brien who played Dan Aykroyd, was the main character in a skit called “Hard Hats.” Wood played John Belushi and Tommy Dewey played Michael O’Donoghue in the skit called “The Wolverines.” Additionally, O’Brien as Aykroyd and Smith who played Chevy Chase, were in the skit called “New Dad Insurance.” These are just some of the skits that the movie showed.
Standout performances
The two actors that stood out to me the most were O’Brien and Nicholas Podany who played Billy Crystal. O’Brien’s mannerisms, like the way he walked and moved, were like Aykroyd’s. The way Podany spoke sounded just like Crystal. Furthermore, it was really interesting to see all the actors portray the real SNL actors.
O’Brien has been in the TV show, “Teen Wolf,” and in movies such as “The Maze Runner,” “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” and “Maze Runner: The Death Cure.” He has also been in “All Too Well: The Short Film” which is Taylor Swift‘s short film. Podany has been in the TV show “Hart of Dixie” and in the movie “Summertime Dropouts.” These are just some of the movies and TV shows they have been in.
Actor impersonations
Luis Pascasio, a half-time senior lecturer in Communication at NCC, discussed actor impersonations in general. He said the following:
“The actor’s role is to portray the attributes of character as intended by the writer or sometimes the director. This does not mean however that the actor cannot create his or her own interpretation of a character. But the interpretation has to be premised on some discernible level to what the original intent of the story is, which for the most part, is the creation of the writer. So, collaboration with the writer and director is ideal for an actor,” said Pascasio.
This ties to an Extratv interview with O’Brien, Sennott and LaBelle on YouTube. According to the interview, something O’Brien discussed was how Reitman, the director and one of the writers, wanted the cast to make their characters their own based on how they interpreted them.
Target audience of “Saturday Night”
I think the people who would enjoy this movie the most would be people who like documentaries, people who like learning the history of things and fans of “SNL.” To add, this isn’t a comedy, it’s a serious movie that walks you through what took place before the show aired. Don’t get me wrong, there are funny parts of the movie but overall it’s more serious. Additionally, the events of the night are the main focus, not reenacting the skits.
Reviews
On Rotten Tomatoes, the critics rated this movie at 78% while audiences rated this film at 80%. IMDb rated this film 7.4/10.
“Saturday Night” isn’t for everyone, and if you are looking to see a movie that remakes all the skits this isn’t the movie for you. All in all, the actors did a great job portraying the real actors.
