As Lorne Michaels, the creator of NBC’s Saturday Night, now known as Saturday Night Live (SNL), races around Studio 8H at NBC headquarters, chaos chases him through the halls as the clock counts down the final 90 minutes before his comedy show’s pilot episode. It was October 11, 1975, and Michaels is frantically piecing together what he hopes will be a successful hour-and-a-half of live television; a cultural awakening for viewers across the country. Those around him didn’t see the appeal, they couldn’t understand what exactly it was that they were creating. What was the whole point of Michaels’ show? Though he couldn’t put it into words himself, Michaels was right about one thing; SNL, changed lives forever.
Directed by Jason Reitman, Saturday Night features a star-studded ensemble cast including Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Dylan O’Brien, Ella Hunt, Nicholas Braun, Kaia Gerber, Willem Dafoe and more. Reitman and Gil Kenan co-wrote the screenplay for this project, with the goal of speaking with anyone and everyone who was working in Studio 8H during the premiere of SNL. This film had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The film follows Michaels (LaBelle) hustling through Studio 8H, doing everything he can to get his show, SNL’ to air. He was down to the wire with only 90 minutes left to get his crew and team of amateur actors focused enough to broadcast a string of comedy sketches and musical acts on live television. Very few have faith in his ability to pull his show together in such a short amount of time, especially when everything seems to be going wrong for the young, optimistic producer. Michaels has a vision for his show, and a goal to change the name of comedy television, and no one is going to get in his way.
Saturday Night is chaotic, to say the least. But, that’s what makes it so attractive to big screen movie-goers. The bright, disco-style wardrobe, rightfully placed puns and high energy levels light up the screen. This film highlights the wild ride that Michaels and his co-workers truly endured, proving that it takes endless hard work and determination to deliver a cutting edge project in the entertainment industry.
In the theatrical release poster for Saturday Night, LaBelle is seen carrying the rest of the cast on his back, which is a representation of what his character does within the film. When examining these characters individually, his performance doesn’t get lost in this large ensemble cast. While everyone brings their own personality to the table, LaBelle’s portrayal of Michaels is unironically witty, passionate and stressful, which is the perfect contrast from the rest of the characters in this film, who are written to seem as though they have very little interest in lighting up the late-night live comedy scene.
One of the best scenes in this film is when LaBelle delivers a monologue, finally explaining what his goal with SNL is. It’s a question his character struggles to answer throughout a fair portion of the film and is a big reason why no one believes in his vision until the last few minutes before airing; they couldn’t perform at their best when they didn’t even know what it was they were working on. He tries to explain that the sketch show is one-of-a-kind, he can’t describe something they have never witnessed. Eventually, LaBelle goes on to illustrate what New York City means to him, and how the wonders of the big city shine through SNL.
Together, LaBelle and Sennott deliver wonderful performances, keeping audiences engaged in this fast-paced story. They work together to create a dynamic for Michaels and Rosie Shuster (Sennott), who at the time were married, that displays what audiences perceive as the professionalism and respect they had for each other’s work on set.
Cory Michael Smith proves to be another stand-out cast member, as his physical portrayal of Chevy Chase is so accurate, it’s uncanny. When Chase was supposed to be loud and humorous, Smith is spot-on. When Chase was supposed to be monotonous and uninterested in what Michaels has to say, Smith is once again spot-on.
What you expect to see is exactly what you get from Reitman’s latest project. Audience members will feel as though they’ve been dropped directly into Studio 8H, alongside Michaels, running around like mad in order to successfully bring SNL to life for the very first time. The string of events is messy, the endless background noises are at a constant high and the film itself provides an overall entertaining watch. Just as SNL brings humour and endless laughs into the homes of thousands across North America, Saturday Night will undoubtedly do the same for movie theatre audiences.
Saturday Night arrives exclusively in theatres on October 11, celebrating 49 years of SNL to the day.
