The 587th film I have seen in theaters…

Spoilers below

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October 11, 1975. Lorne Michaels wrangles a literal circus to put on the first episode of Saturday Night. This is the story of the 90 minutes leading to airtime.

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Gabriel LaBelle, who is new to me, absolutely NAILS Lorne Michaels. I couldn’t believe he’s only 22. This is an actor to keep an eye on. While the other actors are not picture perfect clones of that legendary original cast, they were all great. Each of them channeled the personality and spirit of those originals marvelously. Cory Michael Smith was a smug Chevy Chase, Dylan O’Brien was a surprisingly accurate Dan Aykroyd. Matt Wood was a decent Belushi, and Lamourne Morris was an outstanding Garrett Morris (no relation). The ladies were perhaps less well represented here, but they all did good jobs. Ella Hunt was Gilda Radner, Kim Matula is Jane Curtain, and Emily Fairn is Laraine Newman. I wish there was more focus on them aside from “Laraine wants to bang Aykroyd”.

There was a bunch of supporting characters that were outstanding, too many to count actually. Everyone from the backstage crew to Jim Henson are thrown in here, but Willem DaFoe as NBC’s David Tebet, Tommy Dewey as Michael O’Donoghue, and Matthew Rhys as George Carlin were standouts for me. Honorable mention to Nicholas Podany as Billy Crystal who made me forget it wasn’t actually “Soap” era Billy on screen. The real stunner here was J.K. Simmons as Milton Berle, 11 inch cock and all.

I’m a big fan of those original 5 years of SNL. Back in my childhood (80’s-90’s) ‘Nick at Nite’ would play the best of those seasons every night around 11. It informed a lot of my sense of humor. Later on, I bought the dvds of the complete seasons when they released (wish I still had them). This is where I grew a true appreciation for the show.

This movie plays fast and loose with many events from the development of the show, as well as a few legends that have sprouted up over the years. While not factually accurate (its not a documentary) it captured the spirit of those days. It got the small details right, the vibe of those times. Watching it brought back many memories for me, little super, watching SNL late at night while my parents were unawares (it being past my bedtime). This movie recaptured the era and told a good story of that chaos.

7/10

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