On October 11th 1975, the National Broadcast Company (NBC) took a calculated and offsetting chance on a slew of beatnik, rag-tag albeit talented and inspired twenty-somethings writers, actors and comedians in an effort to offset and bargain the already uproariously popular and Goliath status television show of Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show and the loomingly large contract Mr. Carson was about to sign. That show, which evolved and unknowingly became what we now know today as Saturday Night Live, or SNL for short, was an effort for the broadcasting company to offsets funds to its main studio face and was poised by the administration as a sure fire bet to failure once released. What the studio did not know was, leading up to the events of that fateful night in television, SNL soared and become the revolutionary and trendsetting piece of broadcasting history, it is today. Thanks to the success of what happened almost fifty years ago, Saturday Night then becomes this grainy, discombobulated yet calculated cinematic experience, even if it looks like it was shot by a crew of high schoolers, that pays homage to so much emphasis on content, creation, but most of all, wonder, of what happened on that fateful night, but also, what’s happening in front of our eyes on screen, each and every night the letters SNL pop up on our screen weekly.
Looking like it was shot in the dingy and the thick pool halls and bars that infected New York City in the 1970s, cinematographer Eric Steelberg and filmmaker Jason Reitman decided to shoot the film in 16mm film stock, staying true to the authenticity of the time of Lorne Micheals rise and genius. Saturday Night unfolds as a tremendous love letter to a group of creative individuals who have seem to grow up, admire, adopt and evolve the transcendent form of improv and intellectually slapstick, modernly relevant and secretly (but not so secretly) political comedy SNL brought to mainstream media, past and present.
Like any good television or film production, one of the strongest characteristics of Saturday Night is its strength in ensemble.
Saturday Night is a true testament to the power of collaboration, not only on screen, but also behind the screen. On screen, Gabriel LaBelle gives the performance of his career as a young and ambitious Lorne Michaels; the grand mastermind and creator behind SNL. LaBelle truly shines in a constantly moving picture with complete and utter disarray constantly surrounding him. His performance, although constantly mobile, never wavers. LaBelle garners the audiences respect early with a truly calm, composed and lethargic performance that finds nuances reform with other actors, as well as the brilliance in the few times he is alone on screen. And lets be clear, Saturday Night is not without its large rolodex of incredible acting talent, including; J.K. Simmons, Willem Dafoe, Dylan O’Brien, Rachel Sennott, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cory Michael Smith, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Matt Wood, Jon Batiste (who also serves as the films composer), Lamorne Morris, Matthew Rhys and of course, Tracy Letts.
And while the talent in front of the screen is undeniable, one of the film’s truest stars lies in the writing itself. Confident and self-assured co-writers Gil Kenan and Reitman truly bring the tension and feeling of overwhelming anxiety that was apparent and undeniable in films like The Social Network, Uncut Gems and of course, Reitman’s first feature, Thank You For Smoking.
Add a solid script with Reitman’s assured direction, and you have a film that juggles a copious amounts of dialogue, effervescent moving set pieces and so much blocking, you find yourself focusing your attention to every corner, nook and cranny of the screen in front of you.
Saturday Night works best as a true ensemble comedy with tremendous wit and banter, but also has the lights bright on it during its heavy and very masterful dramatic scenes. Saturday Night is undoubtedly destined for Awards Season glory, especially when it comes time for the Screen Actors Guild ensemble cast nominations in the later part of the year.
Like a pack of wolverines fresh out of their cages, the beginning, middle and end of Reitman’s newest film Saturday Night, is an audacious, mad gab assault of ensemble interactions, dizzy production design and complete and utter chaos, but in all the best and most cinematic ways possible.
Like a bat our of preverbal hell, Saturday Night races onto the screen with the same intensity of quick whipped dialogue similar to that of Aaron Sorkin’s famed but short lived The Newsroom, a television show that will not soon be forgotten, much like the film at hand.
Reitman and screenwriter Gil Kenan deliver what seems to be a seamlessly faithful and truly authentic take of the behind the scenes series of events that lead to a night that changed television, as well as current digestible streaming material, forever.
So sit back, relax and be ready to applaud, allude and enjoy this film with all the lights, camera and action you can ever imagine.
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