SATURDAY NIGHT
Director: Jason Reitman. Cast: Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O'Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, J. K. Simmons
Rating: (M)
★★★½
REVIEWED BY AMASIO JUTEL
Saturday Night (Rialto) is Jason Reitman’s fabricated reimagining of the turbulent production immediately preceding the first episode of Saturday Night Live on October 11, 1975. The 110-minute movie takes you "in real time" across 90 minutes between 10pm and 11.30pm as actors refuse to sign contracts, production crews get high, and CEOs threaten to cancel the show — among a host of last-minute crises.
For viewers unfamiliar with the 1970s late-night television scene, the film’s barrage of name drops, elbow nudges, and prompts to "spot the comedian" come off charmingly—brought out by the charismatic young cast of B-list actors — although one could easily see how this repetitive gag would become tiresome.
Against the ticking clock, counting down to 11.30pm, the narrative trajectory is set up to be rapid and volatile, which it is, for the most part — in vignettes. Without a clear arc to the show (only occasional insights about the kinds of sketches they were doing), the viewer is never in doubt about its identity.
The most hypocritical moment comes in a predictable piece of Sorkin-esque dialogue, when Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) describes the importance of the show as "kissing a girl in the summer" or "the feeling of being in the city" to evil producer, David Tebet (Willem Dafoe), who — against his own interests — wants the show to flop.
There’s plenty to nitpick about Saturday Night — between the quippy dialogue and lack of narrative transformation, there’s a self-inscribed profundity to the movie which could very possibly sour its audience — but its electric film-making and charismatic cast make its sins easily forgivable.
