Featured photo courtesy of satnightmovie, instagram

‘Saturday Night’ captures chaos of first ever broadcast

For those who grew up watching YouTube clips of old “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) skits from the ‘70s and ‘80s featuring Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, George Carlin, Garrett Morris and Gilda Radner, Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night” will transport you back to the chaotic nature that was SNL at the time. The film is a 90-minute sprint of what happened right before the iconic sketch show went live for the first time in 1975.

The entire film follows producer Lorne Michaels, portrayed by Gabriel LaBelle, as he battles against network heads banking on the show to fail. Nearly the entire film is one master shot that follows Michaels around studio 8H as he interacts with different executives, crew members and cast to make sure the show doesn’t fail on the first night.

Additionally, the entire film was shot on 16mm, giving the audience a feel of authenticity and nostalgia to the ‘70s setting. The high contrast of colors on set also helped add to the chaos of what was happening at the time. As for the sounds we hear, there is a constant drumbeat throughout the 90 minutes, which increases and decreases tempo depending on the tension Michaels feels. Overall, the film itself is a cinematic masterpiece.

Throughout the countdown to showtime, “Saturday Night” follows a “24” style technique, displaying the time remaining until they go live on screen in increments of 10 to 15 minutes. As the clock ticks down, the tension and stakes continue to rise, as Michaels has to constantly chase down and fix different obstacles that occur.

“Saturday Night” does a fantastic job illustrating how important SNL was to comedy and pop culture, showing viewers exactly how the writers were bending the rules of what was allowed on television. Up until SNL’s inception, jokes with sexual innuendos, drug references and other raunchy topics were seldomly seen on television.

The film shows us the last-second testing and run-throughs jokes go to before they make air, and gives the audience a good perspective on just how many jokes don’t make it on the show. Michaels is constantly arguing with lesser-known cast members at the time, such as Billy Crystal (Nicholas Podany) and John Henson (Nicholas Braun), over how much airtime the program can allot for their acts.

Another aspect “Saturday Night” thrives in is displaying the loud personalities of the cast at the time, particularly Chase (Cory Michael Smith) and Belushi (Matt Wood), who get into a physical altercation in a dressing room at one point over Belushi’s cocaine use. Michaels is also chasing down Belushi throughout the 90 minutes as Belushi had refused to sign a contract over concerns over the viability of SNL’s sketches.

One common criticism of the film so far is that Cory Michael Smith’s depiction of Chase does a less-than-adequate job of portraying Chase’s ego. I would argue, however, given this being the early stages of Chase’s career, it would be accurate to depict him as more mild-mannered than what he’s become known for. “Saturday Night” still does show Chase’s ego being astronomically high, which is accurate to the time of the film.

One subplot that doesn’t fit with the rest of the film is an awkward romantic tension between Michaels and writer Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott), who were in the middle of a marriage at the time of the film. The romantic interest is only addressed at the beginning and ending of the night, and though historically accurate, feels forced into the film.

“Saturday Night” is a must watch for anyone who has enjoyed SNL and is interested in learning the backstory behind the show celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The chaotic, humorous, dramatic behind-the-scenes look will keep your eyes glued to the screen for the entire 90-minute countdown.

 

5/5 stars

 

wjackso2@ramapo.edu

 

Featured photo courtesy of @satnightmovie, Instagram