It is 1975 and producer Lorne Michaels has the task of a lifetime in front of him — he must tame an unruly cast, negotiate with a fed-up crew and convince producers of his new variety show’s worthiness, all just an hour and a half before the first episode of “Saturday Night Live” is set to air. Directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by Reitman and Gil Kenan, the new film “Saturday Night” seeks to dramatize this legendary evening, commemorating the show’s 50th anniversary in a dramatic retelling of its miraculous origin. Despite its nostalgic quality and impressive acting performances, the film’s most impressive feat is making one hour and 49 minutes feel like four hours.
In trying to get his new show on air, Michaels is met with almost every obstacle in the book, from lights crashing from the ceiling to cast members quitting just before showtime. Through it all, Michaels is steadfast and fervent in his commitment to the new show, which pays off in its final moments when the show successfully makes it to air.
“Saturday Night” features a countdown-based structure, where title cards offer exact time stamps for the actions on screen for the audience to get a feel for how little time the cast and crew have to pull off the premiere. Reitman described the film as a “thriller comedy,” and one can see why — the film is fast-paced in some scenes, using long sequences of the camera weaving through a loud and bustling backstage space to create an intense, stirring atmosphere.
However, what could have been a fast-paced, stress-inducing nail-biter throughout was slowed by numerous repetitive, dialogue-heavy sequences that last for minutes on end. A large part of the film consists of Michaels trying to impress network executives and arguing with Dick Ebersol, a cynical NBC producer played by Cooper Hoffman. While Reitman and Kenan’s snappy, Sorkinesque dialogue adds a sharp wit to the script, long scenes made up of repetitive conversations with no action significantly slow the film’s momentum.
In these seemingly never-ending scenes, “Saturday Night” wallows in its own righteous and heavy-handed dialogue — often, it feels as if certain lines were written solely so they could be put on a movie poster. “Saturday Night” feels less like a film and more like a promotional ad for the show.
When Ebersol asks Michaels if he knows what the show actually “is,” Michaels responds, “did anyone ask Edison what a lightbulb was when he invented electricity?”
Although the line is partially a self-aware nod towards Michaels’s overconfidence, the self-congratulatory tone permeating throughout the rest of the movie quickly erases the irony.
Another scene, which depicts Michaels and Ebersol arguing in a stairwell, puts this unironic self-aggrandizement on display. Michaels says that the network is lucky to have a show as “relevant” as this one. Ebersol snaps back, implying that NBC picked up the show knowing it was going to fail.
“Do you ever stop to wonder why they said yes to a counterculture show starring total unknowns, with zero narratives and even less structure?” Ebersol says. “They want you to fail.”
Cheesy monologues and conversations like this one, usually involving Michaels, aim to emphasize to the audience just how groundbreaking the variety show was at the time. The dialogue positions the writers and cast members as underdogs who beat the odds established by the big, bad television industry. However, audiences who know the show’s eventual success do not need to be told this — especially not as frequently and forcibly as the film seems to think. The constant restatement of the show’s glory feels both redundant and overdone.
For all its issues regarding pacing and dialogue, the greatest strength of “Saturday Night” lies in its historical and cultural references. An almost overwhelming number of familiar faces crop up on screen, from Nicholas Braun as “Muppets” creator Jim Henson to Matthew Rhys as stand-up comedian George Carlin. The 70s costumes and styling are a dream, and the film is filled with references to the show that any seasoned SNL fan is sure to catch. For this reason, the film may be better suited for viewers that grew up with the show’s earliest seasons.
The film also features several standout performances from a sparkling cast. Cory Michael Smith portrays actor Chevy Chase with frightening accuracy, mastering his sardonic wit and infuriating bravado.
Seasoned actors Willem Dafoe and J.K. Simmons introduce a welcome air of maturity to an otherwise green cast as NBC executive David Tebet and television host Milton Berle, respectively. Playing two greedy men eager for “Saturday Night Live” to fail, these two embody the predatory television establishment well.
“Saturday Night” nods to the program’s early issues with representation. Lamorne Morris offers a heartwarming representation of Garrett Morris, a performer and playwright grappling with his role as the only Black cast member on the show.
Morris has a heart-to-heart with fellow cast members Jane Curtain — played by Kim Matula — about her own identity as an older woman, and how the two feel like outsiders in the ensemble. This scene not only humanizes and adds depth to its supporting characters, but also points to the great strides in diversity and representation the show has made since the 1970s.
Despite being bursting with talent, “Saturday Night” wastes the gifts of its actors on a lukewarm script. Instead of including appropriate background information and character development, the film relies too heavily on the assumption that audiences will already know much about its characters. Released exactly fifty years after the time in which it is set, this approach is both unkind and unfair to audiences. What audiences are left with is a stack of solid celebrity impressions with little substance.
During a time where SNL and its legacy are constantly under scrutiny, “Saturday Night” offers a chance for filmmakers to remind audiences of the grand miracle that is the show’s very existence. Reitman and Kenan are not wrong in their assertion that the show, with its edgy humor and novel variety-show structure, was revolutionary at the time and worthy of a retelling.
The film, however, valorizes the show’s origins and cultural significance to a degree that is almost suffocating. The greatest thing that can be said about SNL — what has prompted viewers to keep returning to it after fifty years — is that it does not take itself too seriously. Sadly, the same cannot be said about its companion film.
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