

Featured Review
Saturday Night ★★★
Released: 31 January 2025
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cooper Hoffman, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, Cory Michael Smith, Nicholas Braun, Willem Dafoe
Saturday Night Live (SNL) has been a staple of light night American television since 1975. It remains a singular show with its unique blend of sketches, guest hosts and musical performances. While we might take the show and its success (especially in the US) for granted, it was far from a nailed on certainty. The trials and tribulations of bringing the show to life are now told in Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night which follows rookie Producer Lorne Michaels and his crew of up-and-coming comedic talents trying to get the show to air.
There is a sense of art imitating life here, with many of the actors playing the real life rising stars, being hot young talents in their own right. We have Lorne (Gabriel LaBelle), Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott), Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), Andy Kauffman/Jim Henson (Nicholas Braun) and Cooper Hoffman as Dick Ebersol one of NBC’s executives. This is a clever move from Reitman that will pique the interest of many, with some of the likenesses quite impressive.
There is chaotic energy throughout as we follow the countdown from 10pm to the show’s 11.30 airtime with sets in disarray, actors missing and scripts not finished. This both works in the film’s favour and against it, making it distinct and far from a run of the mill biopic. However it does mean it lacks focus as we follow Lorne, focusing solely on the run up to the first episode’s journey to air, meaning we learn little about where the crew comes from with the ending feeling rather abrupt.

SNL is such a household name in the US, the global success of the film may hinge on individual exposure to the show. Indeed it hasn’t even performed strongly in the US where it should be a slam-dunk. Die-hard fans of the show, will get many of the nods to individual sketches and behind the scenes details. Jon Batiste’s score really adds to the sense of disarray with a blend of psychedelic rock and jazz. Batiste also cameos as the musical guest for the opening Billy Preston.
Perhaps what makes this worthwhile is seeing so many of the hottest rising stars bouncing off each other, never not watchable. Offsetting these young talents are the likes of Willem Dafoe and JK Simmons. Gabriel LaBelle proved he was something special as a young Steven Spielberg in The Fabelmans. Meanwhile Cooper Hoffman showed he could follow in his father’s (the late Philip Seymour Hoffman) footsteps in Licorice Pizza. Both their roles here may not be as fleshed out, but they share fine chemistry and cement their status as ones to watch.
Saturday Night is an uneven, frenetic watch which seems appropriate for the subject matter. This does lend it a looseness that may not work for everyone but there is certainly plenty to admire for fans of the show and its unbelievable cast.
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