A film that will please fans of Saturday Night Live to anyone who is even the least bit fascinated by the behind-the-scenes of show-business…
The cultural legacy and longevity of the show Saturday Night Live are no longer to be proven, while the creation of Lorne Michaels will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year.
A significant feat for a television show that was still not being given much credit, less than 90 minutes before its arrival on the airwaves.
With Saturday NightJason Reitman and Gil Kenan (the duo behind the most recent installments of the franchise Ghostbusters) takes us into the chaos that reigned inside the NBC network studios in New York between 10 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 11, 1975.
More specifically, we are invited to follow the producer and creator of Saturday Night Live (played by Gabriel LaBelle), while he must juggle the egos of his headliners, unexpected departures, numerous technical breakdowns, a game plan that is far from being set in stone, and the constant pressure from producers impatiently waiting for everyone involved to have their shit together live.
All while becoming increasingly aware that the risk that this first show will never see the light of day is indeed real.
We must first give the production team what is due to them, while they have been able to respect the spirit of Saturday Night Live by assembling its cast with actors little known to the general public. Gabriel Labelle particularly stands out in blithely communicating anxiety and the blind optimism of Lorne Michaels, while Cory Michael Smith, Dylan O’Brien and Matt Wood offer performances just as bluffing and noteworthy as the legendary Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, respectively.
Supported by skillfully executed sequence shots, very energetic editing, and a thrilling jazz soundtrack punctuating everything to perfection, Saturday Night is certainly one of the most exciting films to hit theaters this year. And such a bet was far from a foregone conclusion, considering that the public was already well aware of how things would end up happening.
The whole thing is all the more coated in an impressive period reconstruction materialized as much through the sets as the costumes, the hairstyles, and the evocative lighting of the photo direction of Eric Steelberg (who filmed practically all the feature films by Jason Reitman).
Throughout the film – which unfolds in real time – Reitman and Gil Kenan manage to make us fully aware of all the human and technical management, as well as the tumult occurring behind the scenes until the very last second before the start of diffusion.
Where Saturday Night What falls somewhat flat, however, is the rather laborious way in which it introduces some of the opening sketches, which are presented in a rather too forced manner, like this evocative image of a team finally coming together to place and cement the last bricks of the decor less than five minutes from the start of hostilities.
That being said, it is nevertheless through this scene that Saturday Night brings the eponymous production out of its shell, this momentum following a sequence during which Lorne Michaels finally finds the right words, the right method and the right energy to make everyone present on the set understand how his vision could revolutionize television as it was conceived and thought at the time.
A tribute – and devilishly entertaining – to determination, stubbornness and risk-taking, Saturday Night will please fans of the first hour of SNL to anyone who is even the least bit fascinated by the behind-the-scenes of show-business.
