from The Hollywood Reporter: ‘Saturday Night’ cast and the original ‘Saturday Night Live’ cast. Hopper Stone/Sony Pictures; TV Guide/NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
On Saturday, October 11, 1975, a group of barely known comedians and writers launched a legend. Nobody knew what it was, not even its creator, but in the chaotic 90 minutes leading up to the debut they figured it out: “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night.” The movie, directed by Jason Reitman, hurls us into the madness of that pivotal night at NBC, capturing the proudly perverse but groundbreaking comedy they could only get away with back then.
With pacing faster than Formula 1, Saturday Night captures the real-time tension and chaos behind the scenes, as the cast and crew scramble to prepare for the live show. As the audience, we can feel the frenetic energy and uncertainty that must’ve fueled that first night. With things you’d never imagine going wrong—from geysers of blood to an AWOL John Belushi in a bumblebee costume—the calm determination of the show’s creator Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) harnesses the insanity.
While this movie is more likely to appeal to Saturday Night Live fanatics and those of us with nostalgic affection for these comedic icons, each performance is a vibrant homage to the original cast. Cory Michael Smith embodies Chevy Chase with all the arrogance we’ve heard about, which somehow makes his role as the original “Weekend Update” anchor seem inevitable. Matt Wood gives us a John Belushi exuding the wild energy and mercurial emotions made iconic. Ella Hunt steps into the shoes of Gilda Radner, channeling both Radner’s eccentric characters and her sisterly warmth.
Fan favorite Dylan O’Brien becomes Dan Aykroyd, with a high IQ and an astuteness, while Lamorne Morris portrays Garrett Morris with every inflection and expression of incredulity firmly in place. Kim Matula takes on Jane Curtin, and Rachel Sennott steps into the shoes of Rosie Shuster, Lorne’s wife and partner in creating SNL. That relationship, especially, grounds the movie. And doing what he does best is J.K. Simmons as Milton Berle, who couldn’t resist going ham. Each of these actors is given a number of scenes to highlight SNL‘s legacy and the uncertainty surrounding its initial success.
Even with its non-stop energy, Saturday Night is a quiet film, more reminiscent of theater than a biopic. Nostalgia is what connects us to tension and unpredictability. There’s a kind of romance in seeing the original sketches and stars come together, something that evokes a longing for what SNL used to be. Love it or launch it into the sun, there’s an enduring cultural impact that makes Saturday Night a good one.
