13 Sep TIFF REVIEW – ‘Saturday Night’ is a brilliantly constructed look at the backstage madness of a television institution
Producing live television is a tough gig. Producing live television in the mid-70s with an inexperienced cast, a crew on the verge of revolt, and a network with their finger on the cancel button is even tougher. That’s the backstory of Jason Reitman‘s crackingly chaotic and hugely enjoyable Saturday Night; a wild look at the backstage mayhem surrounding the very first broadcast of iconic late-night show, Saturday Night Live. Led by one of this year’s best acting ensembles and Reitman’s firecracker of a screenplay, it’s a brilliantly constructed look at the palpable madness of what went into creating something that would become an American television institution.
It’s October 11, 1975, and the stage is somewhat set for the debut of new comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live. As the clock ticks over 10pm, Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle), the man responsible for getting this ambitious show to air, is in full crisis mode. With just over an hour left before the live broadcast, chaos reigns. The crew is frustrated with being forced to work on a weekend night, the cast is far from ready for primetime, and Michaels’ boss, Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman) warns his friend that NBC boss David Tebet (Willem Dafoe) has little faith in the show and is keen to can the whole thing and instead replay an old episode of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
As time moves closer to the fateful 11:30pm premiere time, Michaels scrambles to manage the unravelling situation. His wife and fellow writer, Rosie Shuster (Rachel Sennott), is manically attempting to nail down the final schedule of skits alongside head writer Michael O’Donoghue (Tommy Dewey). The rambunctious cast is bickering with each other, including the uber-cocky Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), the unpredictable John Belushi (Matt Wood), the macho Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O’Brien), plus Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris), Laraine Newman (Emily Fairn), and Jane Curtin (Kim Matula).
Tensions are high, with guest performers like Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson (both played by Nicholas Braun), band leader Billy Preston (Jon Batiste), TV legend Milton Berle (J. K. Simmons), tempestuous host and stand-up comedian George Carlin (Matthew Rhys), and practically the entire cast all causing their own personal problems for Michaels. With Tebet ready to pull the plug at any moment, Michaels is relentless in his pursuit to make sure this show goes live no matter what. Will anyone get to hear those iconic words, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night.”?
As Saturday Night Live celebrates the beginning of its 50th season this year, it’s the perfect time for something like Saturday Night to come along. It’s one of the most iconic shows in the history of television. Obviously, after five decades on the air, it’s now a well-oiled machine, but that clearly wasn’t the case in 1975. Reitman peels back the curtain of a landmark moment in American television to showcase what it really took to get this unusual and groundbreaking show to air. If not for Michaels’ unrelenting determination to get this first episode on air, SNL obviously wouldn’t still be around almost 50 years later.
While it has naturally had its breakout stars over the years, SNL itself has always been an ensemble piece, so it’s no surprise Reitman sticks to that same structure here. For a film that has something like 15 main characters, it’s rather staggering they somehow all get their moment to shine. As the man trying to keep everything together, LaBelle is effortlessly terrific. Much like his work playing a young Steven Spielberg in The Fabelmans, LaBelle deftly captures Michaels’ personality and mannerisms without falling into lazy caricature. The same can be said of Smith, Wood, and O’Brien who perfectly capture the unique spirits of three young comedians who were unknowingly about to become huge stars.
No character is wasted and no performance feels out of place. Even bit players like Carlin, Henson, and Berle are given moments that either feel integral to the story or add doses of wicked comedy. Simmons has a ball with one particular Berle monologue where he tears shreds off the overly confident Chase, while Rhys feels like the very incarnate of the ever-exacerbated Carlin. This is ensemble acting at its finest, with every performance elevating Reitman’s hilarious and sharp material and contributing to the overall tapestry of the film.
Reitman directs the absolute hell out of this film. He throws his audience right into the middle of the insanely frenetic world of a television program in absolute crisis. Every moment pulses with a wild energy that’s equally exhilarating, overwhelming, and occasionally anxiety-inducing. But that’s entirely the point. That’s the process of attempting to create art in the midst of unrelenting pressure. This one night was pure madness and Reitman wants you to feel every drop of an evening that had equal helpings of nervous tension and giddy excitement.
What truly sets Saturday Night apart is the dazzling camera work from cinematographer Eric Steelberg. With numerous long takes and tracking shots that sweepingly follow the cast and crew around the set and backstage, it’s an extremely complicated choreography process that somehow Steelberg and Reitman manage to pull off. The way the camera effortlessly and often swiftly moves through the famed grounds of NBC’s Studio 8H is genuinely stunning. Steelberg glides through crowded hallways and tight green rooms and weaves around numerous bodies with total ease. But you know this all had to be intricately mapped out and rehearsed to make it all look so easy.
It also helps to have razor-sharp editing from Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid and a running time of just over 100 minutes, making events be presented in almost real-time. Reitman doesn’t waste a second with the pacing moving breathlessly quickly to match the disarray of everything happening around Michaels. But moving at such speed does mean we maybe don’t delve too deeply into each character to really get a good understanding of what makes them tick. It’s far from a fatal flaw, given this isn’t a biopic of Michaels or any particular SNL cast member, but just don’t expect this to be a deep character study and you won’t be disappointed.
With Saturday Night, Reitman has crafted one of the most entertaining films of the year, especially for fans of SNL. With its tight editing, stellar camera choreography, rapid pacing, and an ensemble cast firing on all cylinders, the film is a masterclass in how to make an ensemble comedy that’s as hilarious as it is eye-opening. A tribute to a moment that would genuinely change TV forever, it’s a rousing crowd-pleaser that proves diamonds are only formed under immense pressure.
Distributor: Sony Pictures
Cast: Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Willem Dafoe, J.K. Simmons, Cory Michael Smith, Dylan O’Brien, Ella Hunt, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Nicholas Braun, Jon Batiste
Director: Jason Reitman
Producers: Jason Blumenfeld, Peter Rice, Jason Reitman, Gil Kenan
Screenplay: Gil Kenan, Jason Reitman
Cinematography: Eric Steelberg
Production Design: Jess Gonchor
Costume Design: Danny Glicker
Editors: Nathan Orloff, Shane Reid
Music: Jon Batiste
Running Time: 109 minutes
Release Date: 31st October 2024 (Australia)