Saturday Night Review: Chaos Breeds Greatness in one 2024’s Best Films

Jason Reitman and his frequent collaborator Gil Kenan capture the tumultuous energy of risking it all for a dream of launching a sketch comedy show in Saturday Night.

Saturday Night follows Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) as he attempts to put the sketch comedy show together with only 90 minutes until they go live on the air. Over 90 minutes, Lorne battles the cast, executive and others to get Saturday Night Live off the ground.

The cast is terrific across the board. LaBelle, Cooper Hoffman and Rachel Sennott are the standouts in this impeccably cast ensemble.

LaBelle nails the optimistic meets deer-in-the-headlights-look as Lorne. Hoffman provides a strong counterpunch as Dick Ebersol to Lorne’s optimism. Sennott delivers one of the year’s best performances as Rosie Shuster.

Meanwhile, the interpretations of the original Saturday Night Live cast members are terrific without feeling like meek impersonations. Cory Michael Smith exudes the hubris of Chevy Chase. Ella Hunt nails Gilda Radnor’s voice. Dylan O’Brien, Lamorne Morris and Matt Wood are also excellent, as Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris and John Belushi.

Saturday Night shines on the backs of an unheralded cast and a snappy script constantly brimming with tension. The brilliance of Saturday Night is almost every scene is a disaster that looks like it will destroy Lorne’s career. However, when the clock strikes 11 p.m., everyone from the egotistical Chase to Andy Kaufman comes together to get the show on the air.

The only part of the film that doesn’t quite work is Finn Wolfhard’s appearance as a random Page trying to get people into Studio 8H.

Overall, Reitman delivers a beautiful look at what it takes to make a dream a reality, warts and all.

After the overview and rating of Saturday Night 9 out of 10 (Outstanding), let’s explore the lowly origins of cast and creator insecurities, the battle between Dick and Lorne and the peacekeepers. Need to catch up? You can check out the first episode of Saturday Night Live, here

Insecurities lead to greatness in Saturday Night

Saturday Night is full of insecure characters. The energy of these combustible elements could lead to a great show or no show at all.

Every character battles insecurity at some point, but the most monumental moments involve Billy Crystal (Nicholas Podany), Chase, Aykroyd, and Morris. Crystal’s nerves get the best of him when he figures out his sketch will be cut for time, and he simply can’t handle the Lorne’s decision. Chase is full of hubris, but one interaction with Milton Berle (J. K. Simmons) makes him look like a scared puppy. Aykroyd is full of flirtatious energy off stage, but in a sketch in which female construction workers catcall Aykroyd’s character, he becomes a nervous wreck. Finally, there’s Morris, who voices his issues publicly. He’s a Broadway actor who feels lost amongst the cast. Morris repeatedly asks other characters why he’s here.

All of these vulnerabilities do a great job of putting the cast members on an equal playing field with Lorne, whose insecurities are evident throughout the film

Corporate Battles

When Lorne isn’t trying to smooth things over with the cast, he’s also trying to work with the executives.

One of the more critical relationships in Saturday Night is between Lorne and Dick. From Lorne’s perspective, Dick can’t see the forest through the trees. Dick wants to make a profitable show and is trying to find ways, such as advertising products during sketches, to balance the budget.

The other battle is a little more subtle. Before Saturday Night Live became a late-night institution, the 11:30 timeslot would rerun Late Night with Johnny Carson. The executives want to use this episode as a trial run to replace Late Night. Lorne is adamant about the show going live at 11:30 p.m. David Tebet (Willem Dafoe) is concerned about all of the catastrophes and can make the call whether Saturday Night Live airs or Late Night at 11:30 p.m.

These clashes add another layer of tension to this powder keg of a film.

Peacekeepers

Saturday Night is mostly chaos. However, three characters in the film try their best to smooth things over.

Rosie, Gilda, and Joan Carbunkle (Catherine Curtin) all attempt to play peacekeeper to mixed results. Rosie, Lorne’s soon-to-be ex-wife, moves around the room with ease. She adds a joke to Belushi’s bumblebee sketch to make it funnier, and she’s flirt with Aykroyd, which amps his confidence. All she wants from Lorne is to know how she will be credited.

Gilda plays a crucial role in easing the tension between Belushi and Lorne.

Joan is the censor for NBC. She mostly takes issue with the head writer Michael O’Donoghue (Tommy Dewey). His dirty, sometimes sexual jokes don’t work with Joan’s religious view. She also tries to censor George Carlin (Matthew Rhys), which goes as well as you’d expect.

Saturday Night Final Thoughts

Reitman’s recreation of the first Saturday Night Live taping is terrific in almost every way. The film maintains a chaotically consistent pacing, which makes every scene ooze with tension. The performances are sublime. Kenan’s script is sharp. The only blemish is Wolfhard’s role which doesn’t amount to much until the 3rd act.