Studio: Sony Pictures
Release Date: 1/7/2025
Rating: R
Film Grade: B
The Story: It’s October 11, 1975, just 90 minutes before the premiere of a brand-new late-night comedy show, and the production is a chaotic mess. The stage is still being worked on, an actor hasn’t signed his contract yet, the dress rehearsal was double the allotted run times, and there are sound and lighting issues.
All of this action is whirling around young producer Lorne Michaels, as he tries to create an amalgam of sketch comedy, musical talent, and fresh comedians into a package that hasn’t been fully defined, as the clock relentlessly ticks down to 11:30 PM. And the network brass is monitoring it all.
My Take: I admit it, I’m a life-long night owl, and always have been. So, I caught the first episode at the tender age of 11, when it first premiered. I’m guessing it was my pleading over the advertised appearance of The Muppets that convinced my mom that it was something that I needed to see. Even though much of the humor was over my head, there was still so much for my brain to absorb that I can remember parts of it to this day.
That’s my background going into this movie, and it was a hit on that nostalgic level. There’s layer upon layer of familiar names, icons, wardrobes, props, and sets that all create an effective mise-en-scène that stokes those warm memories while also conveying the frantic life behind the production.
One might think that the focus would be on the young cast members, and while they each play a part, they’re really secondary characters. And the movie is packed with these different perspectives, from the writers, production people, and guests, each drawn with distinction. Old fans of the show will be familiar with names of writers like Al Franken, Tom Davis, and Michael O’Donoghue, and happy to see them get almost as much screen time as the cast members. And there are plenty of other surprise appearances that add an extra dimension to the film. The tradeoff is that such a wide gamut results in mostly shallow portrayals.
But the heart of the movie revolves around Michaels, a man who’s unable to clearly articulate his full vision, but the soul of which has crystalized in his mind. Virtually unflappable when confronted with adversity, it’s his force of will that forges a show while fighting against unrelenting chaos. Gabriel LaBelle portrays him as the wide-eyed optimist, never realizing that he should actually be failing at this. Rachel Sennott brings supportive energy to his task in the role of Rosie Shuster, wife and fellow writer. The two form a team that play off each other as the show evolves and threatens to grow out of control.
While it wants to mimic a documentary there’s plenty of fiction woven into the script. If you are looking for a straightforward examination of that night, look elsewhere. What you will find is the crackling organic electricity that goes into any live show, where talent can feed off of the wild feeling of teetering on the narrow edge between disaster and victory. The movie hits those notes perfectly as things alternate between falling apart and coming together.
Where the film falters a bit is to be a little too forceful in its push for timely relevance. Hindsight is a heck of a gift for movies like this but can hurt a script if it offers too much insight on the future. There are events that didn’t happen, but are inserted to provide character development, and it ends of feeling kind of cheap and a cheat.
As an example, there’s a marvelous line in the movie talking about having nostalgia for a moment at the same time that you’re actually experiencing it. It’s surprisingly poignant dialog, but it comes at an unlikely time and uttered by someone the audience hasn’t gotten to know, at least not through the context of the movie itself. The result is that it feels unearned and phony.
But there are other moments that are set up and handled with skill and to good effect. One, in particular, seemed like it might be either a commentary on the stale type of programming that the show would be compared to or to its current state, as Michaels gazes at another producer from that era who has clearly lost all interest. It took it as the latter, which resulted in a surprising pang of melancholy and loss.
Visuals: The extras confirmed my suspicion that the movie was shot on 16mm film, as the creators wanted to capture the feeling of a documentary that might have been shot that night. There’s lots of camera movement, plenty of grain, and it largely works, putting the audience in the midst of the action. Don’t go in expecting a pristine picture but watch it as a recreation of the time and you’ll be happy with the presentation.
Audio: The 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack is dominated by a lively musical score by Jon Batiste (who also appears as Billy Preston) that sets the mood and tone of the movie. The music mimics the frantic nature of the night, with propulsive beats that threaten to lurch out of control but are eventually pulled back in. Completely unconventional, it’s the perfect match to the film. The only problem is that it’s a little overpowering at times, occasionally drowning out the dialog. I almost turned on the subtitles, but opted not to, thinking that they may have been taking a Christopher Nolan approach, where the audience wasn’t meant to perfectly understand each word and that the meaning of the conversation can still be related in other ways.
Special Features: The Making of the Show that Almost Never Made it, cast insights, and a short discussion with Batiste. While not overly long, it provided additional understanding about what went into making the movie and the reasons for how it was filmed. Definitely worth watching if you like those kinds of features.
Final Verdict: Half a century has passed since the show premiered. To put that in perspective, it would be like the audience of 1975 watching a film about the making of the silent version of The Phantom of the Opera. While SNL has remained a cultural staple during the past five decades, it’s not exactly the same show as when it premiered. While watching most of the first decade of the show, I gradually moved to the richer content of SCTV, eventually drifting back to SNL for a time. I haven’t watched it much at all lately, as the humor is typically cheap, flat, and drawn out, and the musical acts are aimed at a far different generation.
After the movie, my wife and I watched that very first episode (currently available on Peacock and set to be shown again on NBC on 2/15/2025) and found it to be wildly uneven. It leaned heavily on guests, with George Carlin performing multiple sets, two other comedians, and two musical stars performing two songs each. There was an abundance of fake commercials (two of which were wildly absurd for the time but unremarkable today), and most of the skits were surprisingly short. Yet the essence of what the show was to become was still there, and it was a good follow up to the film.
While not as much of a comedy as one might expect, the movie did provoke some full-hearted laughter from me. The energy portrayed in the movie feels faithful to what the audience first saw back then. My wife was forbidden from watching the show when she was a kid, so most of the movie was unknown to her. She loved it, giving it a solid A-. For me, it succeeded largely on that nostalgic level and tapped into that exhilaration that comes from performing live but lost a few points by trying to force some unnecessary relevance that was outside the parameters of the time.
I don’t know how young viewers might relate or appreciate it, but if you grew up during that era, it’s an easy recommendation.
Fun Fact: While we know it as Saturday Night Live, it was originally titled NBC’s Saturday Night, due to ABC having a show called Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell. Featuring Bill Murray, Brian Doyle-Murray, and Christopher Guest as their Prime Time Players, it only lasted one season. Once that show was defunct, NBC was able to secure the title for themselves.
I couldn’t find a safe version of the trailer, so be forewarned that this includes cursing and suggestive images (don’t watch at work). It also gives away some of those surprise appearances mentioned earlier.
My Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
Oppo BDP-93
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup
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