In the wake of important changes in society, movies seem to take a specific form with an interesting twist. Jason Reitman’s ‘Saturday Night,’ about the first episode of Saturday Night Live, is revolutionary, but gets tedious at times. It is a head-scratcher in regards to its plot where fairly unknown comics take the country by storm. The Americans were unable to grasp the significance of the invasion until after it was over; the experience was beautiful (despite its occasional failures).
The movie, in case some of you forgot it, was developed by Jason with the help of his co-writer Gil Kenan. It is about the performance that took place back on October 11, 1975, during which a show, then called ‘NBC’s Saturday Night,’ had its first premier. Within the next 90 minutes ticktock,or otherwise,’ the actors, writers, crew, network nuts, and one Lorne must pull themselves together. It appears a significant amount of money, reputations, and possibly bright futures, depend on the success of the show, but with the deadline approaching it still just feels conceptually skinny, even silly from some angles.
To give an idea of that premiere and what it implied, Reitman does focus on history, but he also lifts it, creating tension by penetrating some flashback cuts with fast pans and busy people. Everything and everyone in 30 Rockefeller Plaza is either speeding too much or stationary, with the characters either darting about the scene or sitting buried in heat-induced exhaustion. With every passing minute, Reitman at certain moments refocuses on a timepiece on screen or someone shouts on the time; at one instance, Set designer Leo Yoshimura (Abraham Hsu) quite idly starts putting bricks onto the stage of Studio 8H, each brick being a symbol of the pieces of the show coming together.
According to a real press release of 1975, this show was described by NBC as ‘a new concept in late-night programming.’ This television network showed interest in finding an alternative to the weekend reruns of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and this project was supposed to be settled within a variety of comedy shows including sketches, music, short film,s and Muppets. But what was being pursued? Perhaps even those in charge were in the dark. That is how strong an impression one has after seeing an NBC executive presenting the show in question to its creator-producer who happens to be Lorne Michaels. Sure, Ebersol posed the question with utmost professionalism and poise, but still, one could sense a degree of irony about it all in the given context. The ever-deadpan Lorne then goes on to make a rather ludicrous self-promoting Matthieu’s voice about Edison and lightbulbs and electricity. Who’s the actor in this metaphor, the bewildered executive wonders.
Although Lorne does not answer, the film does this as it portrays him as the central point. The character is not as interesting as what is around him more of the figure that is always present but has not been fully developed however, whether in this place or that, there is a great storm around Lorne. He is the focal point, the one who has the idea, the one free from whatever chaos is present. There is also his spouse, the writer Rosie Shuster (the cynical Rachel Sennott) the presenter, George Carlin (Matthew Rhys), and the representative of the manufacturer, Dave Tebet (Willem Dafoe, which is by far the best in terms of comedy). But the biggest attraction is Lorne because even a genius in the film has to have a supervisor.
Greetings, Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), Gilda Radner (Ella Hunt), Jane Curtin (Kim Matula), Laraine Newman (Emily Fairn), Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O’Brien), Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris, no relation), John Belushi (Matt Wood), it would have been nice to see them, but unfortunately, no more than two, and exclusively the male performers portraying the principal one manage to show any interest in registering. Even at times when Reitman hints toward the gender issues in the show, as in brief on a still amusing skit about women construction workers attempting to teach a male in small shorts how to be lewd, this is the case. What makes it work is Dan’s wiggling butt in humiliation followed by him shaking his bottom.
His other is focusing on Garrett, largely because he is racial inclusion’s poster child after being the show’s only solo ever reliable black cast member for so long. As the only African American take it away from me bear I put there sounds ghastly, and in To Do Some Acting, we see his alter ego lose his cool yelling, “I’m going to get me a shotgun and kill all the whities I see.” The song was co-wrote by Lorne Michaels and the sketch later saw Garrett Morris performing it in prison attire.
Queasily, gleefully tasteless is how the song is described but I still have no idea who we are laughing at and for what reason. Is it a punch up or a punch down and what does it end up being? I mean, I laughed when I heard it in the movie again. Comedy taught me several things including SNL which made me a teenage stalker of coal in 30 Rock trying to see the actors and general declarations of stereotypes. Certainly not what the film is about, and the film is smart enough not to include it. For all “SNL” is a poorly diverse show, but has its followers, have they been taught to question stereotypes or have them simply laugh at them and carry on? It’s just a joke, right?
“Saturday Night” is a movie made by the fans for the fans, but this is also why Reitman doesn’t dig deeper into the show as fans will already be familiar with most of the history and humor. He points out changes in generation comedy, and modern television and even makes fun of the authorities. Still, we cannot say why one of the formats is enlightenment and why the second one is unfunny.
Viewing it as television does not come with any guarantee of making sense. The fact that there is an intimacy in the medium allows the audience to feel as though they are in on the rebellion, but nothing can prepare you for Andy Kaufman’s (Nicholas Braun) destabilizing conceptual wildness of lip-synching to you, in your parents’ living room! the theme song of some cartoon, familiar from your early childhood.
There is something delightful in getting back to working with Kaufman even though there’s a tarnish on this portrayal. The same goes for the remaining crew members, although waiting impatiently for it brings ‘child dress up at a party level’ amusement over and over again with Birthday Boy Reitman allowing a free flow of energy when none of it is supposed to rush. It is time to blend, it is time to explode and it is time to go entirely off the hook by the time it should be in that order of staggering. There is no way in hell a film that ends on the happy note of a happy ‘nice’ boss, a loving and downright nurturing father figure, looking after his motley-clad ‘children’, could come close to such fear. There is reasonable doubt as to whether this (the real) Michaels was of any relevance to “S.N.L.” Yet whenever I and I imagine, you recall the series that popularized itself 50 years ago, out the remembrances of the executive producer’s name is the last asked. It is about the humor that evolved with and around him, sometimes even despite him.
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