‘Saturday Night’ – Counter-Culture Cut-Ups Crush Conformity

The “Not Ready for Prime-Time Players” earned their nickname.

“Saturday Night,” a wild look back at “Saturday Night Live’s” 1975 debut, shows the cast careening around the studio with little idea what to do next. The same held for Lorne Michaels, the maestro behind the sketch institution.

The film’s ingenious conceit – it’s the 90 minutes before the 90-minute show’s debut – gives director Jason Reitman license to cheer counter-culture comedy in 2024.

Imagine that.

TV needed “Saturday Night Live” more than it realized. So did American culture.

Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) agreed. It’s why he created a rag-tag showcase featuring standouts from the National Lampoon incubator.

You know the names. Chase. Belushi. Radner.

The show would break all the rules, except not everyone wanted those rules to be shattered. Michaels had to improvise the show’s set list, assuage the cast’s bruised egos and keep the suits off his back.

It’s a miracle the show actually aired, we’re told.

Reitman choreographs the behind-the-scenes madness with a firm hand. You’ll laugh, a lot, and recognize the iconic players thanks to the mostly unknown cast.

Dylan O’Brien is the most recognizable face, and his take on Dan Akyroyd is shockingly precise. The rest offer gentle impressions, preventing the film from becoming a feature-length caricature. That keeps the focus where it belongs.

This counter-culture revolution needed to be televised.

The screenplay, by Reitman and frequent collaborator Gil Kenan (“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire“), hints at the show’s racial disparities without going the full woke. Credit Lamorne Morris, cast as the show’s first black player Garrett Morris, for treading that line while paying tribute to the real Morris’ legacy.

Morris’ take on a classic “SNL” moment (no spoilers here) may not have gone down as depicted, but it’s deployed in a way that honors both the series and the performer. 

J.K. Simmons steals the movie as Milton Berle, the literal face of Old Hollywood. He doesn’t think much of these kids rewiring the variety show template. His disgust adds a welcome layer to the film’s premise.

And, yes, another part of the Berle, ahem, legend gets mentioned.

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Willem Dafoe plays an NBC executive eager to cut Michaels off at the knees. The cast may get their first.

A subplot finds John Belushi (Matt Wood) refusing to sign his contract minutes before showtime. We all know now how combustible Belushi was behind the scenes.

At the time, Michaels and co. needed that coiled energy to power episode one.

LaBelle, who played the Steven Spielberg-style character in “The Fabelmans,” makes Michaels earnest and flexible. He’ll do whatever it takes to get his show off the ground, and his faith in the concept holds the thin narrative together.

“Saturday Night” starts as a frantic look at show business behind the scenes. What emerges is a thoughtful, even nostalgic glimpse at a comedy institution that captures the ’70s at its best. It questioned authority, uprooted the status quo and proved talent could win the day if given the chance.

For all those reasons, “Saturday Night” is a rare must-see movie in 2024.

HiT or Miss: “Saturday Night” is funny, bittersweet and always engaging. Much like the best “SNL” sketches of yore.

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