Welcome back to the blog readers. If you know me, you know a good drama film is all I love. Look at two of my favorite films of all time in Oppenheimer (2023) and Argo (2012) (which I believe is really due for a rewatch). And this is the season in which all the good dramas grace our presence. This is Oscar season baby. So what would I think about this old little comedy drama from the man behind Thank You for Smoking (2005)? Stick around to find out.
Saturday Night was directed by Jason Reitman from a screenplay by him and Gil Kenan. The film stars Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O'Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, and J.K. Simmons. In the film, a young Lorne Michaels tries to rally his cast and crew in the 90 minutes leading up to the first episode of Saturday Night, later known as Saturday Night Live (1975-).
Like I said, this is Oscar season and I am expecting a whole host of contenders to be putting their hat in the race for the big awards show in March. I did like some of the pieces involved in this film, and I was hoping I would have a good time with this one. But the question would be would I enjoy myself in this film? Good news. I had a hell of a time watching this film. The performances were all fire, the comedy is actually funny, and I was engaged the entire time.
I want to take a minute before I talk about all the other performances to talk for a minute about Gabriel LaBelle. LaBelle has been a revelation to me over the last few years because his turn as Sammy Fabelman in The Fabelmans (2022) (a film I ranked as the third best of that year partly due to LaBelle's performance). He came on to the scene and showed why he belonged in the same scene with Michelle Williams and Paul Dano. In this film, he shows a new level of confidence in his role that left me completely stunned. He even held his own in scenes with Willem Dafoe and J. K. Simmons. This kid is going to have a few Oscar nominations (and maybe even a win) on his mantle within a decade.
I want to take a second to make a note of some of the other performances in this film. Cory Michael Smith encapsulates Chevy Chase about as perfectly as you would expect him to. Dylan O'Brien virtually becomes Dan Aykroyd in arguably the best performance of his career thus far. Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris is inspired casting because he embraces the spirit of the vet so perfectly. And finally, Matthew Rhys as the late, great George Carlin was seriously nothing short of perfection.
I will not be talking about the story of this film because there really is no story to talk about. I mean, obviously there is a story and it involves the 90 minutes leading up to the first episode of Saturday Night (later known as Saturday Night Live), but nothing groundbreaking happens that is really worth talking about here. Instead, I do want to take a minute and speak on the comedy in this film. For a film about comedians, the actors that play these comedians really know how to put on their comedic chops for their roles and really gel together as a unit. For example, Cory Michael Smith made me laugh out loud more than once, as did Dylan O'Brien and Matt Wood (who plays the late John Belushi).
In conclusion, Saturday Night is a fun-stuffed and comedic look at the buildup leading into one of the most important nights in pop culture history. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you all for the next post.
Comments