'Saturday Night' Review 10/3

 'Saturday Night' Review

I was recently able to see 'Saturday Night' by Jason Reitman and I could not have been more pleased. What a fantastic film all-around. The directing, writing, editing, and acting were all superb and it was nearly perfect in my eyes. Now, you could say I'm slightly biased because if you know me you know that I just love all-things SNL. Truthfully, it's my dream job and I have been waiting for this film since it was announced. Let's just say I was not disappointed. 

To grade it in a scale, here are the categories and the scores:

Plot 10/10

Acting 10/10

Directing 9/10

Writing 10/10

Cinematography 9/10

Soundtrack 8/10

Costumes 9/10

Lighting 10/10

Color 9/10

Emotional Impact 10/10

Overall: 94/100

The film follows Lorne Michaels as he prepares the first episode of Saturday Night Live. He's got an hour and half to get the crew, cast, and producers on board and on track with what they're putting together. The film is messy, intense, silly, and just so much fun to watch. I had a smile on my face for the entire film. The portrayals in this film are stellar with fantastic performances from Gabrielle LaBelle as Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shutter (who really impressed me in this), and Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase (who is my personal pick for a Best Supporting Actor nom from this). The rest of the cast makes up for some hilarious moments with Lamorne Morris, Ella Hunt, Dylan O'Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, and Kim Matula making up the rest of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players". I was really impressed by Reitman's directing, I think this is really his breakout film. One thing that I would've liked more is probably more of a personal feeling than an actual critique, but I was much more engaged watching the hijinks the cast was up to than some of the producer drama. Now, in reality this film isn't just about the cast having fun and goofing off, but there's once scene where they run around the halls in toga's just screaming in people's faces and causing mayhem. It was the moment of the film where I really saw what this movie is. It's a love letter to Saturday Night Live. It's a love letter to the original cast and all that they've done; but, it's also a message. It's a message to the production team that maybe it's time to pass the show off to the next generation. The show was conceived of 20 year old with no name, no fame, and nothing to lose. The current state of SNL, in my opinion and seemingly in Reitman's, has lost sight of that. It feels too safe, it feels too meta, it feels too digestible. I don't need the show to be edgy. I'm not asking it to lose all the political sketches (which have been around since day 1, let's not pretend that they're new). And I don't need anyone on the current cast to lose their job. But maybe in 5 years, we should just reboot the whole thing. New leaders, new cast (YOUNG AND UNKNOWN), and a new outlook on what the show can be. I'll get off my soapbox but this movie, if you can't tell by now, really inspired me to create and to be original and to push the boundaries that haven't even been set yet. This film's emotional value is something that will stick with me for a long time. I can't wait to rewatch this for years and years to come.

All-in-all, I highly recommend 'Saturday Night'. It's perfect for a laugh or for a a few days of thinking about the past and what could be in the future.

Thanks for Sitting on the Sidelines!

Zeke H. Bennett