Film Fest Review: Saturday Night
“Live from New York, It’s Saturday Night!”: A line we all have heard yelled at least a handful of times, whether that be on the T.V. in the background, or before a Tik Tok clip on your phone. Saturday Night Live, or SNL, is a staple late night show for all Americans across multiple generations. For instance, all over my Tik Tok right now is a skit from the show featuring Ariana Grande, singing a parody of Sabrina Carpenter’s song “Espresso.” At the same time, my mom still often references the Julia Child skit she watched live on her T.V., showing the range and impact SNL truly has had. “Saturday Night” the movie, explores the 90 minutes before the first broadcast of SNL, back when no one had heard of the show or knew what was to come. The film itself has a 90 minute runtime, bringing the audience into this hour and half in real time. I absolutely adored this movie and here is why.
If you are looking for a chill movie to have on in the background, this is not it. I had the joy of being able to see this film at Film Fest and stay afterwards to hear from director Jason Reitman, casting director John Papsidera, and costume designer Danny Glicker. Reitman described that they wanted the clock to be the villain of this film. This is exactly what comes across in this movie as the time counts down throughout the film, giving the audience constant anxiety. The movie comes at you quick with scenes featuring an onslaught of characters and hectic actions. Reitman said he had to “let go” when directing these scenes, and that the best shots happened when he “let chaos be chaos.” This constant movement and motion of the shots bombards the viewer and stays consistent throughout the film, causing continuous anxiety for viewers.
While this movie created anxiety through the 90 minute deadline, it also had moments of the humor of SNL. A break would happen from the chaos and I would be audibly laughing in the theater as skits portrayed in the movie. It was not a thriller but rather felt like a real view into the world of being young and working with other people on a passion project with a deadline, like many of us SCAD students can relate too. There are times of mass anxiety, times you all laugh together, and times you remember why you love to do what you do.
Another part of this film that absolutely makes it is the sound design. Jon Batiste both stars in the film and crafted the music for the film. Reitman noted that this music was actually played and created live on set as the shots were being filmed, and hat Batiste would go back to what was recorded live to perfect and tweak. This proves how reactive and fluid the sound is with the action on screen. The sound acts as almost another main character in the movie as it guides some of the scenes and creates even more anxiety for the viewer. If the fast paced visuals weren’t enough, the sound adds the cherry on top of built anxiety.
Lastly, I have to talk about the stacked cast in this film. This film is made up of an ensemble cast with names from J.K. Simmons to Finn Wolfhard. Papsidera not only cast for “Saturday Night” but also “Oppenheimer”, another ensemble heavy film. Each character, even small roles, was cast fantastically in this film. It was so exciting seeing actors that I have adored for years, get to do a fun film like this and dress in the 70s aesthetic. Just seeing each new face as they enter the screen is an added layer of enjoyment for me as a movie buff. The actors and actresses did a fantastic job of making these characters lovable and enjoyable even at times of stress or when they were acting less than polite.
Overall, this film was so fantastic to me through the acting, sound, direction, costumes, writing, all of it. Maybe I am just a sucker for anything with an attractive cast and a 70s aesthetic BUT I highly recommend watching it, even with my bias. I think it perfectly captures being young, creative, broke artists, and with a dream…perfect for us at SCAD!