Saturday Night review: engrossing behind-the-scenes look at SNL's first episode brings more drama than laughs

Many veterans of Saturday Night Live have talked about the all-nighters and stress that often comes from putting on the weekly sketch show, but that was nothing compared to getting the first ever episode of the historic TV show to air in 1975, as depicted in Jason Reitman's new movie, Saturday Night.

The movie, co-written by Reitman and Gil Kenan, begins 90 minutes before Saturday Night (as it was referred to at the time) is set to air its first-ever episode on October 11, 1975. Young producer Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle) must corral his motley crew of writers and actors, get the veteran production crew to help achieve his vision, appease the NBC affiliates itching for him to fail and ultimately define a show that at the time had few comparisons. In addition to LaBelle, bringing many of the iconic names to life are Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase, Ella Hunt as Gilda Radner, Dylan O'Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Emily Fairn as Laraine Newman, Matt Wood as John Belushi, Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris (no relation), Kim Matula as Jane Curtin and Nicholas Braun as Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson. Others in the cast include Rachel Sennott, Cooper Hoffman, Willem Dafoe, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Matthew Rhys, Catherine Curtin, Jon Batiste and J.K. Simmons.

And that's only a portion of the massive ensemble brought together to portray the teams of people who worked tirelessly and at times at each other's throats to get that first episode of Saturday Night Live to air. There really isn't a weak link in the bunch, as the movie does a great job of weaving everyone in and out of the story and ensuring that just about everyone, from a young Billy Crystal (Nicholas Podany) cut from the first show to the  stage crew leery of the young upstarts, gets their moment.

That said there are definitely some standout performances. First and foremost, LaBell, who is now two for two portraying iconic entertainment figures (he previously played a fictionalized version of Steven Spielberg in the director's 2022 movie The Fabelmans). He is great as Michaels, who is a mix of TV revolutionary confident in the concept being the future and a bundle of nerves as he struggles to bring it all together against a ticking clock. Let's get LaBelle some more work please.

Some others worth singling out include Morris, Smith and Sennott, who radiates off the screen as Rosie Shuster, Michaels' confidant and wife (though that situation is its own mess of complications) and has great chemistry with LaBelle; the entire cast meshes so well together.

Despite how good they are together on screen though, the Michaels/Shuster relationship angle of the story is one of its weakest. There's a part where we get some extended backstory to it all that just saps momentum from the proceedings. Not that knowing there is an odd dynamic to between the two isn't important to their characters — there's little in the movie that does not add greater context to the characters or story, which is a testament to the high-quality script — it's just that it's an angle that doesn’t really reach its full potential or grab our attention amidst everything else going on.

Similarly, the movie gets a bit repetitive in some of its story beats, particularly with the looming threat of Saturday Night being booted for NBC to air reruns of Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show and Michaels hiring young, underestimated individuals on the spot. Again, there's a purpose to these moments, but they're done enough times you want to say "we get it." Even if it happened like that on the night, perhaps it could have been pared back a bit here.

The only other thing that may be surprising to some is that Saturday Night isn't really a laugh riot. Yes, there are funny lines sprinkled in from these comedic legends, but the movie definitely feels more like a drama as the pressure mounts for Michaels and company. And that's OK, it works in that context. And a big reason why is the editing, led by Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid, that keeps things moving at a frenetic, engaging pace.

For as much as I liked about Saturday Night, overall the parts may be greater than the sum, as I left with a feeling that it was good, not great. But the parts are pretty darn good: one of the best ensembles of the year, a script stuffed to the brim with fascinating tidbits and character moments and playing basically in real time if barrels through like an express train. Hop on and enjoy the ride.

You can watch Saturday Night right now exclusively in US movie theaters. The movie is slated to premiere in the UK in January 2025.