Saturday Night

Directed by Jason Reitman, Saturday Night follows the cast and crew of Saturday Night Live, led by Gabriel LaBelle’s Lorne Michaels, as they attempt to overcome many, many obstacles to get the first show on the air. It’s inherently compelling subject matter that’s employed to erratic yet mostly satisfying effect by Reitman, as the filmmaker, armed with his and Gil Kenan’s screenplay, delivers a blisteringly-paced endeavor that gets off to a thoroughly involving and entertaining start – with the single-take shot that kicks off the proceedings certainly establishing an irresistibly frenzied, Robert Altmanesque atmosphere. From there, though, Saturday Night segues into a rather hit-and-miss midsection that feels like it could (and should) have been tightened considerably – with the inclusion of several palpably needless digressions wreaking havoc on the movie’s momentum and overall impact. (It’s clear, too, that the film often just feels too frenetic for its own good.) The uniformly compelling performances and the periodic presence of palpably engrossing interludes (eg a stairwell argument between Michaels and Cooper Hoffman’s Dick Ebersol) sustains one’s interest throughout, while the satisfying climax ensures that Saturday Night concludes on an exceedingly positive note – with the end result a periodically fascinating behind-the-scenes endeavor that’ll undoubtedly fare best among SNL fanatics.

*** out of ****