“Nick? LET US SEE YOUR FAAAAACE!”

Story: The ninety minutes before the first Saturday Night Live was just as crazy as the ninety minutes that made it on air. Wanna see? Yeah you do.

Genre I’d put it in: Raucous TV Show Biopics
Release Date: 2024
Remake, Sequel, Based-On, or Original: Based on the creation of the show Saturday Night, now known as Saturday Night Live

Gotta say: Fifty years. Saturday Night Live has been on-air for fifty years. As it’s gone from cast to cast, through decade after decade, the first few seasons and that original “Not Ready For Prime-Time Players” feel legendary. Rightly so. Here in Night, we get to see how what looked like an effortlessly hilarious show came to be. Thanks to an excellent screenplay, whipsmart direction, and a cast that believably echoes the original stars, we get a raucous peek behind the curtain that feels remarkably authentic.

Thanks to interviews with the surviving cast and crew members of that first episode, there’s a feeling of accuracy that lends to the chaotic, hopeful proceedings we see onscreen. There’s also a ton of info I’d never known before. Like how Garrett Morris (channeled wonderfully by Lamorne Morris, no relation) had studied at Julliard, and was an accomplished singer. That Chevy Chase’s wife (then fiancée, played by a doe-eyed, keen-witted Kaia Gerber) was an impromptu member of the cast for a few skits. And how John Belushi (a wonderfully complex Matt Wood) wasn’t exactly keen on signing his contract. A few later in the show’s history tidbits are added to this first episode, like how Milton Berle was such a schmuck the cast couldn’t stand him, writers gearing up for the infamous Julia Child skit, and of course the backstage “Lincoln, llama, and showgirls” running gag.

There are some differences between the first episode and the SNL we know today. The host gets several sets, there’s only one anchorman for Weekend Update, and there are Muppets (see #Protip). Nicholas Braun looks so much like Jim Henson it’s uncanny, and nails Henson’s quiet, unassuming manner. Fun fact: Braun also plays Andy Kaufman here, and also delivers an impressive performance. The entire ensemble – because Night gives plenty of time to all the players in that first ep, including folks you didn’t see. There’s a running subplot where Nicholas Podany’s Billy Crystal is nervous about his skit’s run-time getting cut down, and as Crystal finally became a member in the 80s? We know where that’s going. Even the censor gets time; Catherine Curtin (no relation to Jane) plays Joan Carbunkle, the fictional stand-in for NBC’s standards and practices. Her running questions about dialogue – “what’s a ‘golden shower’?” – serve as show-don’t-tell exposition about what the writer’s room was trying to get on-air, a hark-back to the counterculture vibe of those early seasons, as well as hilarious non-sequiturs during the film.

As a huge fan of Gotham, I was stoked to see their Riddler’s Cory Michael Smith as Chevy Chase. The only problem? Smith is much too likeable a human to believably pull off the Grade A Jerkwad vibe of the actual SNL alum. But Smith does do an incredible job delivering his dialogue, tossing off quips and insults with an effortless feel. A scene where Smith’s Chase battles wits with J.K. Simmons’ Milton Berle is absolutely outstanding. That Smith can hold his own with Simmons didn’t come to a surprise for me (because hello Gotham), but still? It’s an incredible scene that stops the film for a moment, just so viewers can bask in the talents of these two professionals. Another scene that stopped to really dig into the cast was when Morris and Kim Matula’s Jane Curtin discuss why they’re a part of the cast. Morris is trying to figure out his place, and Curtin longs to break from the gigs she got in her twenties. And damn, Morris and Matula are excellent.

Writer Gil Kenan and writer/director Jason Reitman created a screenplay that pulls viewers in to the craziness of the prep for that first show. The dialogue is an incredible mix of gently human and powerful talent for the Prime-Time Players, showing their humanity as well as their chops. Editing keeps the backstage chaos on 11, having us feel Lorne’s anxiety as he desperately tries to bring things together. The attention to detail with the set, props, and even random characters on-set is beautifully immersive. It’s gloriously messy, and anyone who’s ever been backstage before a show or play will smile with recognition.

As Night counts down to the start of the program, the action cuts to an on-screen digital “clock” ticking away. This had me wanting to see them reach their goal, yet feeling sad that when they did, this film would be over. It was a lovely mix of yearning, dismay, and excitement I might need to re-experience. To quote Morticia Addams? Do it again.

#Protip: You heard me. There used to be Muppets on SNL. Henson’s The Land of Gorch appeared during the first season, which ultimately prepped the puppeteer for The Muppet Show.