Saturday Night Live may not have the consistent late night comedy influence in the UK as it has in North America but there’s little doubt of its global impact, as well as the variety of comedy stars who’ve graced the show and moved on bigger things – right through the decades since it first aired in 1975.

Depending on your pop culture knowledge, the show itself may be lesser known but I’ve been aware of it most of my life, and if you want to know some of the names who’ve come through its studio ranks, then think of Bill Murray, Dana Carvey, Eddie Murphy, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Mike Myers, Will Ferrell, Adam Sandler, Kristen Wiig, Tina Fey, Kate McKinnon, Maya Rudolph, and Dan Aykroyd, just to name some of the lofty shakers.

Saturday Night, the film, sets us up in the story of the how the show first came to exist because, when you think about it, giving 90 minutes to a cast of unknown, young comedians on primetime TV and making it live was unlike anything American television had seen before. Written/Directed by Jason Reitman, co-written with Gil Kenan, this is based on the true story of what was happening in the lead up to that very first live show.

Taking on the sheer chaos of live television in any decade is something, and here the film gives us a no-holds-barred insight into that build-up bedlam plus impressive famous character representations – with creator Lorne Michaels being centre stage, brilliantly led by Gabriel LaBelle (who also gave a stellar performance as Spielberg in The Fabelmans), as he tries to establish some type of order amongst the mess.

While it could be considered a little distracting to have so many real-life characters being brought back to life, in a 1970s sense, the portrayals are smart and quite eerily accurate, with particular stand out moments for Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd, Matt Wood’s uncanny John Belushi, Cory Michael Smith taking on Chevy Chase (with a script moment idea that he’s never been that well liked), Lamorne Morris as Garrett Morris, and Ella Hunt’s Gilda Radner – with a very special double performance from Nicholas Braun as both Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson, and they’re equally extraordinary.

Like an multitudinous amount of sketches stitched together, Saturday Night revels in the ridiculous reality of a cast out of control, a producer (played by Willem Defoe loving his life) wanting the show to fail, and its hyped-up and nervous cast barely being wrangled together by Lorne Michaels and an initially lethargic TV crew doing as little as they can, as none of it seems to be under control of anyone. But there is a sense of focus amongst everything, and that’s the passion of Labelle’s Lorne Michaels, who’s adamant (to a point) that the show will go live and all they need to do is get there, which leads back to famous quote, which opens the film… “The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready; it goes on because it’s 11:30.”

As you’d expect, Saturday Night isn’t subtle, and some smaller moments get lost in the sheer wealth of energy and frantic one-liners, being thrown around at every instant, as well as times when situations merge too quickly into each other – meaning it’s difficult to retain concentration. That walk-talk target of something Aaron Sorkin-like also doesn’t quite hit the sweet spot, and it’s not sharp enough regularly to capture every second, but this is completely entertaining and a fine reminder of a worthy comedy institution, which takes us on one hell of a ride.

Saturday Night is available to Buy on Digital from Tuesday 1^st April 2025, courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment: https://amzn.to/4hZAd6b

It also comes to DVD on 14 April, pre-order here: https://amzn.to/4cbh1B3