Saturday Night (2024)

True greatness often comes about after things skate perilously close to absolute disaster, and that certainly seems to have been the case for the launch of Saturday Night Live. While it may not be what it once was, and while some may argue that it was never actually the giant cultural totem that others view it as, Saturday Night Live is a hell of a thing to be proud of. It's now been going for 50 years, it has given us a great wealth of comedic talent, on both sides of the camera, and it's undeniably part of any conversation about American TV.

What you get here is a look at the frantic and tense 90 minutes leading up to the very first episode of Saturday Night Live. The man trying to herd a lot of cats is Lorne Michaels (Gabriel LaBelle). The stars include Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith), Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O'Brien), and John Belushi (Matt Wood). And those thinking it could succeed are largely outnumbered by those thinking it will fail. Spectacularly.

Co-written by Gil Kenan and director Jason Reitman, Saturday Night is an enjoyable bit of sustained tension, especially impressive considering that we all know how things turned out in the end. There are a couple of main touchstones that keep being used as people rush around, ensuring they are ready for a show that is being rehearsed and timed right up until the last possible moment, and certain characters are introduced at key points to really crystallise the friction between the old guard and the new.

It's no easy task for actors to emulate some comedy icons, but I was pleased to see that the performances here seem to focus on the essence and nature of each main character, as opposed to everyone trying to do a perfect impression of who they're meant to be. The only real exception to this is Nicholas Braun, who excels in two roles, playing both Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson. Smith is all of the ego and self-doubt that you'd expect from Chase, O'Brien is a jovial Aykroyd, and Wood exudes the kid of erratic energy that always seemed to be part of Belushi. LaBelle is excellent as Michaels, a graceful swan who sometimes goes through water so clear that we can see the feet speedily paddling away beneath. Rachel Sennott, Ella Hunt, Emily Fairn, and Kim Matula are rather sorely sidelined as, respectively, Rosie Shuster, Gilda Radner, Laraine Newman, and Jane Curtin, but that is sadly in line with a lot of the women who have been part and parcel of SNL over the years. Nicholas Podany is a decent young Billy Crystal, and the only one to disappoint me was Matthew Rhys in the role of George Carlin. Willem Dafoe has a couple of good moments as Dave Tebet (aka one of "the suits"), and J. K. Simmons almost steals the entire movie as the legendarily-endowed Milton Berle.

I was hoping to enjoy this, despite what I saw as my perceived distance from the cultural impact of the show, and I did. It hints at just some of the troubles that would come along in the few years afterward, but it's largely focused on celebrating the fact that everyone somehow managed to get the bloody thing done, and done in a way, albeit a tweaked and streamlined way, that would then be repeated week in and week out for decades. Do people still watch the full show, or do they simply check out the highlights shared to YouTube and other social media sites? I don't know, but I suspect the latter. I'm not sure it matters though. The fact remains that almost every American is aware of SNL, almost every American has their favourite seasons, or favourite skits, and anyone with an interest in comedy and/or films should be happy that a lot of talent became famous worldwide after surviving their time working for Michaels. We also got Rob Schneider, but you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs.*

*said while having to pretend that I did not at one point own both The Animal and The Hot Chick on VHS.

7/10

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Prime Time: Bottoms (2023)

A comedy from the same people who delivered the acclaimed Shiva Baby to many happy viewers, Bottoms is the perfect mix of smart and silly that had me laughing from start to finish. It is the kind of film that I will unreservedly recommend to everyone, and if you hate it then I will know that we just don’t share the same sense of humour. Which will make me sigh. Because humour might be highly subjective, but it’s always nice to find something that allows you to share smiles and laughter with other people you know are on your wavelength.

Rachel Sennot and Ayo Edebiri play PJ and Josie, two uncool high schoolers who want a chance to turn things around. They’re not sporty, they’re lesbians, and they seem to be the only people rolling their eyes at a school system that treats douchebro football team members as unimpeachable royalty. So it’s hard to think of how they will improve their situation, but a fight club ought to do it. Yes, PJ and Josie start a fight club, a plan created just to help them get closer to the girls they are crushing on. But it soon starts to grow, giving club members more than a simple excuse to lash out and learn some self-defence.

Co-written by Sennott and director Emma Seligman, Bottoms has a great mix of characters, satisfying plotting that actually hews close to the standard plot of any well-known teen movie, and numerous lines of dialogue and individual moments that had me bursting out laughing.

It helps that the cast all feel so perfect in every role. Sennott and Edebiri can do no wrong at the moment, and the fact that they work so well together here is a huge plus. Kaia Gerber and Rose Liu do well as the cheerleaders not necessarily realising they are being crushed on by our leads, and Ruby Cruz steals a few scenes as the bomb-obsessed and brilliantly raging Hazel. When it comes to the guys, Marshawn Lynch has a lot of fun as a teacher who views himself as an ally, but wants to make as little effort as possible, and both Nicholas Galitzine and Miles Fowler are great as the two main football players who cause problems for the young women who don’t idolize them.

Seligman directs with great energy and a knack for balancing the silliness with very real and identifiable concerns, and there are moments here that were clearly conceived as both hilarious and cinematic, thanks to the shooting style and/or the soundtrack choices (and here is where I also congratulate Leo Birenberg and Charli XCX on a great selection of music to accompany many main sequences).

Easily one of the best outright comedies I have seen in the past ten years, Bottoms is brilliant, hilarious, violent, and deserving of becoming a firm favourite for those who appreciate it. The more I think about it, the less I can find to fault. In fact, yes, it’s perfect entertainment.

10/10

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Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022)

Pete Davidson plays David, a young man about to hold a hurricane party for a group of his friends at his family home. He also seems to be a bit of a dick, but that becomes less of an obstacle for anyone watching the movie when David is found dead. The group immediately suspect the one other male still amongst them (Greg, played by Lee Pace), but they also turn against one another as the killer seemingly stays hiding in plain sight. Is it Sophie (Amanda Stenblerg), a recovering addict who has turned up with a new girlfriend, Bee (Maria Bakalova)? Is it Bee? Maybe David’s girlfriend, an actress named Emma (Chase Sui Wonders), was just tired of his shit. Podcaster Alice (Rachel Sennott) seems to be desperate enough to create such a drama. And then there’s Jordan (Myha’la Herrold), a badass who definitely seems the most capable of killing someone. 

Written by Sarah DeLappe, majorly reworking a more straightforward slasher movie screenplay by Kristen Roupenian, Bodies Bodies Bodies is a comedy that is looking to have people love or hate it. There will be very few people who end up in the middle, thanks to the relentless parade of negative character traits displayed by everyone onscreen. Nobody here seems to have many (any?) redeeming features. Which doesn’t mean they deserve to die, but it is certainly more fun to watch this group self-implode due to the consequences of their own attitudes and actions. The dialogue isn’t as sharp as it could be, but you get some superb lines that will make you laugh while reminding you of how awful the characters are, and it’s a shame that things seem to take a bit too long to really get going. Thankfully, the third act is so good that it’s easy to forgive the rest. And there’s an ending that ranks up there with one of the best I have seen in the past few years.

Director Halina Reijn does a good job with the material, and she has a team that works well in shooting most of the movie in darkness. The house is big enough for people to wander off to various parts of it while hunting for a killer, there are plenty of accessories that you would expect these characters to have to hand, and there’s a general level of consistency and care taken with the developing tensions and the placing of potential victims within the geography of the house.

Having Davidson as the first murder victim is great casting. He can quickly make a strong impression, good or bad, and his presence/character casts an appropriately large shadow over everything. Although very much an ensemble piece, and everyone does well with the material, Amandla Stenberg is an excellent nominal lead, sharing most of her scenes with a very good, and suitably bemused by the people around her, Bakalova. Sennott is a lot of fun, and Herrold revels in the strength of her character throughout. Pace is good, but gets less screentime than most of the women, and the only one who barely makes any impression, seemingly due to being almost forgotten by the script, is Wonders. 

I liked Bodies Bodies Bodies, but I was apprehensive during some of the earliest scenes. I didn’t like the characters, didn’t know who to root for, and struggled to even enjoy the “whodunnit?” aspect. Then I realised that was the point of the movie. As the situation starts to get worse, it is easier to see the characters all being hampered by their narcissism and selfishness, which makes it easier to just sit back and enjoy. And you have that ending, which is good enough to lift the whole movie up a notch.

8/10

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Mubi Monday: Shiva Baby (2020)

There is often comedy gold to be mined from a situation in which a character has to survive some kind of event that just seems to be filling up with misfortunes and moments of fate conspiring against them. And that's exactly the kind of embarrassment pile-up that makes up the plot of Shiva Baby.

Rachel Sennott plays Danielle, a young Jewish woman who has to do her duty of appearing with her parents at a shiva (a Jewish ritual for mourning the dead that begins immediately after the funeral). Danielle and her parents run through some potential answers to questions she may be asked, about her education and career path, and things start to feel awkward when she sees that an ex-girlfriend, Maya (Molly Gordon), is also in attendance. Then she is introduced to Max (Danny Deferrari), a man she already knows intimately. Which makes things much more awkward when Max's wife, Kim (Dianna Agron), arrives. Can Danielle get through the day with her sanity intact?

Written and directed by Emma Seligman, expanding her short from a few years previously (which also had Sennott in the lead role), Shiva Baby is worth seeing, and worth praising, for a number of reasons. It balances the central Jewish way of life for the main characters with the many pressures that all young people go through at one time or another. Figuring out relationships, finding ways to make money while also studying, even picking the right course to hopefully lead you to some better prospects in your career choices. All of these things are difficult enough, but all can feel even more difficult to deal with when you're also being scrutinised by parents who are presenting you to everyone around them at a large gathering.

Almost a one-location film for the duration, Seligman uses this to her advantage, using the confines of the shiva, the bustle of people, and the atmosphere (that mix of solemnity and socialising that happens at these things) to keep you empathising with Danielle as she starts to feel trapped.

The script isn't really surprising, but Seligman allows one or two moments to play out nicely without having characters explicitly state the words they really want to say. The conversations may be strained, but they remain just about civil enough, even as the body language says something very different.

Although Seligman deserves to be recognised for her work here, she's lucky to have captured what is almost certainly a star-making turn from Sennott, who is simply fantastic for every minute that she's onscreen (and she's in onscreen for pretty much the entire 77-minute runtime). Constantly scrambling for the right thing to say that will allow her to get away from many of the people around her, Sennott is a nervous ball of energy, and she never feels unnatural or unrealistic. Gordon is also very good in her role, and works well with Sennott, while Deferrari and Agron lend capable support as they provide more problematic moments for our lead. Fred Melamed and Polly Draper are Danielle's parents, and both are quite excellent.

Despite the great work here, it's almost impossible for Shiva Baby to feel fresh or vital. It's still very much worth your time, but it's far from essential viewing. I hope you enjoy it when you do give it a watch though, and I look forward to seeing Sennott in many more movies.

7/10

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