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Saturday Night

Saturday Night

Comedy · Drama · 2024

At 11:30pm on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever. This is the story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live.

Movie details

Saturday Night

“The revolution begins at 11:30.”

2024 Comedy · Drama 1h 49m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

At 11:30pm on October 11, 1975, a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers changed television forever. This is the story of what happened behind the scenes in the 90 minutes leading up to the first broadcast of Saturday Night Live.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Saturday Night?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Crooklyn

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A Futile and Stupid Gesture

A Futile and Stupid Gesture

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In a life full of triumph and failure, "National Lampoon" co-founder Doug Kenney built a comedy empire, molding pop culture in the 1970s.

The Squid and the Whale

The Squid and the Whale

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Based on the true childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach and his brother, The Squid and the Whale tells the touching story of two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s.

24 Hour Party People

24 Hour Party People

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The King of Staten Island

The King of Staten Island

Comedy · 2020

Scott has been a case of arrested development ever since his firefighter father died when he was seven. He's now reached his mid-20s having achieved little, chasing a dream of becoming a tattoo artist that seems far out of reach. As his ambitious younger sister heads off to college, Scott is still living with his exhausted ER nurse mother and spends his days smoking weed, hanging with the guys — Oscar, Igor and Richie — and secretly hooking up with his childhood friend Kelsey. But when his mother starts dating a loudmouth firefighter named Ray, it sets off a chain of events that will force Scott to grapple with his grief and take his first tentative steps toward moving forward in life.

The Disaster Artist

The Disaster Artist

Comedy · 2017

An aspiring actor in Hollywood meets an enigmatic stranger by the name of Tommy Wiseau, the meeting leads the actor down a path nobody could have predicted; creating the worst movie ever made.

Standing Up, Falling Down

Standing Up, Falling Down

Comedy · 2020

An unlikely friendship kindles between a struggling stand-up comedian from L.A. — forced to move back home to Eastern Long Island with his tail between his legs — and a tragically flawed, but charming and charismatic, alcoholic dermatologist. Discovering to be kindred spirits, each helps the other find healing, in addition to the confidence to face the "failures" in their lives.

Deconstructing Harry

Deconstructing Harry

Comedy · 1997

Writer Harry Block draws inspiration from people he knows, and from events that happened to him, sometimes causing these people to become alienated from him as a result.

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Class

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Comedy · 1983

Naive Midwestern prep student Jonathan bonds with his more worldly roommate, Skip, who takes the small-town boy under his wing. At Skip's urging, the inexperienced Jonathan is emboldened to seek out older women in the cocktail lounges of nearby Chicago, where he meets and beds the alluring Ellen, who unfortunately turns out to be Skip's mother. The division between the friends is further deepened when a cheating scandal engulfs the school.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Jason Reitman

Written by

Jason Reitman · Gil Kenan

Gabriel LaBelle

Gabriel LaBelle

Lorne Michaels

Rachel Sennott

Rachel Sennott

Rosie Shuster

Cory Michael Smith

Cory Michael Smith

Chevy Chase

Ella Hunt

Ella Hunt

Gilda Radner

Dylan O'Brien

Dylan O'Brien

Dan Aykroyd

Emily Fairn

Emily Fairn

Laraine Newman

Matt Wood

Matt Wood

John Belushi

Court is in session

Put Saturday Night on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.