WARWICK SHOWCASE

SATURDAY NIGHT
* * ½
(Chaotic Look at Opening Night)

I was in front of my TV set on that historic night, October 11, 1975, at 11:00 p.m. for the debut of a new live comedy show called “Saturday Night” produced and directed by a young Lorne Michaels.

(Joyce was on her way to work and missed it.)

It was funny, innovative, and a bit chaotic.

I don’t watch “Saturday Night Live” anymore. It was always written for the younger crowd who “got” the humor…and I fall asleep well before 11 p.m. these nights.

The movie attempts to recreate the 90 minutes before the show aired live, pushing the envelope far past what really happened. (Google “Saturday Night” and you’ll find an account of what really happened and what is fiction.)

Gabriel LaBelle plays Michaels, and it is hard to believe that this TV pioneer was once that naïve.

Other actors whose names I was not familiar with played Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin and other young comics, all with giant size egos.

Belushi won’t sign his contract, Chase out-egos everyone else, Morris complains about playing Black roles, and most of them are high or drunk.

Lights crash to the floor, costumes are mixed up, property people can’t find the right props, and fights break out as 11 p.m. draws closer.

Rehearsals are conducted at the last minute as scripts are changed, NBC executives threaten to cancel the show, and censorship is threatened.

The question of what is true and what was made up looms, as the movie goes out of control

What you get is a jumbled mess that finally ends with Chevy Chase shouting “It’s Saturday Night!”.

AVON

The Avon Cinema becomes a true repertory this week with three diverse and interesting movies, starting at 2:20 p.m. with “Blink” (not to be confused with the awful “Blink Twice.”)

The National Geographic film follows a family of six on a trip around the world as they encounter many adventures and learn the true meaning of life.

Two of the three children have an incurable eye disease which will seriously affect their future.

And now for something completely different, “Longlegs” is the story of a serial killer who leaves cryptic notes behind and is chased by an FBI agent. Nicolas Cage plays a creepy suspect. Don saw the movie at the Showcase a while ago and loved it. From the opening to the closing scenes, it leaves you guessing. (4:10 p.m.)

LONGLEGS

“The Outrun” stars Saoirse Ronan as a woman running away from her problems to her birthplace in Scotland’s Orkney Islands where she deals with the demons. While the story is a bit of a downer, her performance is Oscar-quality. (6:20 p.m.)