Despite garnering strong reviews from critics and audiences alike, Jason Reitman says Chevy Chase was not too fond of Saturday Night. Co-written and directed by Reitman, the movie served as a biopic for the long-running sketch show, being set on the night of the show’s premiere and the chaos that ensued in trying to get the show on the air. Chase was portrayed in the Saturday Night cast by Gotham alum Cory Michael Smith, with some of the other ensemble including Gabriel LaBelle as Lorne Michaels, Rachel Sennott as Rosie Shuster, Dylan O’Brien as Dan Aykroyd and Matt Wood as John Belushi.
As the movie makes its way through the awards circuit press tour, Reitman made an appearance on David Spade and Dana Carvey’s Fly on the Wall podcast to discuss Saturday Night. In looking back on the responses to the movie and the way he depicted some of the Saturday Night Live icons in it, the director recalled Chevy Chase being quite blunt in his response to the film, telling Reitman he “should be embarrassed“:
So, Chevy comes in to watch the movie, and he is there with [wife] Jayni, and they watch the film, and he’s in the group, and he comes up to me after, and he pats me on the shoulder and goes, “Well, you should be embarrassed.”
Reitman went on to share his own reaction to Chase’s blunt review, acknowledging that, “from a comedy point-of-view, that’s really pure” and “kind of cool“, while also lamenting that the star didn’t acknowledge the director’s efforts to “find the humanity and give [Chase] a moment to be loved“. Check out the rest of what Reitman shared below:
I’m trying to balance it, because, in my head, I know, “Alright, I’m getting my own Chevy Chase moment that’s 1,000% only for me right now.” And from a comedy point-of-view, that’s really pure, and that’s kind of cool. But also, I just spent like two years of my life recreating this moment and trying to capture Chevy perfectly, and also even in the ego, find the humanity and give him a moment to be loved — no, none of that s–t played. He’s not talking about that stuff.
What Chase’s Response To Saturday Night Means For The Film
His Review Was Always Going To Draw Attention
While a blunt response is never what a director hopes to get for their film, Chase’s Saturday Night review will likely come as little surprise to those familiar with the actor’s history on the show. Chase’s Saturday Night Live exit is a source of infamy for the long-running sketch comedy, with some stories pointing towards his rising stardom causing tension between him and some other cast members, particularly John Belushi. Given his exit from the show didn’t come until season 2, Reitman didn’t need to show any of that, but still did foreshadow some of the drama that would surround him in the years to come.
The other reason why Chase’s blunt Saturday Night review may not come as much of a surprise is that it falls in line with the icon’s general sense of humor. Chase is often known for his more sardonic and abrasive jokes both on and off-screen, something that proved well for the likes of Community‘s Pierce. Given Reitman didn’t share much else of what Chase told him he felt about the film, it’s hard to actually say how much was from a sense of comedy and how much was genuine frustration.
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Even if Chase wasn’t too fond of the film, though, there were other Saturday Night Live vets who were far more positive in their responses to it. Dan Aykroyd is one such SNL veteran who had a glowing review for Saturday Night, praising both Reitman and his co-writer Gil Kenan’s “pretty accurate” approach to telling the events of the night while also delivering something “propulsive, engaging” and “funny“. Aykroyd even called for the movie to be a “surefire candidate for Best Picture” at the Oscars in 2025.
Our Take On Chase’s Saturday Night Review
He Was Never Going To Be Nice About It
Despite still being an icon in the world of comedy, Chase’s reputation has increasingly become a troubled one as more and more stories of his difficult behavior on sets have come to light. One of the more recent was even that of Chris Columbus recalling the personal clash he and the star had while in the early days of working on National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, which resulted in the director’s exit and replacement on the film.
As such, I can’t say I ever expected Chase’s thoughts on Saturday Night to be positive, regardless of how the movie depicted him. Chase largely worked to distance himself from the sketch show in the wake of his absence, and with his brand of humor being a very pointed one, he was always going to find a way to twist the knife into the side of any filmmaker who dared wade into telling the story of his time on Saturday Night Live.
Source: Fly on the Wall
Saturday Night (2024) is a forthcoming film with an undisclosed director. The movie centers on the vibrant nightlife of a bustling city, capturing the intertwining lives and stories of a diverse ensemble cast navigating personal and social challenges over the course of a single evening.
- Release Date
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October 11, 2024
- Runtime
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109 Minutes
- Cast
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Gabriel LaBelle
, Rachel Sennott
, Cooper Hoffman
, Dylan O’Brien
, Cory Michael Smith
, Lamorne Morris
, Willem Dafoe
, Ella Hunt
, Emily Fairn
, Matt Wood
, Kim Matula
, tommy dewey
, Andrew Barth Feldman
, Nicholas Braun
, Kaia Gerber
, Catherine Curtin
, Nicholas Podany
, Corinne Britti
, Finn Wolfhard
, J.K. Simmons
, Matthew Rhys
, Taylor Gray
, Leander Suleiman
, Mcabe Gregg
, Kirsty Woodward
, Jon Batiste
, Naomi McPherson
, Brian Welch
, Tracy Letts
, Paul Rust
, Josh Brener
, Brad Garrett
, Rowan Joseph
, Billy Bryk
, Ellen Boscov
, Justin Matthew Smith
, Abraham Hsu
, Parker Wierling
, Presley Coley
, James Logan
, Robert Wuhl
, Drew Scheid - Character(s)
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Lorne Michaels
, Rosie Shuster
, Dick Ebersol
, Dan Aykroyd
, Chevy Chase
, Garrett Morris
, David Tebet
, Gilda Radner
, Laraine Newman
, John Belushi
, Jane Curtin
, Michael O’Donoghue
, Neil Levy
, Andy Kaufman
, Jacqueline Carlin
, Joan Carbunkle
, Billy Crystal
, Valri Bromfield
, NBC Page
, Milton Berle
, George Carlin
, Al Franken
, Anne Beatts
, Tom Davis
, Audrey Dickman
, Billy Preston
, Janis Ian
, Don Pardo
, Herb Sargent
, Paul Shaffer
, Alan Zweibel
, Borscht Belt Comedian
, Jim Fox
, Carl
, Mrs. Kaufman
, Joe Dicso
, Leo Yoshimura
, Tom Schiller
, Barbara Gallagher
, Stew Sorrentino
, Dave Wilson
, Bob Pook - Director
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Jason Reitman
- Writers
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Gil Kenan
, Jason Reitman