MOVIE REVIEW: SATURDAY NIGHT

 

Tensions run high as producer Lorne Michaels and a ferocious troupe of young comedians and writers prepare for the first broadcast of "Saturday Night Live" on Oct. 11, 1975.

Director: Jason Reitman

Cast: Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O'Brien, Emily Fairn, Matt Wood, Lamorne Morris, Kim Matula, Finn Wolfhard, Nicholas Braun, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Kaia Gerber, Tommy Dewey, Willem Dafoe, Matthew Rhys, J. K. Simmons

Release Date: October 11, 2024

Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama, History

Rated R for language throughout, sexual references, some drug use and brief graphic nudity.

Runtime: 1h 49m

Review:

Jason Reitman's manic Saturday Night captures the frenetic vibe that must have permeated that first show told in a manner that feels more like mythmaking than actual reality.  Reitman manages to create a pulsating energy from the start as we get a sense of how much of a highwire act the entire process of putting on a live show especially doing it for the first time.  Sure the story weaves together a rather convenient series of events and encounters that may or may have not happened as presented but for the film it works to recreate the feel of that faithful night.  The ensemble cast lead by Gabriel LaBelle's anxiety ridden, endlessly stressed out Lorne Michaels is a joy to watch from start to finish.  LaBelle's performance is the film's beating heart as he rushes from one crisis to another with a dogged determination that's easy to root for.  He's surrounded by a collection of strong supporting performances that do an impressive job of emulating their real life counterparts.  Cory Michael Smith gets the biggest spotlight as a young Chevy Chase and he delivers a fascinating performance that captures his comedic timing and brimming sense of ego and self importance.  Smith is always the most interesting performer onscreen particularly when J. K. Simmons' Milton Berle dresses him down in a particularly effective scene.  Ella Hunt gets less screentime but she does the most with her time as she gives Gilda Radner a soulful, live in the moment appreciation that feels like a tribute to the late comedian.  Lamorne Morris isn't quite as lucky with Garrett Morris who's underserved by the script which has him questioning why he was cast while never delving into the possible reasons with any seriousness.   Matt Wood, Emily Fairn, Dylan O'Brien, Kim Matula all get small spots to deliver spot on turns as John Belushi, Laraine Newman, Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin.  They are small but impactful moments with O'Brien's Aykroyd screaming for more screentime just like Matthew Rhys all to brief appearance as George Carlin.  Nicholas Braun pulls double duty as Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson but much like his costars the movie doesn't give them enough time to really settle in as little more than glorified caricatures.  Rachel Sennott's Rosie Shuster, Michael's ex wife, also begs for a bit more fleshing out but the film moves at a frenetic pace that you get the sense large chucks were excised like many a skit from the show's master wall.  That doesn't lessen Saturday Night's impressive cinematic energy that's sure to please long time fans of the show.

B+

MOVIE REVIEW: GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE

 

When a single mother and her two children move to a new town, they soon discover they have a connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.

Director: Jason Reitman

Cast: Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Paul Rudd, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts

Release Date: November 19, 2021

Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

Rated PG-13 for supernatural action and some suggestive references

Runtime: 2h 4m

Review:

Ghostbusters: Afterlife peddles heavily in nostalgia but unfortunately it doesn’t bring much new to the table.  Jason Reitman’s film decides to follow the J. J. Abrams template of franchise revivals by lifting memorable moments from the original film and repackaging them with a new cast.  That’s not to say the film doesn’t have it’s moments where it comes to life due to a capable cast but it never really hits the sweet spot. Mckenna Grace is the film’s best addition as she delivers a fun, enjoyable performance as Ego’s granddaughter.  She has an air of authenticity and earnestness that works in the film’s favor.  Logan Kim is her defacto sidekick and they share some solid comedic chemistry which is rare among younger performers.  Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon deliver workman like performances unfortunately the script doesn’t take advantage of their talents.  The original cast appears in what amounts to extended cameos and the film works in the late Harold Ramis with mixed results.  Ultimately, Ghostbusters: Afterlife feels like it should have left a bigger impression but it’s mostly forgettable. 

C

MOVIE REVIEW: TULLY

Marlo, a mother of three, is gifted a night nanny by her brother. Hesitant to the extravagance at first, Marlo comes to form a unique bond with the thoughtful, surprising, and sometimes challenging young nanny named Tully.

Director: Jason Reitman

Cast: Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Mark Duplass, Ron Livingston

Release Date: May 4, 2018

Genres: Comedy, Drama 

Rated R for language and some sexuality/nudity

Runtime: 1h 36min 

Review:


Tully, the third collaboration between Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody, is an impressive thoughtful and raw look at motherhood.  Reitman and Cody have found their muse in Charlize Theron, the trio shined in the thoroughly unappreciated 2011 film Young Adult, who once again proves she’s one of the strongest actresses in film business.  Theron gained 50 pounds for the part to truly capture the character but it’s more than a physical transformation.  Theron has an ability to bring rawness to her character.  There’s a strong theme of melancholy throughout the film even as it moves from touching to outright funny.  Mackenzie Davis is more than capable of holding her own with Theron as the titular Tully.  Reitman and company carefully lead you down one path before the film takes an unexpected turn in the final act which totally changes the complexion of the film and story.  It’s a master stroke of direction and story telling that gives the film an emotional punch that it would have lacked if the story had played it safe.  Tully is a rare film that truly captures something real and relatable to most mothers, a real gift.

A

MOVIE REVIEW: YOUNG ADULT

IN THEATERS

YOUNG ADULT



Upon returning to her small Minnesota hometown to win back her high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson), now a happily-married father, divorced young adult fiction author Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) forges an unexpected bond with another former schoolmate (Patton Oswalt) who's had a particularly difficult life. Juno collaborators Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody re-team for this Paramount Pictures production. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Director: Jason Reitman

Cast: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, Collette Wolfe

Release Date: Dec 09, 2011

Rated: Language and some sexual content

Runtime: 1 hr. 34 min.

Genres: Art House, Comedy, Drama

Review:

Young Adult is the kind of film that’s won’t give you tidy answers complete with a happy catch all lessons learned ending. It’s stark, occasionally dark and impressively authentic. Setting aside most of the more zingy dialogue from her previous efforts, Cody’s script feels closer to home and more personal. Reitman’s ability to make the mundane interesting is perfect to capture this woman’s constant state of arrested development. He drops clues throughout about Mavis’s state of mind and the dark comedy works well but when we dip into the further depths it gets pretty dark. Charlize Theron puts on the type of performance that just as raw and effective as her Oscar Award winning turn in 2003’s Monster. Theron has a masterful way of showing the character’s general state of entitlement and disgust while she’s in her old home town. As her character enters the abyss you expect a certain revelation to occur but it doesn’t. Patton Oswalt is perfectly cast as Mavis’s former classmate, an equally damaged but less delusional counter part. Oswalt has an effect everyman type truth to his deliver and here it works perfectly. Looking at this film as a whole, it’d be easy to feel that Reitman and Cody are making a statement about those lost Gen X-ers who seem to have a happier life but are ultimately vapid and unfulfilled.

A

Movie Reviews: UP IN THE AIR

Sunday, January 03, 2010
Movie Reviews: UP IN THE AIR
IN THEATERS

UP IN THE AIR

From Jason Reitman, the Oscar® nominated director of “Juno,” comes a comedy called “Up in the Air” starring Oscar® winner George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizing expert whose cherished life on the road is threatened just as he is on the cusp of reaching ten million frequent flyer miles and just after he’s met the frequent-traveler woman of his dreams.

Cast: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Danny R. McBride

Director: Jason Reitman

Opened December 4, 2009.

Runtime: 1 hr. 49 min.

Rate R for language and some sexual content

Genres: Romantic Comedy, Comedy Drama, Psychological Drama, Family Drama, Workplace Comedy

Review:

It’s truly shocking that Up in the Air is director Jason Reitman’s 3rd film. Reitman’s level of polish is something most directors aspire to when they reach their peak. Up in the Air perfectly captures the cultural zeitgeist, a snapshot in time, filled with all the disconnect and artificial appreciation we all live with day in and out. Specifically, air travel and hotel life is wonderfully replicated with all the shorthand that anyone with any sort of travel experience would be hard pressed not to grin throughout. Reitman is able to meld this with a poignant look at the corporate wasteland caused by downsizing, using non actors in snippet interviews, that has consumed the America’s business landscape over the past couple of years. It’s a tricky balance but it works well especially since this is a romantic comedy at its heart. Reitman’s director is top notch and his cast is equally up to task. George Clooney, doing his best work since Michael Clayton, displays a full range of his character’s persona. His character is confident and head strong but very self aware of his ideology’s paradoxes. Clooney doesn’t shy away from showing his vulnerable side and does so with great effectiveness here. Vera Farmiga does an equally impressive job matching Clooney jab for jab in their scenes together. She displays a great ability to be strong and sexy without falling into the standard pitfalls of this type of role. Doing a similar balancing act is Anna Kendrick who makes her mark on her role which could have faded into cliché in lesser hands. She makes her character funny but grounded in reality, making her seem like someone we’ve all run into at some point in our careers. Peppered throughout the film are strong character actors like JK Simmons, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride, Zach Galifianakis and Sam Elliott. They make what could have been quick throwaway moments into something more substantial. Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner adapted the script from Walter Kirn’s 2001 mostly stream of conscience novel of the same name and there are moments in the film that feel like they are starting to head into rom-com clichés but they throw you curve balls keeping you off balance. It’s a true testament to their efforts in giving the audience something fresh with substance.

A