色多多

Counting down the minutes before the premiere, Producer Lorne Michaels (Gabrielle LaBelle) has to juggle network brass, an unfinished set and a cast of live wires before he can even think of shaping the elements into a 90-minute variety show.

The year is 1975 and, inherent in that, a lot of 鈥渙lder鈥� execs hoping this replacement for 鈥淭onight Show鈥� reruns will fail.

New to the game, Michaels over-schedules his show, so acts that don鈥檛 get on (including Billy Crystal, who later became a cast member), wait and wonder. John Belushi (Matt Wood), the Brando of the bunch, is as aloof as actors get. He won鈥檛 sign his contract and he doesn鈥檛 want to wear a bee costume. Garrett Morris (Lamorne Morris) wonders why he鈥檚 on the show (and gets a great laugh with a quick song that later becomes a skit) and what kind of work it鈥檒l eventually be.

Dan Aykroyd (Dylan O鈥橞rien) runs interference backstage while Chevy Chase (Cory Michael Smith) wows the affiliate heads who鈥檝e stopped in to watch this thing emerge. The three female cast members (true to form) don鈥檛 get much screen time but Rachel Sennott (as the smart, insightful writer Rosie Shuster) dominates as the one who can get it all on track. She gets great lines, too, and the kind of credit that wasn鈥檛 passed around much five decades ago.

Think 鈥淢y Favorite Year鈥� and you鈥檒l get an inkling of what 鈥淪aturday Night鈥� is all about. Director Jason Reitman lets a clock be his guide. It shows how much can happen before the show goes on the air.

While Aaron Sorkin tried to do the same thing with 鈥淪tudio 60 on the Sunset Strip,鈥� he didn鈥檛 quite have the manic quality that this does. Obviously heightened, the action pulls you into that dark world of comedy and prays you can make it out on the other side.

LaBelle does a great job wending his way through the chaos, but Smith is the real scene stealer, able to capture some of Chase鈥檚 split personality in mere minutes. Like O鈥橞rien, he has enough of the tics and vocal mannerisms to make you believe you鈥檙e seeing the real thing. When J.K. Simmons shows up as Milton Berle, the impersonation game kicks into high gear.

George Carlin (Matthew Rhys), Andy Kaufman (Nicholas Braun) and Jim Henson (also Braun) flesh out the parade of talent. They鈥檝e got questions for Michaels. He, however, has that ticking clock.

The idea that 鈥淪aturday Night鈥� (it added the 鈥渓ive鈥� years later) was revolutionary gets lost a bit in the translation. Berle and a network suit (nicely played by Willem Dafoe) are the only real barriers, even though Dick Ebersol (Cooper Hoffman) emerges as the only old-school force in Michaels鈥� operation.

A treat for everyone who saw those early years, 鈥淪aturday Night鈥� explains why some weeks are good and others aren鈥檛. It also salutes the miracle of live television and the masterpiece Michaels created.

It鈥檚 as good as 鈥淪NL鈥� ever has been.聽