Franco Premieres ‘SNL’ Documentary

The SXSW Film Festival on Sunday hosted the world-premiere of Saturday Night, a feature-length documentary about the making of a Saturday Night Live episode. The film marks the directorial debut for actor and two-time SNL host James Franco.

Originally conceived as a 5-minute short for an NYU film class, Franco expanded the project after receiving a rare all-access pass from Lorne Michaels.

The result is a 94 minute look at the SNL production process—from pitch meeting to air—as cast and crew prepare the December 6, 2008 episode hosted by John Malkovich.

Online reviews have been mostly favorable. Some interesting finds:

• ‘An intimate, fascinating snapshot of an American institution’
  The Hollywood Reporter‘s Daniel Carlson appreciates the candor demonstrated by the cast. “Much of the action of a given scene in the film is intercut with a cast member talking about their process or history with the show with stunning honesty, as when Will Forte says that the pitch meetings are ‘half bullshit’ and that he has no idea what he’ll suggest that week.”

• ‘The looming deadline of the broadcast creates an overarching suspense’
  Eric Kohn, of IndieWire.com, notes that Franco kept cameras rolling for all-night writing sessions. “Bill Hader stares into the mirror and unloads a series of hilarious impersonations. Head writer Seth Meyers passes out on the sofa, shortly after we hear him confess that ‘You can’t think of good ideas when you’re also sleeping.’ (Will) Forte expounds on the surreal nature of the weekly scramble. ‘You live in a haze,’ he says.”

• ‘A whole new appreciation’ for what SNL cast does
  Stephen Saito, of IFC.com, reveals the inclusion of a particularly raw moment: In one scene, Casey Wilson describes “how she had ‘zero confidence’ amongst the cast of pros with seven-plus years of experience and after giving her all to a rendition of ‘All That Jazz’ that falls flat at the table read, she says in no uncertain terms that ‘I wanted to kill myself’ when she realized it went off the tracks.”

• SNL portrayed as ‘impenetrable boy’s club’
  Mark Olsen, of the LA Times, feels the film succeeds as an examination of the production process, “but in portraying a frat-house chumminess (Franco) misses what are surely more complex power dynamics.”

• ‘Fascinating and absolutely worth seeing’
  LA Weekly‘s Karina Longworth, while recommending the film, argues that SNL is exposed as being out-of-touch. “These people are making comedy that’s supposed to sum up our culture—a culture that has become obsessed with ‘sharing’—and they do it by locking themselves in an office building for a week, where they test out their material by cracking up their co-workers. Each writing session seems to devolve into uncontrollable giggles.”

• IGN.com: Bill Hader is ‘the most naturally funny member of the troupe’

• Cinematical.com: Kristen Wiig ‘barely ever shows her face’

Saturday Night currently has no deals in place for U.S. distribution, but given SNL‘s devoted fanbase, it’s hard to imagine this won’t be available on DVD or online at some point. Stay tuned.