Mr. Saturday Night (1992)
Review by Doc Ezra
Film:
DVD:

Written by Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel
Directed by Billy Crystal
Starring Billy Crystal, David Paymer, Julie Warner, Helen Hunt, and Ron Silver

Features:

• Audio commentary by Billy Crystal and David Paymer
  
• Three featurettes
  
• Deleted scenes
  
• Gag reel
  
• Theatrical trailer
  
• English, French, & Spanish subtitles
  

Rating: R

Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Rent it

Buddy Young, Jr. has been in the comedy business for decades, but has never managed to break out and ascend above mediocre obscurity. Despite a brief moment in the spotlight during the early days of television, his antagonistic stage presence and occasionally off-color material has managed to keep him from success. Mr. Saturday Night tells the Buddy Young story, from early days telling jokes at family gatherings with his brother, to his later day lounge club circuit and retirement-home appearances.

Along for the often bumpy ride on Buddy's career is his brother Stan, who has been Buddy's agent and manager for as long as Buddy has been a performer. Unfortunately, while this means he has been present when things were going well, he's spent substantially more time absorbing the brunt of Buddy's rage and frustration when things go badly.

Essentially a biographical sketch of a fictional comedian, Mr. Saturday Night doesn't have any definitive story that guides the narrative, and freely hops back and forth throughout Buddy's life and career. There is some subplot time devoted to Buddy's hope for a career comeback, with Helen Hunt acting as his agent after Stan retires to Florida, but the film continues to live in Buddy's past more than his future. His relationship with his wife, his estranged daughter, and his countless outbursts of bad taste or temper that cost him his big shots are where the bulk of screen time are spent.

Mr. Saturday Night, despite meandering about its story, manages to be reasonably engaging, and the frequent hops back in time to Buddy's early career serve to not only help illumine Buddy's character, but also to give the whole film a sad, nostalgic feel, quite appropriate to the theme of Buddy's failed career and flailing comeback attempt.

The performances are top-notch, good enough, in fact, that Paymer garnered an Oscar nom for his turn as Stan Young. His unconditional love for his brother, coupled with his undying frustration and own foiled ambitions, make his character the most human of all the excellent characters. Helen Hunt as the young agent handed a client she only barely understands and doesn't appreciate is brilliant, Crystal himself puts in a great turn as the quintessential lounge comic, chomping stogies and mugging for the cameras. And then there's Julie Warner as Buddy's long-suffering wife, who loves him no matter how many times he fouls up his own future through one of his tantrums or outbursts. And much credit to Ron Silver for the thankless task of portraying the stereotypical Hollywood jackass director, all fake smiles and "let's do lunch."

The features on the disc are worthy. Crystal's commentary with his co-star Paymer is informative, as Crystal wore a number of hats during the making of Mr. Saturday Night (and made his directorial debut), and it's rare to hear the viewpoint of the director, star, producer, and screenwriter all rolled into one. Add to that that Paymer and Crystal seem to be good friends, and clown around throughout the picture. The three featurettes cover everything from the initial character concept to the final make-up. The deleted scenes are informative, but for the most part were deleted for obvious reasons. The gag reel is an interesting bonus, and would be a welcome addition to the standard package of mediocre features on comedy discs.

In total, the movie's not funny enough to be a great comedy, but not serious enough to be a great drama, either. It floats somewhere in the middle, much like Buddy's career. The performances make the film worth seeing, because watching the leads bounce back and forth from their late 20's to their early 70's is amazing both in a special effects sense and a performance sense. But the movie doesn't have much to offer beyond a first viewing, so a rental should be plenty sufficient to draw what enjoyment there is to be had from Mr. Saturday Night.