Last Updated on April 22, 2024
Saturday Night Live skits have given us some of the funniest and most enjoyable movies of their eras. Ok, there aren’t many – we’re really mostly talking about The Blues Brothers, the Wayne’s World double feature and MacGruber – but what’s there is choice comedy. On the other side, we have crap like It’s Pat, The Ladies Man and Stuart Saves His Family, all proving that just because something works for five minutes doesn’t mean it can sustain 90. Take another recurring skit, Debbie Downer, for another example, who Rachel Dratch turned into a signature character in more than a half-dozen appearances. Thankfully such a movie never happened – something that Dratch is perfectly fine with.
Speaking with ComicBook.com, Rachel Dratch recognized that while the character stands as one of her greatest contributions to SNL, she just wouldn’t have the legs to make it on the big screen.
Saturday Night Live skits have given us some of the funniest and most enjoyable movies of their eras. Ok, there aren’t many – we’re really mostly talking about The Blues Brothers, the Wayne’s World double feature and MacGruber – but what’s there is choice comedy. On the other side, we have crap like It’s Pat, The Ladies Man and Stuart Saves His Family, all proving that just because something works for five minutes doesn’t mean it can sustain 90. Take another recurring skit, Debbie Downer, for another example, who Rachel Dratch turned into a signature character in more than a half-dozen appearances. Thankfully such a movie never happened – something that Dratch is perfectly fine with.
Speaking with ComicBook.com, Rachel Dratch recognized that while the character stands as one of her greatest contributions to SNL, she just wouldn’t have the legs to make it on the big screen.
- 4/20/2024
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
Joe Flaherty, a writer and performer on the influential and beloved sketch comedy series Sctv and a series regular on Freaks and Geeks, died Monday following a brief illness. He was 82.
His death was announced by his daughter Gudrun Flaherty, who said in a press statement, “After a brief illness, he left us yesterday, and since then, I’ve been struggling to come to terms with this immense loss. Dad was an extraordinary man, known for his boundless heart and an unwavering passion for movies from the ’40s and ’50s. His insights into the golden age of cinema didn’t just shape his professional life; they were also a source of endless fascination for me. In these last few months, as he faced his health challenges, we had the precious opportunity to watch many of those classic movies together — moments I will forever hold dear.”
Last month, Flaherty’s former...
His death was announced by his daughter Gudrun Flaherty, who said in a press statement, “After a brief illness, he left us yesterday, and since then, I’ve been struggling to come to terms with this immense loss. Dad was an extraordinary man, known for his boundless heart and an unwavering passion for movies from the ’40s and ’50s. His insights into the golden age of cinema didn’t just shape his professional life; they were also a source of endless fascination for me. In these last few months, as he faced his health challenges, we had the precious opportunity to watch many of those classic movies together — moments I will forever hold dear.”
Last month, Flaherty’s former...
- 4/2/2024
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Hans and Franz, the popular Saturday Night Live bodybuilding sketch that was set to be turned into a movie, is being revisited as a podcast.
The sketch originally starred Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon and was popular during the late 1980s. It starred Carvey and Nealon as a pair of muscle-bound Austrian bodybuilders and was inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In the early ‘90s, it was developed as a musical movie, first at Sony, then at Columbia Pictures, that was set to star Carvey and Nealon as well as Schwarzenegger himself.
A script was written by Nealon, Carvey, Robert Smigel and O’Brien, but it never made it past development, widely considered to be a result of the box office failure of Last Action Hero as well as SNL movies such as Stuart Saves His Family and It’s Pat.
The group have now reteamed and turned the idea, or at least some of it,...
The sketch originally starred Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon and was popular during the late 1980s. It starred Carvey and Nealon as a pair of muscle-bound Austrian bodybuilders and was inspired by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
In the early ‘90s, it was developed as a musical movie, first at Sony, then at Columbia Pictures, that was set to star Carvey and Nealon as well as Schwarzenegger himself.
A script was written by Nealon, Carvey, Robert Smigel and O’Brien, but it never made it past development, widely considered to be a result of the box office failure of Last Action Hero as well as SNL movies such as Stuart Saves His Family and It’s Pat.
The group have now reteamed and turned the idea, or at least some of it,...
- 5/1/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Walter Olkewicz, who played the bartender Jacques Renault on “Twin Peaks,” died Tuesday in Reseda. He was 72.
His son, screenwriter Zak Olkewicz, confirmed his death. He had been struggling with health issues for the past 20 years.
The character actor also played oil refinery worker Dougie Boudreau on the first four seasons of “Grace Under Fire” and a mafia lawyer in Joel Schumacher’s “The Client.”
On David Lynch’s groundbreaking “Twin Peaks” series, he played Jacques the French-Canadian card dealer at One Eyed Jacks and bartender on the first season of the ABC series. A drug runner who is arrested for the murder of Laura Palmer, Jacques is suffocated in the hospital by Laura Palmer’s father after he is shot during the arrest.
He returned for “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” “Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces” and again for the Showtime reboot as Jean-Michel, although by then he...
His son, screenwriter Zak Olkewicz, confirmed his death. He had been struggling with health issues for the past 20 years.
The character actor also played oil refinery worker Dougie Boudreau on the first four seasons of “Grace Under Fire” and a mafia lawyer in Joel Schumacher’s “The Client.”
On David Lynch’s groundbreaking “Twin Peaks” series, he played Jacques the French-Canadian card dealer at One Eyed Jacks and bartender on the first season of the ABC series. A drug runner who is arrested for the murder of Laura Palmer, Jacques is suffocated in the hospital by Laura Palmer’s father after he is shot during the arrest.
He returned for “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” “Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces” and again for the Showtime reboot as Jean-Michel, although by then he...
- 4/8/2021
- by Haley Bosselman
- Variety Film + TV
Shirley Knight, who was twice Oscar nominated for best supporting actress, for “The Dark at the Top of the Stairs” (1960) and “Sweet Bird of Youth” (1962), and won a Tony and three Emmys, died on Wednesday of natural causes in San Marcos, Texas. She was 83.
Her daughter, actress Kaitlin Hopkins, paid tribute to Knight in a lengthy Facebook post.
Knight continued to work as she approached 80, reprising her role as Mom in “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” in 2015 after appearing in the 2009 original.
In 1997’s “As Good as It Gets,” starring Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, Knight played the mother of Hunt’s character; the New York Times called her performance “tenderly funny.”
Other film credits of recent vintage include Luis Mandoki’s “Angel Eyes” (2001), starring Jennifer Lopez; thriller “The Salton Sea” (2002); “Grandma’s Boy” (2006); Rebecca Miller’s “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee” (2009), with Robin Wright; “Our Idiot Brother” (2011), toplined by...
Her daughter, actress Kaitlin Hopkins, paid tribute to Knight in a lengthy Facebook post.
Knight continued to work as she approached 80, reprising her role as Mom in “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2” in 2015 after appearing in the 2009 original.
In 1997’s “As Good as It Gets,” starring Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt, Knight played the mother of Hunt’s character; the New York Times called her performance “tenderly funny.”
Other film credits of recent vintage include Luis Mandoki’s “Angel Eyes” (2001), starring Jennifer Lopez; thriller “The Salton Sea” (2002); “Grandma’s Boy” (2006); Rebecca Miller’s “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee” (2009), with Robin Wright; “Our Idiot Brother” (2011), toplined by...
- 4/22/2020
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Wayne’s World, the blockbuster comedy starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey based on the now-classic Saturday Night Live recurring sketch, turns 25 on Tuesday, Feb. 14 -- Happy Valentine’s Day! -- and we’re still in love.
It’s one of the best of the feature films to spin out of the long-running NBC sketch comedy series, but each has its own charm that could be worth revisiting or seeing for the first time. Do note our suggested binge-viewing order -- from best to worst -- if you want your party time to be excellent.
More: 'Wayne's World Turns 25' -- How Mike Myers and Dana Carvey Found Their Inner Rock Stars
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Why you should see it now: The first Saturday Night Live feature film is second only to Wayne’s World in worldwide box office revenue and is considered a comedy classic. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd remain the quintessential SNL duo who...
It’s one of the best of the feature films to spin out of the long-running NBC sketch comedy series, but each has its own charm that could be worth revisiting or seeing for the first time. Do note our suggested binge-viewing order -- from best to worst -- if you want your party time to be excellent.
More: 'Wayne's World Turns 25' -- How Mike Myers and Dana Carvey Found Their Inner Rock Stars
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Why you should see it now: The first Saturday Night Live feature film is second only to Wayne’s World in worldwide box office revenue and is considered a comedy classic. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd remain the quintessential SNL duo who...
- 2/14/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
With the TV season over, now's the perfect time to binge-watch those shows you've been meaning to catch up on all year. July brings several dozen new TV and movie titles for your viewing pleasure on Amazon Prime. When the temperatures skyrocket, blast the A/C and start streaming in cool comfort.
Here's the upcoming lineup (Amazon Originals in italics)
Television
"Under the Dome" season 3 - June 30
"Downton Abbey" season 5 - July 1
"Annedroids" season 2 - July 2
"Extant" season 2 - July 5
"Boardwalk Empire" season 3 - July 16
"True Blood" season 5 - July 16
"Glee" season 6 - July 18
"Newsroom" season 1 & season 2 - July 23
"Behind the Candelabra" - July 30
Movies
July 1
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid
Drive Me Crazy
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Thumbelina
Bulworth
Heidi
Wayne's World 2
48 Hrs.
The Bad News Bears
The Brady Bunch Movie
The Butcher's Wife
Cadillac Radio
Dirty Dancing
Dragonslayer
Flashdance
Friends and Lovers
Harlem Nights...
Here's the upcoming lineup (Amazon Originals in italics)
Television
"Under the Dome" season 3 - June 30
"Downton Abbey" season 5 - July 1
"Annedroids" season 2 - July 2
"Extant" season 2 - July 5
"Boardwalk Empire" season 3 - July 16
"True Blood" season 5 - July 16
"Glee" season 6 - July 18
"Newsroom" season 1 & season 2 - July 23
"Behind the Candelabra" - July 30
Movies
July 1
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid
Drive Me Crazy
The Day The Earth Stood Still
Thumbelina
Bulworth
Heidi
Wayne's World 2
48 Hrs.
The Bad News Bears
The Brady Bunch Movie
The Butcher's Wife
Cadillac Radio
Dirty Dancing
Dragonslayer
Flashdance
Friends and Lovers
Harlem Nights...
- 6/4/2015
- by Kelly Woo
- Moviefone
0:00-3:30 – We begin our sixth year of broadcasting
3:30-10:10 – A Nicholas Sparks memory game
10:10-25:30 – “The Longest Ride” review
25:30-30:00 – “While We’re Young” review (just Bayer)
30:00-33:40 – “Freetown” review (just Snider)
33:40-47:20 – Qotw (your favorite movie animals, non-animated)
47:20-51:30 – Hey, What’d You Watch? (“Stuart Saves His Family,” some TV)
51:30-57:15 – Recap, then a diversion about potty training (one gets the impression Jeff will be talking about this a lot in the coming weeks)
Qotw: What’s your favorite bodily function moment or reference in a movie?
Reviews:
The Longest Ride D+ 4/10
While We’re Young n/a 7/10
Freetown B- n/a
Email: moviebspdx@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MovieBSpdx
Twitter: @moviebs
To Listen:
Go to the Movie B.S. webpage
Subscribe (and vote) for Movie B.S. on iTunes
Read Scorecard...
3:30-10:10 – A Nicholas Sparks memory game
10:10-25:30 – “The Longest Ride” review
25:30-30:00 – “While We’re Young” review (just Bayer)
30:00-33:40 – “Freetown” review (just Snider)
33:40-47:20 – Qotw (your favorite movie animals, non-animated)
47:20-51:30 – Hey, What’d You Watch? (“Stuart Saves His Family,” some TV)
51:30-57:15 – Recap, then a diversion about potty training (one gets the impression Jeff will be talking about this a lot in the coming weeks)
Qotw: What’s your favorite bodily function moment or reference in a movie?
Reviews:
The Longest Ride D+ 4/10
While We’re Young n/a 7/10
Freetown B- n/a
Email: moviebspdx@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MovieBSpdx
Twitter: @moviebs
To Listen:
Go to the Movie B.S. webpage
Subscribe (and vote) for Movie B.S. on iTunes
Read Scorecard...
- 4/10/2015
- by Jeff Bayer
- The Scorecard Review
On the eve of its 40th anniversary special (though the anniversary itself isn't until October), what is left to say about "Saturday Night Live"? There have been multiple books written about the show, several documentaries, countless essays — riding the never-ending roller-coaster between "Saturday Night Dead" and "Saturday Night Lives Again!" — best-ofs, worst-ofs, and every other kind of list you can think of. I don't know that anything I write over the next few pages will provide new insight into one of the most influential comedy shows ever made, but I wondered if you could tell the story of the show — through good times and bad, through revolutions and evolutions and retrenchments — by looking at its sketches. I wound up picking 21 in all: some among the show's most famous, some obscure but important. These aren't meant as a definitive breakdown of the best "SNL" ever had to offer, but as a...
- 2/12/2015
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Hitfix
It is hard to believe that creator Lorne Michaels’s legendary late night variety show Saturday Night Live has been kicking around the American airways for four decades and still remarkably standing on its hind legs even until this very day. No doubt that SNL has shaped the pop cultural minds of its avid viewers for forty-plus years on the small screen. Importantly, SNL gave birth to the careers of some of Hollywood’s major top stars in the realm of film, television and stage.
Sure, SNL is an immense institution in television. In fact, NBC-tv will acknowledge the iconic late night program when it broadcasts the 40th anniversary highlighting Saturday Night Live’s on-air staying power with many of the show’s luminaries returning and paying retrospect to the classic sketch comedy that became one of America’s most enduring and long-lasting laughfests.
Unfortunately, SNL has never had the...
Sure, SNL is an immense institution in television. In fact, NBC-tv will acknowledge the iconic late night program when it broadcasts the 40th anniversary highlighting Saturday Night Live’s on-air staying power with many of the show’s luminaries returning and paying retrospect to the classic sketch comedy that became one of America’s most enduring and long-lasting laughfests.
Unfortunately, SNL has never had the...
- 2/7/2015
- by Frank Ochieng
- SoundOnSight
The Writers Guild of America, West has chosen late screenwriter-director-actor-producer Harold Ramis to receive its Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement, awarded to a Writers Guild member who has advanced the literature of motion pictures and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the screenwriter. Erica Mann Ramis and family will accept the award on Ramis’ behalf at the Writers Guild Awards ceremony on Saturday, February 14. Harold Ramis passed away on February 24, 2014 at the age of 69. From today’s announcement:
“Harold Ramis changed the face of comedy. His death last year deprived us of his unique way of seeing the world, at once hilarious and wise. From his early work with National Lampoon and Sctv through Animal House, Meatballs, Caddyshack, and Ghostbusters, Ramis’ voice was strong, clear, outrageous in all the best ways. His unrealized projects – an adaptation of Confederacy of Dunces, a biopic about Emma Goldman – leave us aching with...
“Harold Ramis changed the face of comedy. His death last year deprived us of his unique way of seeing the world, at once hilarious and wise. From his early work with National Lampoon and Sctv through Animal House, Meatballs, Caddyshack, and Ghostbusters, Ramis’ voice was strong, clear, outrageous in all the best ways. His unrealized projects – an adaptation of Confederacy of Dunces, a biopic about Emma Goldman – leave us aching with...
- 1/13/2015
- by Denise Petski
- Deadline
Actor-director Harold Ramis died on Monday at the age of 69.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Ramis was surrounded by family when he died at 12:53 a.m. from complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, a rare disease that involves swelling of the blood vessels, his wife Erica Mann Ramis said.
He played Ghostbuster scientist Egon Spengler and Bill Murray’s Army recruit buddy in “Stripes. He co-wrote and directed “Caddyshack,” ”Groundhog Day,” and “Analyze This.” He helped write “Meatballs,” ”Ghostbusters” and ”Stripes.”
Murray, who collaborated with Ramis on a number of projects, issued this statement to Time through his lawyer: “Harold Ramis and I together did the National Lampoon Show off Broadway, Meatballs, Stripes, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day. He earned his keep on this planet. God bless him.”
From the AP:
His death rattled a modern comedy world Ramis helped build. His legacy as a father figure to generations of...
According to the Chicago Tribune, Ramis was surrounded by family when he died at 12:53 a.m. from complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis, a rare disease that involves swelling of the blood vessels, his wife Erica Mann Ramis said.
He played Ghostbuster scientist Egon Spengler and Bill Murray’s Army recruit buddy in “Stripes. He co-wrote and directed “Caddyshack,” ”Groundhog Day,” and “Analyze This.” He helped write “Meatballs,” ”Ghostbusters” and ”Stripes.”
Murray, who collaborated with Ramis on a number of projects, issued this statement to Time through his lawyer: “Harold Ramis and I together did the National Lampoon Show off Broadway, Meatballs, Stripes, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters and Groundhog Day. He earned his keep on this planet. God bless him.”
From the AP:
His death rattled a modern comedy world Ramis helped build. His legacy as a father figure to generations of...
- 2/25/2014
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
There are very few perfect films. Part of what makes films so beautiful and rich and rewarding is that they are the result of a sort of mass insanity that happens when you have all of these people all pushing to create something tangible, something that moves us to some sort of real emotional place. It's easy to forget that movies are ultimately a bunch of people standing around playing make-believe, but with a crew there to capture it all. Considering how many moving pieces there are in any film, it's almost miraculous when they actually come together coherently, much less in a way that manages to make us genuinely lose ourselves in what we're watching. Harold Ramis made a perfect movie. "Groundhog Day" is one of the few mainstream comedies that I think actually grows and gets richer and more wonderful the more you revisit it, something which seems...
- 2/24/2014
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
Want to make a Gen Xer feel old? Tell 'em that 20 years ago today, on February 14, 1992, "Wayne's World" was released in theaters. ("'Wayne's World' is 20? No way?!" "Way!") Lots of now middle-aged folks who spent too long living in their parents' basements (like Wayne and Garth) have fond memories of what may be the funniest film ever spawned from a "Saturday Night Live" sketch, a film that made a bankable movie comedy star out of Mike Myers, introduced the world to Tia Carrere, helped rescue Rob Lowe's career, and spawned countless catchphrases that viewers couldn't stop repeating. ("Schwing!" "We're not worthy!" "That's what she said!") Yet behind the movie's blissful silliness lies a secret story of off-camera bitterness and strife that threatened to keep the film from partying on -- as you'll read below. 1. Myers created the Wayne Campbell character long before "SNL," when he was still in high school.
- 2/15/2012
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
Y'all want this party started, right? Y'all want this party started quickly, right?
Okay, just checking. That was rhetorical; we know you guys love your parties. So get your dancing pants on: Deadline is reporting "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels is about to cast Kenan Thompson in a new flick called "Party Starters."
And here you thought Michaels could never match "Night at the Roxbury."
So just what is "Party Starters" about? According to Deadline, it's "an original high-concept comedy set up at Paramount Pictures about that sort of entertainer guy who gets the old people up to dance at weddings and keeps the party rolling." Sure, why not.
Of course, we understand if you're not totally jazzed about this project just yet. After all, when it comes to putting "SNL" stars into feature films, Michaels hasn't exactly been Scorsese; films like "MacGruber," "Ladies Man," "I'm Pat," "Stuart Saves his Family" and.
Okay, just checking. That was rhetorical; we know you guys love your parties. So get your dancing pants on: Deadline is reporting "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels is about to cast Kenan Thompson in a new flick called "Party Starters."
And here you thought Michaels could never match "Night at the Roxbury."
So just what is "Party Starters" about? According to Deadline, it's "an original high-concept comedy set up at Paramount Pictures about that sort of entertainer guy who gets the old people up to dance at weddings and keeps the party rolling." Sure, why not.
Of course, we understand if you're not totally jazzed about this project just yet. After all, when it comes to putting "SNL" stars into feature films, Michaels hasn't exactly been Scorsese; films like "MacGruber," "Ladies Man," "I'm Pat," "Stuart Saves his Family" and.
- 3/24/2011
- by Scott Harris
- NextMovie
MacGruber
Stars: Will Forte, Val Kilmer, Ryan Phillippe, Kristen Wiig, Powers Boothe | Written by Will Forte, John Solomon, Jorma Taccone | Directed by Jorma Taccone
Former special operative MacGruber has spent the past 10 years in hiding, having sworn off a life of crime fighting following the death of his fiancee. But when MacGruber’s former commanding officer (Boothe) approaches him with news that his sworn enemy Dieter Von Cunth (Kilmer) has stolen a nuclear warhead, MacGruber comes out of retirement to take on one last job.
Of course MacGruber can’t work alone, so he assembles a team of experts – whom he accidentally kills – then assembles a second team that includes Lt. Dixon Piper (Phillippe) and Vicki St. Elmo (Wiig) with plans to hunt down Cunth and bring him to justice. Even if it does involve some rather unorthodox methods, ridiculous disguises, and lots of witty one-liners!
Let me start this...
Stars: Will Forte, Val Kilmer, Ryan Phillippe, Kristen Wiig, Powers Boothe | Written by Will Forte, John Solomon, Jorma Taccone | Directed by Jorma Taccone
Former special operative MacGruber has spent the past 10 years in hiding, having sworn off a life of crime fighting following the death of his fiancee. But when MacGruber’s former commanding officer (Boothe) approaches him with news that his sworn enemy Dieter Von Cunth (Kilmer) has stolen a nuclear warhead, MacGruber comes out of retirement to take on one last job.
Of course MacGruber can’t work alone, so he assembles a team of experts – whom he accidentally kills – then assembles a second team that includes Lt. Dixon Piper (Phillippe) and Vicki St. Elmo (Wiig) with plans to hunt down Cunth and bring him to justice. Even if it does involve some rather unorthodox methods, ridiculous disguises, and lots of witty one-liners!
Let me start this...
- 9/19/2010
- by Phil
- Nerdly
The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Fred Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
It’s not the tightest of flicks, but when it comes to the sordid history of films adapted from sketches on Saturday Night Live, MacGruber (Universal, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 Srp) scores in the upper percentile, alongside the likes of Wayne’s World and Stuart Saves His Family. Wil Forte’s MacGyver parody does the right thing by playing the elements around his bombastic action hero with seriousness.
(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
It’s not the tightest of flicks, but when it comes to the sordid history of films adapted from sketches on Saturday Night Live, MacGruber (Universal, Not Rated, Blu-Ray-$39.98 Srp) scores in the upper percentile, alongside the likes of Wayne’s World and Stuart Saves His Family. Wil Forte’s MacGyver parody does the right thing by playing the elements around his bombastic action hero with seriousness.
- 9/12/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
This Saturday Night Live spin-off ends up a limp parody of the TV show MacGyver, writes Andrew Pulver
Only the merest hint of amusement is to be found in this uninspired latest effusion from the conveyor belt that is Saturday Night Live – the Us TV show that has given us The Blues Brothers and Wayne's World, but also Stuart Saves His Family and The Ladies Man. This is basically a parody of another TV show: MacGyver, the 1980s action series made legendary by Marge Simpson's sisters' obsession. There's a modish retro flavour to proceedings, with SNL-er Will Forte donning a feather-cut mullet and removing his detachable stereo every time he gets out of his car. But after a few promising opening gags, inspiration soon begins to fizzle out; the film ends up looking less smart than the material it's supposed to be parodying.
Rating: 2/5
ComedyAction and adventureAndrew Pulver
guardian.
Only the merest hint of amusement is to be found in this uninspired latest effusion from the conveyor belt that is Saturday Night Live – the Us TV show that has given us The Blues Brothers and Wayne's World, but also Stuart Saves His Family and The Ladies Man. This is basically a parody of another TV show: MacGyver, the 1980s action series made legendary by Marge Simpson's sisters' obsession. There's a modish retro flavour to proceedings, with SNL-er Will Forte donning a feather-cut mullet and removing his detachable stereo every time he gets out of his car. But after a few promising opening gags, inspiration soon begins to fizzle out; the film ends up looking less smart than the material it's supposed to be parodying.
Rating: 2/5
ComedyAction and adventureAndrew Pulver
guardian.
- 6/17/2010
- by Andrew Pulver
- The Guardian - Film News
Lorne Michaels, the king of "Saturday Night Live" for the past four decades, is getting a tarnished crown. While Michaels is widely revered as a genius -- he discovered Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell and Tracy Morgan -- critics say the show peaked in the last century. And Michaels -- whose NBC...
- 6/13/2010
- NYPost.com
Blues Brothers and Wayne's World were blips. Comedy troupe's MacGyver spoof should have stayed on the small screen
I've written before about the comedy machine that is NBC's sketch show Saturday Night Live, and I wouldn't change a word I've put down about how the SNL machine pumps out talented comic writers and performers like no other outlet in American showbiz: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Christopher Guest, Chris Farley, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Phil Hartman, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Will Ferrell, Al Franken, plus Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert. The show has put an ineradicable comic stamp on American life for 35 years now, with buzzwords and catchphrases entering the lexicon pretty much first thing Monday morning at watercoolers and office cubicles across the nation. It's a machine, a monolith, a comedy-volcano that's rarely dormant.
The SNL spin-off movies, however? Whole different story.
I've written before about the comedy machine that is NBC's sketch show Saturday Night Live, and I wouldn't change a word I've put down about how the SNL machine pumps out talented comic writers and performers like no other outlet in American showbiz: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Christopher Guest, Chris Farley, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Phil Hartman, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Will Ferrell, Al Franken, plus Steve Carell and Stephen Colbert. The show has put an ineradicable comic stamp on American life for 35 years now, with buzzwords and catchphrases entering the lexicon pretty much first thing Monday morning at watercoolers and office cubicles across the nation. It's a machine, a monolith, a comedy-volcano that's rarely dormant.
The SNL spin-off movies, however? Whole different story.
- 6/11/2010
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
The Blues Brothers – $27 million budget; $115.2 million box office; 84% rating
Wayne’s World – $20 million budget; $183 million box office; 83% rating
Wayne’s World 2 – $40 million budget; $48,197,805 box office; 59% rating
Coneheads Unknown budget; $21,274,717 box office; 27% rating
It’s Pat – Unknown budget; $60,822 box office; 0% rating
Stuart Saves His Family – $15 million budget; $912,082 box office; 29% rating
A Night at the Roxbury – $17 million budget; $30,331,165 box office; 10% rating
Blues Brothers 2000 – $28 million budget; $14,051,384 box office; 45% rating
Superstar - $14 million budget; $34,636,478 box office; 33% rating
The Ladies Man – $24 million budget; $13.7 million box office; 11% rating
MacGruber - $10 million budget; $5.6 million to date (still in theatres); 56% rating
I’m sure you can all see where I’m going with this. The box office totals are worldwide totals by the way, not just domestic (courtesy of Boxofficemojo.com). The ratings come from RottenTomatoes.com.
Other than the first 2, really – The Blues Brothers and Wayne’s World – films based on Saturday Night Live characters/sketches have been,...
Wayne’s World – $20 million budget; $183 million box office; 83% rating
Wayne’s World 2 – $40 million budget; $48,197,805 box office; 59% rating
Coneheads Unknown budget; $21,274,717 box office; 27% rating
It’s Pat – Unknown budget; $60,822 box office; 0% rating
Stuart Saves His Family – $15 million budget; $912,082 box office; 29% rating
A Night at the Roxbury – $17 million budget; $30,331,165 box office; 10% rating
Blues Brothers 2000 – $28 million budget; $14,051,384 box office; 45% rating
Superstar - $14 million budget; $34,636,478 box office; 33% rating
The Ladies Man – $24 million budget; $13.7 million box office; 11% rating
MacGruber - $10 million budget; $5.6 million to date (still in theatres); 56% rating
I’m sure you can all see where I’m going with this. The box office totals are worldwide totals by the way, not just domestic (courtesy of Boxofficemojo.com). The ratings come from RottenTomatoes.com.
Other than the first 2, really – The Blues Brothers and Wayne’s World – films based on Saturday Night Live characters/sketches have been,...
- 5/28/2010
- by Tambay
- ShadowAndAct
To a startling degree, audiences either rejected or were indifferent to MacGruber, the latest Saturday Night Live adaptation. Despite a boatload of promotion (particularly on SNL home NBC), MacGruber mustered just $4 million on its opening weekend at 2,551 theaters. MacGruber's start ranks as the worst-to-date for 2010 among 1,000-theater-plus launches. It's also the ninth worst start ever for a picture playing at more than 2,500 sites. The news is even worse in terms of estimated attendance. On that front, MacGruber had the third poorest 2,500-plus site debut, behind only The Rocker and Lucky You. The key reason for MacGruber's failure may have been an inability to transcend the rote one-joke nature of its source material. Like most recurring SNL sketches, the show's MacGruber interstitials repeat the same gag of the MacGyver-like main character being distracted from defusing a bomb that's about to explode over and over again. People who have been exposed to...
- 5/27/2010
- by Brandon Gray <mail@boxofficemojo.com>
- Box Office Mojo
You knew that the blood was on the floor the moment the critics, like Lisa, took out the long knives and began to slash away. Yet even given the worst. dumb. movie. ever. spitballs that were hurled at it, the box office returns for MacGruber had to be scary, and a bit of a shock, even for those who avidly follow the genre it belongs to: the bad Saturday Night Live movie. Now, I’m tempted to say that “bad Saturday Night Live movie” is a perfectly redundant phrase. I mean, just let your mind drift back over all the Lorne Michaels-mentored,...
- 5/25/2010
- by Owen Gleiberman
- EW.com - The Movie Critics
It has been quite a long time since I have watched a movie based upon a skit from Saturday Night Live. To be honest with you it has been a long time since I have even watched a complete episode of the show itself. Wayne’s World would have to be the last film adaptation of a skit from SNL that I can honestly remember watching and completely enjoying the experience. However, the film was released back in the early 1990s and here we are nearly twenty years later with the arrival of another SNL skit based movie being released in the movie theaters. Is anyone still into watching these movies? There have been several films starring comedians from the popular weekend show, but not very many of those movies are actually based upon a skit from the show. An all time personal favorite adaptation to the movie screen would...
- 5/22/2010
- by Dallas Heinlein
Every week we look around and try to come up with ideas for Top 7 lists at The Scorecard Review. Some are easy to think of like Top 7 Superhero Sequel Seconds as a nod to Iron Man 2. Other times, we have to dig a little.
With MacGruber opening up on Friday, May 21 and me being a bit of a “Saturday Night Live” geek, I figured there couldn’t be a better time to whip up a “Top 7 SNL Movies of All Time.”
Complete MacGruber coverage including reviews and interviews
Now, when I say “bit” of a SNL geek. What I mean to say is, I haven’t missed an episode in probably a decade. If I had to place a bet on the matter, I would say the over/under on episodes missed in the last 12 years would be three. And I would take the under. Don’t get me wrong,...
With MacGruber opening up on Friday, May 21 and me being a bit of a “Saturday Night Live” geek, I figured there couldn’t be a better time to whip up a “Top 7 SNL Movies of All Time.”
Complete MacGruber coverage including reviews and interviews
Now, when I say “bit” of a SNL geek. What I mean to say is, I haven’t missed an episode in probably a decade. If I had to place a bet on the matter, I would say the over/under on episodes missed in the last 12 years would be three. And I would take the under. Don’t get me wrong,...
- 5/19/2010
- by Jeff Bayer
- The Scorecard Review
(function() { var s = document.createElement('Script'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('Script')[0]; s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.async = true; s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js'; s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1); })(); The Saturday Night Live-based MacGruber hits theaters next Friday and with it will come a cavalcade of lists ordering the movies based on the sketch comedy show. Presents under the tree for Wayne's World, stockings of coal for Stuart Saves His Family. We get it. Most SNL films have blown. Turning a three minute sketch into a feature length film usually doesn't work. In fact, the proposition frequently fails abysmally from conception. How Mary-Katherine Gallagher got her own movie before the Land Shark is anyone's guess, but endlessly slandering The Ladies Man doesn't tell the whole story. Saturday Night Live has always been a stepping stone. Put in five or six years of writing and character work and Hollywood...
- 5/19/2010
- cinemablend.com
Films based on Saturday Night Live sketches have about as good a track record as Elizabeth Taylor.s marriages. And like Liz.s marriages, these films always sound good on paper but just don.t work in the real world (although I.ve heard that her time with Larry Fortensky was spent mostly under the sheets which makes me both curious and repulsed). The only SNL movie that proved to be a hit was Wayne.s World in 1992, and I think that was because they threw out most of the story and settled on a series of funny jokes strung together with a very loose premise. It.s Pat and Stuart Saves His Family combined made less than one million dollars at the box...
- 5/18/2010
- by Robert Dixter
- Monsters and Critics
The Saturday Night Live comedy mill has produced its share of stars. But those stars have produced a prolific stream of cinematic bile. That's not overstating matters, as will soon be clear. The sketch comedy's tendency to drive a joke into the ground doesn't bode well for the big screen. With MacGruber on the horizon, the question is whether the MacGyver spoof will be a comedy blockbuster on the level of the Austin Powers series or a ticking time bomb on par with the following.10. Cabin BoyChris Elliott was an underutilized member of SNL. So was Chris Rock, though, so that's doesn't necessarily mean anything. But would his first big release, Cabin Boy, let him break out of his shell and show how far his comedy could reach? Nope. It sank at the box office. While Elliott's tale has its flashes of surreal brilliance, by the end viewers will...
- 5/16/2010
- AMC Filmcritic's Top Ten
It's been a long, long (long, long, long) time since a movie based on a Saturday Night Live (TV) sketch caused anything but severe pain to those who paid their hard-earned bucks hoping against hope that what amused them for a few minutes once in a while on SNL could provide 90 minutes to two hours of laughter in a theater. The Blues Brothers (1980), Wayne's World (1992), Wayne's World 2 (1993) and the vastly underrated Coneheads (1993) aside, we're talking about non-stop clinkers spanning from It's Pat (1994), Stuart Saves His Family (1994) and A Night at the Roxbury (1998) to Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), Superstar (1999) and The Ladies Man (2000). Now, after a decade free of SNL movies, longtime producer Lorne Michaels has seen fit to bring -- of all things -- MacGruber (2010) to the big screen. Why do we say "of all things?" Well, the sketches are essentially spoofs of MacGyver (TV), with Will Forte as MacGruber,...
- 5/12/2010
- by ianspelling@corp.popstar.com (Ian Spelling)
- ScreenStar
It's been a long, long (long, long, long) time since a movie based on a Saturday Night Live (TV) sketch caused anything but severe pain to those who paid their hard-earned bucks hoping against hope that what amused them for a few minutes once in a while on SNL could provide 90 minutes to two hours of laughter in a theater. The Blues Brothers (1980), Wayne's World (1992), Wayne's World 2 (1993) and the vastly underrated Coneheads (1993) aside, we're talking about non-stop clinkers spanning from It's Pat (1994), Stuart Saves His Family (1994) and A Night at the Roxbury (1998) to Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), Superstar (1999) and The Ladies Man (2000). Now, after a decade free of SNL movies, longtime producer Lorne Michaels has seen fit to bring -- of all things -- MacGruber (2010) to the big screen. Why do we say "of all things?" Well, the sketches are essentially spoofs of MacGyver (TV), with Will Forte as MacGruber,...
- 5/12/2010
- by ianspelling@corp.popstar.com (Ian Spelling)
- ScreenStar
Us comedy has never been more consistently funny, as the laughs that started with the election of George W Bush show no sign of stopping
These days it's easy to feel bleak about life in the Us: the economy, the banks, a gridlocked Congress, jobs going overseas or just vanishing forever, the mad ravings of the Tea Party brain donors, the sun slowly setting on the Pax Americana, and a general sense of pessimism overarching everything.
But the one area in which America continually goes from strength to strength is the one speciality that might help us forget our woes, even though its raw material is precisely those woes: Us comedy is in the throes of a decade-long golden age – in film and on TV – that just never seems to end. We may be on a downward slope, but when the end comes, at least we'll die laughing.
I can't...
These days it's easy to feel bleak about life in the Us: the economy, the banks, a gridlocked Congress, jobs going overseas or just vanishing forever, the mad ravings of the Tea Party brain donors, the sun slowly setting on the Pax Americana, and a general sense of pessimism overarching everything.
But the one area in which America continually goes from strength to strength is the one speciality that might help us forget our woes, even though its raw material is precisely those woes: Us comedy is in the throes of a decade-long golden age – in film and on TV – that just never seems to end. We may be on a downward slope, but when the end comes, at least we'll die laughing.
I can't...
- 4/16/2010
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
LatinoReview got the scoop yesterday that the fairly lame looking film SNL adaptation, MacGruber, is in some trouble. Whoever the hell owns MacGyver isn’t happy about the production, and is looking to make some serious dollars off of the film, which is scheduled to be released on April 23.
Actually, this seems pretty fair. The sketch only began as a parody of MacGyver, and with the movie sure to make at least a few million dollars, the Gyver dudes probably deserve a chunk of that action.
The actual sad news within the scoop is that the movie is testing at an approval rating somewhere in the 30s. While we shouldn’t expect too much out of SNL movies (Stuart Saves His Family? Really?), I admit I was getting excited for the flick. It is, afterall, directed by a member (Jorma Taccone, the sensitive one) of the Lonely Island – the cultural...
Actually, this seems pretty fair. The sketch only began as a parody of MacGyver, and with the movie sure to make at least a few million dollars, the Gyver dudes probably deserve a chunk of that action.
The actual sad news within the scoop is that the movie is testing at an approval rating somewhere in the 30s. While we shouldn’t expect too much out of SNL movies (Stuart Saves His Family? Really?), I admit I was getting excited for the flick. It is, afterall, directed by a member (Jorma Taccone, the sensitive one) of the Lonely Island – the cultural...
- 2/3/2010
- by Ian T. McFarland
- ReelLoop.com
If you love behind-the-scenes Hollywood drama, you're going to love this! As we've discussed before, Rogue Pictures is planning to release a big-screen version of "MacGruber" on April 23, 2010. "MacGruber" will be based on the SNL-sketch of the same name, starring Will Forte and Kristen Wiig. If you've never seen the "MacGruber" sketches, here's all you need to know, it's a total parody of the late 1980s TV show "MacGyver," the twist is that instead of being able to get out of tough situations by using every day objects, MacGruber ends up getting distracted by his personal life and problems and each sketch ends with a bomb blowing up.
It doesn't really sound like something that could be extended into 90 minutes, but what do I know, I voluntarily watched "Stuart Saves His Family" on Showtime once.
This is where it gets interesting, despite the appearance (and even Pepsi ad tie-in...
It doesn't really sound like something that could be extended into 90 minutes, but what do I know, I voluntarily watched "Stuart Saves His Family" on Showtime once.
This is where it gets interesting, despite the appearance (and even Pepsi ad tie-in...
- 2/2/2010
- by Christina Warren
- AMC - Script to Screen
Let's face it, the track record for Saturday Night Live sketches turned movies isn't that great. The Blues Brothers was the best one but we also had to deal with movies like The Coneheads and Stuart Saves His Family.So I'm curious to see how MacGruber, a sketch I've never found funny, is going to be as a full length feature film. So far it isn't doing it for me, but I have weird taste when it comedy. I like Kristin Wiig but I'm wondering if the film has enough material to last an entire 90 minutes. Don't we already have the clueless Inspector Gadget? Only one American hero has earned the rank of Green Beret, Navy Seal and Army Ranger. Just one operative has been awarded 16 purple hearts, 3 Congressional Medals of Honor and 7 presidential medals of bravery. And only one guy is man enough to still sport a mullet. In...
- 1/19/2010
- LRMonline.com
SNL skits stretched to feature length. Sometimes they work, right? Wayne's World, The Blues Brothers, um... Maybe MacGruber will stand apart from movies like The Ladies Man, It's Pat and Stuart Saves His Family. Early word is that it's surprisingly funny and completely ridiculous, one of which describes Will Forte's chosen hairstyle. Some pics and synopsis:Only one American hero has earned the rank of Green Beret, Navy Seal and Army Ranger. Just one operative has been awarded 16 purple...
- 1/6/2010
- by Dave Davis
- JoBlo.com
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