''Mr. Saturday Night'' is a 1992 American
comedy-drama film
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
that marked the directorial debut of its star,
Billy Crystal
William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
.
It focuses on the rise and fall of Buddy Young Jr., a stand-up comedian. Crystal produced and co-wrote the screenplay with the writing duo
Babaloo Mandel
Marc "Babaloo" Mandel (born October 13, 1949) is an American screenwriter. He first wrote episodic television comedy, then later began writing feature films. He and long-time writing partner Lowell Ganz penned numerous high-profile films includi ...
and
Lowell Ganz
Lowell Ganz (born August 31, 1948 in New York City) is an American screenwriter, television writer, and television producer. He is the long-time writing partner of Babaloo Mandel.
Ganz grew up in Queens, New York, attending Martin Van Buren High ...
. It was filmed from November 1991 to March 1992 and released on September 23, 1992, by
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
. Co-star
David Paymer
David Emmanuel Paymer (born August 30, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, and television director. He has been in films such as ''Mr. Saturday Night'', ''Quiz Show'', ''Searching for Bobby Fischer'', ''City Slickers'', ''Crazy People'', ''St ...
received an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nomination for
Best Supporting Actor.
Plot
Stand-up comedian Buddy Young Jr. became a television star with the help of his brother and manager, Stan, but alienated many of those closest to him once his career began to fade.
Through a series of flashbacks, the brothers are seen during childhood entertaining their family in the living room. The older Buddy continues his career as a comic in
the Catskills
The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a Physiographic regions of the world, physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York (state), New York. As a cultural and geographic region, ...
, where he meets his future wife, Elaine.
As Buddy's fame grows, so does his ego. He hits the big time with his own Saturday night television show. But despite the warnings of his brother, Buddy uses offensive material on the air, costing him his show and causing his career to suffer, officially ending when his stand-up act on the
Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night ...
is scheduled right after
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' first US appearance, leading to his act being ignored and cut short. Furious over being snubbed, he goes into an offensive tirade and quits.
As an older man, long past his prime, Buddy is estranged from Stan as well as from his daughter, Susan. A chance at redemption comes when a young agent named Annie Wells finds him work and even gets Buddy a shot at a role in a top director's new film. Buddy nevertheless gives in to his own self-destructive nature, continuing to hurt his relationships with his family.
Cast
*
Billy Crystal
William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
as Buddy Young Jr.
*
David Paymer
David Emmanuel Paymer (born August 30, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, and television director. He has been in films such as ''Mr. Saturday Night'', ''Quiz Show'', ''Searching for Bobby Fischer'', ''City Slickers'', ''Crazy People'', ''St ...
as Stan Young
*
Julie Warner
Juliet Mia Warner (born ) is an American actress. She is best known as Danni on ''Family Law'' (1999–2001) and Megan on ''Nip/Tuck'' (2003-2006), Elaine in '' Mr. Saturday Night'' (1992), Michelle in ''Tommy Boy'' (1995), Micki in '' Wedding ...
as Elaine Young
*
Helen Hunt
Helen Elizabeth Hunt (born June 15, 1963) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards.
Hunt rose to fame portraying Jam ...
as Annie Wells
*
Jerry Orbach
Jerome Bernard Orbach (October 20, 1935 – December 28, 2004) was an American actor and singer, described at the time of his death as "one of the last'' bona fide'' leading men of the Broadway musical and global celebrity on television" and a " ...
as Phil Gussman
*
Ron Silver
Ronald Arthur Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor/activist, director, producer, and radio host. As an actor, he portrayed Henry Kissinger, Alan Dershowitz and Angelo Dundee. He was awarded a Tony in 1988 for Best Actor ...
as Larry Meyerson
*
Mary Mara
Mary T. Mara (September 21, 1960 – June 26, 2022) was an American television and film actress known for her main role as Inspector Bryn Carson on ''Nash Bridges'' and appearances on primetime dramas '' ER'' and ''Law & Order''. She also appe ...
as Susan Young
Cameos
Comedians
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...
,
Carl Ballantine
Carl Ballantine (September 28, 1917 – November 4, 2009) was an American magician, comedian and actor. Billing himself as "The Great Ballantine", "The Amazing Ballantine" or "Ballantine: The World's Greatest Magician", his vaudeville-style com ...
,
Slappy White
Melvin Edward "Slappy" White (September 27, 1921 – November 7, 1995) was an American comedian and actor. He worked with Redd Foxx on the Chitlin' Circuit of stand-up comedy during the 1950s and 1960s. He appeared on the television shows ''Sa ...
, and
Jackie Gayle
Jackie Gayle (March 1, 1926 – November 23, 2002), born Jack Potovsky, was an American standup comedian and actor. He performed as a comedian for 40 years, appearing in nightclubs and in Las Vegas, including working as the opening act for such p ...
appear in the
New York Friars' Club
The Friars Club is a private club in New York City. Famous for its risqué roasts, the club's membership is composed mostly of comedians and other celebrities. Founded in 1904, it is located at 57 East 55th Street, between Park Avenue and Madi ...
scene.
Production
Development
The opening title sequence was designed by
Elaine Makatura Bass
Elaine Bass (née Makatura, born 1927) is an American title designer and filmmaker.
Elaine worked for 40 years alongside Saul Bass, a graphic designer, title designer, and filmmaker whom she married in 1961. Together, they developed many project ...
and
Saul Bass
Saul Bass (; May 8, 1920 – April 25, 1996) was an American graphic designer and Oscar-winning filmmaker, best known for his design of motion-picture title sequences, film posters, and corporate logos.
During his 40-year career, Bass wor ...
.
Reception
Critical reception
''Mr. Saturday Night'' received mixed reviews from critics. It holds a 59% rating on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 27 reviews with the consensus stating: "Billy Crystal's flawed directorial debut can't seem to decide whether it wants the viewer to love its protagonist or hate him, but it features fine work from Crystal and his co-stars". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
Box office
''Mr. Saturday Night'' was a
box office bomb
A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and Canada, grossing $13.3 million, less than a third of its budget. It grossed $23 million worldwide.
[
]
Awards and nominations
At the 65th Academy Awards
The 65th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1992 in the United States and took place on March 29, 1993, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles begi ...
, David Paymer
David Emmanuel Paymer (born August 30, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, and television director. He has been in films such as ''Mr. Saturday Night'', ''Quiz Show'', ''Searching for Bobby Fischer'', ''City Slickers'', ''Crazy People'', ''St ...
was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (the film's only nomination). Billy Crystal
William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
also hosted the ceremony, during his traditional Best Picture
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
medley, Crystal added the movie to the list, immediately afterwards adding the line, "I just wanted to see how it feels, so sue me."
Home media
The film was released twice on DVD, the first time on December 8, 1998 by PolyGram Video
PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be ...
, and again on June 4, 2002 by MGM Home Entertainment
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC (d/b/a MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the home video division of the American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
History 1 ...
.
Stage adaptation
On November 10, 2021, it was announced that the film would be adapted into a Broadway musical opening at the Nederlander Theatre
The Nederlander Theatre (formerly the National Theatre, the Billy Rose Theatre, and the Trafalgar Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 208 West 41st Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, it was desi ...
the following spring. Crystal would reprise his role as Buddy Young Jr. and write the book with Ganz and Mandel, with music by Jason Robert Brown
Jason Robert Brown (born June 20, 1970) is an American musical theatre composer, lyricist, and playwright. Brown's music sensibility fuses pop-rock stylings with theatrical lyrics. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards for his work on ''Parad ...
and lyrics by Amanda Green
Amanda Green (born December 29, 1963) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. In 2021, she was elected president of the Dramatists Guild of America, the first woman to hold the role in the Guild's 100-year history.
Early life and educ ...
. Paymer would also reprise his role as Stan. Also in the cast would be Randy Graff
Randy Lynn Graff (born May 23, 1955) is an American actress and singer.
Career
Graff was born in Brooklyn, New York City and is a graduate of Wagner College. She is a cousin of actors Todd Graff and Ilene Graff.
Graff has been in feature films s ...
as Elaine, and Chasten Harmon as Annie. The show would be directed by John Rando
John Rando is an American stage director who won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for '' Urinetown the Musical'' in 2002. He received his 2nd nomination in the same category in 2015 for the 2014 Broadway revival of '' On the Town''.
...
and choreographed by Ellenore Scott.
See also
* List of American films of 1992
A list of American films released in 1992.
''Unforgiven'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Highest-grossing
# ''Aladdin''
# '' The Bodyguard''
# '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York''
# ''Wayne's World''
# ''Lethal Weapon 3''
# ''Batman ...
* ''The Comic
''The Comic'' is a 1969 American Pathécolor comedy-drama film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Carl Reiner. It stars Dick Van Dyke as Billy Bright (which was the original title of the film), Michele Lee as Bright's love interest, and R ...
''
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Saturday Night Live
1992 films
1992 comedy-drama films
American comedy-drama films
Films directed by Billy Crystal
Films scored by Marc Shaiman
Films with screenplays by Babaloo Mandel
Films with screenplays by Lowell Ganz
Films with screenplays by Billy Crystal
Columbia Pictures films
Castle Rock Entertainment films
New Line Cinema films
Saturday Night Live films
Saturday Night Live in the 1990s
Films about entertainers
1992 directorial debut films
1990s English-language films
1990s American films