On M List of Movie Reviews

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Mr. Saturday Night (1992)

Rate: 6
Viewed: 10/24

MrSatN
10/24: I didn't laugh once throughout Mr. Saturday Night, but I wouldn't say it's a terrible movie.

The strongest asset is the acting. I can see why David Paymer received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and he earned it. The biggest trouble is Billy Crystal, like Barbra Streisand in lots of films such as Yentl, who keeps dominating the show throughout and won't shut the hell up for a second. However, his performance is fine, and it's clear that Mr. Saturday Night is a personal project to him.

As for the writing, it's okay for the most part but is not insightful or deep enough in a Death of a Salesman way. Among the issues is the childhood stuff along with the family; what's shown doesn't add much to the overall story. It's better to focus on the personality traits. Then, there's the atrocious makeup for several to appear aged. Whoever did it needs to take lessons from Paul Muni who was a master at it. However, I give credit to the thespians for doing it in order to keep playing their characters.

I'm not sure if I consider Billy Crystal a funny guy because I just don't remember like I would for Roger Dangerfield. Ironically, Billy Crystal plays a comedian in the film, but he's so painfully unfunny. Maybe it's the 50's thing. There was a point when his character didn't laugh during a TV episode and I wondered what that was about. Maybe he realized they were funnier than him. By the way, I refuse to believe that Buddy Young, Jr., is able to live this long because of his constant cigar smoking which should've subtracted decades from his life, courtesy of cancer.

All in all, although the comedy is wholly nonexistent, Mr. Saturday Night works well because of the performances.