“Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”
Every weekend (summers excluded), this is how NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” begins. “SNL” needs no introduction, and neither do stars like Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, Tina Fey and Bill Murray who got their start on the show. Plenty of actors and writers get their start from “Saturday Night Live.” So do some films.
“SNL” movies
There are two types of movies that come from the show — an “SNL” movie and an “SNL” sketch movie. I define an “SNL” movie as one produced by “SNL” founder Lorne Michaels, directed or written by an “SNL” cast or crew member and starring one or more “SNL” cast members.With this in mind, we can start to look at some “SNL” movies. The first is “Three Amigos,” written by showrunner Lorne Michaels himself alongside comedian Steve Martin and musician Randy Newman. Cast member Chevy Chase stars. The film’s 1986 release marked a full decade since Chase’s departure from the program.
It would take forever to go through all of the “SNL” movies, so I’ll just touch upon a few more. “Mean Girls” was written by Tina Fey, who also starred alongside Tim Meadows. “Tommy Boy” and “Black Sheep” were both vehicles for Chris Farley and David Spade’s rise to stardom. Members “The Lonely Island” starred and directed the 2007 film “Hot Rod.”
“SNL” sketch movies
Now we can discuss “SNL” sketch movies. These films were often based off of a character or sketch that recurred on “SNL” featuring actors from the original sketch. The first of these was 1980s “The Blues Brothers,” based off of the eponymous characters created by stars John Belushi and Dan Akroyd. The sequel, “Blues Brothers 2000,” starred a new cast consisting of John Goodman and then-10-year-old J. Evan Bonifant alongside Akroyd. Lorne Michaels did not produce either film despite being the first movie based off of an “SNL” sketch.Twelve years after “The Blues Brothers,” “SNL” spawned another film: “Wayne’s World.” Backed by Michaels and starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, the film focused on best friends Wayne and Garth as they lived their crazy lives. The film grossed over $100 million worldwide, and it remains the most successful film based on any “SNL” sketch. Critical reception was also mostly positive. The film’s success not only launched a sequel, but it can be seen as the starting point for further films based on sketches. Where it had been 12 years between the first and second “SNL” sketch-based films, two more — “Coneheads” and “Wayne’s World 2” — released in the year following “Wayne’s World.”
Between 1992 and 2000, eight more movies were released. None of them reached the same acclaim or financial success as “Wayne’s World.” A particular failure can be seen in 1994’s “It’s Pat.” The movie proved so unpopular that it grossed only $60,882 in the U.S. box office. Notably, it is the only “SNL” sketch movie besides “The Blues Brothers” that Lorne Michaels did not produce. Between “The Ladies Man” (2000) and “MacGruber” (2010), there were no “SNL” sketch movies for 10 years. Since then, there have been no “SNL” sketch films, surpassing the 12-year gap between “The Blues Brothers” and “Wayne’s World.”
What’s next?
The newest comedy troupe from “SNL,” “Please Don’t Destroy,” is currently developing their first feature film. The film was originally named after the group, but post-production brought the title “The Treasure of Foggy Mountain.” There are no details about the film or who the comedians will be playing, though cast details make it appear likely that they will portray fictionalized versions of themselves. The group wrote the film’s screenplay as well. Lorne Michaels is not producing it, but comedy-veteran Judd Apatow is backing the film instead. With no trailer or real promotional materials out, it’s too early to how the plot of “Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain” will go down. When the film releases in November, we’ll have our answers.
