Mr. Saturday Night

Billy Crystal is a self-indulgent ass. Every time Howard Stern plays the tape of Stuttering John asking when the sequel to this shipwreck is coming out, and Billy is heard to lose his cool, it reminds me how close in personality he is to Buddy Young. At least Jerry Lewis, who is similarly capable of hilarious self-importance, got the joke when he took the part in KING OF COMEDY. This will go down with Bill Murray's wrongheaded foray into Serious Acting in THE RAZOR'S EDGE and Robin Williams' continuing descent into self-parody as a cautionary tale for the ages: a comedian ought to laugh at himself as much as the audience laughs at him. Otherwise he's going to give us the filmic equivalent of Eddie Murphy's R&B albums, every time. When will they learn?

As previously noted in other comments, this is the story of the rise and fall of a very Jewish stand-up comic named Buddy Young Jr. (Crystal). More importantly, its the story of Young's relationship with his brother/agent.

The movie was billed as a comedy, but it's actually a heavy drama with nuggets of comedy thrown in - mainly during the flashbacks to the early days of Young's career. I agree with the other negative reviewers that the drama side of the movie is pretty lousy - almost painfully over-the-top. But the fact is that the little nuggets of comedy scattered throughout the film really are funny. Laugh out loud funny. But is it worth watching two hours of really bad drama to catch about 20 mins of good comedy? I'd have to say no.

By the end of the flick, the funniest thing about this movie is the farce of watching Crystal trying to be all serious and dramatic while wearing horribly bad make-up which makes him look more like a Star Trek alien than a senior citizen.

Buddy Young, Jr. (Billy Crystal) is a talented comedian after forty years of struggling to reach the top. But Buddy can be unsympathetic man towards his comedy, his family and especially his long suffering brother/manager (David Paymer). Now Buddy has to make a choice between pushing forward to his dying career or making piece with the family, he's hurting.

Directed by Billy Crystal (Forget Paris, Have a Nice Day, 61) made his directorial debut with this sometimes flawed but an genuinely touching and bittersweet comedy. Crystal is good in the lead role, since it's based on his comedy character routine but when Crystal plays the older version of his character. He's hardly convincing as the older Buddy, especially with the heavy make-up role. Which he looks like Carl Reiner than himself. Paymer and Julie Warner as Buddy's wife plays the older version of their characters more convincingly. Paymer received an Oscar Nomination for his terrific supporting performance.

DVD has an good anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an fine-Dolby 2.0 Surround Sound. DVD has an interesting commentary track by Crystal, which Paymer joins him during the last fifty minutes of the movie. DVD also has three new featurettes with Crystal and Paymer, deleted scenes with introduction by the director, gag reel and the original theatrical trailer. This dramatic comedy has good supporting roles for Oscar-Winner:Helen Hunt and Ron Silver. Some amusing cameos by Jerry Orbach, Jerry Lewis and an young Adam Goldberg. This is one of the few underrated films of Billy Crystal, which he appears in. Written by Crystal, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. Which Ganz and Mandel wrote comedies like "City Slickers 1 & 2", "EDTV" and "Greedy". (****/*****).

I was surprised to see such a low rating on IMDB for this film, which I feel is Crystal's masterpiece. While watching it, it becomes clear quickly that making this movie is a real labour of love for Crystal. He really displays his entire range in this surprising drama about a rather complex Vaudeville-esque comedian (whose character Buddy Young Jr. was introduced years before during Crystal's unforgettable stint on the 1984-5 Saturday Night Live season). Perhaps I was just in the mood for a sentimental film while I was watching it, but I was really compelled by the film, which also featured an unbelievable performance by David Paymer as Crystal's brother. The flashback sequences were fabulous-- I just can't say enough good about this film. Just don't set your expectations for a comedy, remember this is a rather long, sentimental (yet never sappy) drama with comic elements and enjoy! (rating 9/10)

Anyone who's paid attention to cinema knows who Billy Crystal is. Whether he's the wisecracker who occasionally hosts the Academy Awards, or the star of breezy comedy flicks, he's a perfectly recognizable face. But what you might not know is that in 1992, he directed and starred in a serious movie. "Mr. Saturday Night" casts him as a comedian long past his prime. Watching the movie, I got the feeling that the character was a composite of several noted comedians from the '50s. He's the sort of character who shifts between amicable and rude in one breath.

I guess that the movie's point is that there's no way to stay at the top forever, especially with how quickly things change (note the scene of "The Ed Sullivan Show"). Nonetheless, the movie does shift between comedy and drama; is there a way for Crystal not to be funny when he has the chance? You're sure to laugh at the scenes where he performs in front of audiences.

David Paymer received an Oscar nod for his role as the protagonist's exasperated brother and agent. He's an actor who doesn't get the recognition that he deserves. In a better world, this movie would've turned him into one of the most sought-after people in entertainment.

Anyway, the movie isn't a masterpiece, but worth seeing. Watch for appearances of Helen Hunt, Jerry Orbach, Richard Kind (Meemaw's friend on "Young Sheldon" and Bing Bong's voice in "Inside Out") and in a cameo, Jerry Lewis.