Mr Saturday Night ** (1992, Billy Crystal, David Paymer, Julie Warner) – Classic Movie Review 8775

Beware comedians with a sentimental bent who don the latex to play old folk! Billy Crystal is at it in his 1992 comedy Mr Saturday Night, as an ancient TV comic called Buddy Young Jr, looking back on his Fifties heyday, his career that doesn’t quite hit the highspots, his romance with his future wife, his strained relations with his daughter and above all the squabbling sibling rivalry with his manager brother Stan (David Paymer).

Crystal is very clever and the script is often funny but even so Mr Saturday Night does not add up to a good yarn. The archetypal old-style New York Jewish family and the golden age of television are fondly conjured up. But the material is not that fresh. The Sunshine Boys with George Burns and Walter Matthau did it better.

The women’s roles are poorly written and tentatively played. The cynical old agent (Jerry Orbach) and film director (Ron Silver) are caricatures. Only the two brothers’ roles succeed, and their relationship is the film’s strength. Crystal’s ace performance is often in danger of being trumped by Paymer, who was Oscar nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Also in the cast are Julie Warner, Helen Hunt, Jerry Lewis, Mary Mara, Larry Gelman, Kay Freeman, Sage Allen and Jason Marsden as Buddy age 15 and Michael Weiner as Stan age 18.

Mr Saturday Night is produced and directed by Billy Crystal. It is written by Billy Crystal, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8775

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