Review: Live From New York!

Live From New York! is an easy film to sit through. It is full of funny people, movie stars, and informed writers commenting on the greatness of Saturday Night Live. As a fan of SNL for years, it was great to see some highlights from the show and hear about how much the show means to so many. Sadly that is about as deep as things get in this documentary.

Live From New York! begins by giving a brief history of the show, especially the first five years in which the format and impact of the show was born. Placing SNL in historical context is one of the many goals this film has and it is the one it comes closest to achieving. The film also tries to place SNL in social context, both in terms of race representation and in how it dealt with the tragedies of 9/11. Neither of these elements dig deep enough to feel successful and the film almost shrugs off the lack of certain races being represented in the cast.

If you are a fan of SNL, you are going to enjoy seeing so many classic clips and to hear from so many cast members, writers, and other creative forces behind the scenes. If you are looking for an in depth documentary, look elsewhere. Live From New York! is mostly self congratulatory and feels like a celebration more than anything else. As a fan of the show, I wasn't bothered by the slightness of the documentary while watching it. It wasn't until later that I started to wish the film had given me more to think about.

3/5