Mr. Saturday Night (1992) User Reviews

Billy Crystal goes serious

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 30 June 2020]

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.

A wonderful drama about a comedian.

[bobtaurus · 7/10 · 3 July 2002]

As others have said, this is NOT a comedy; unfortunately, it was marketed as such, which is why it wasn't successful in its theatrical release. It is, however, an excellent drama, with Crystal as a comedian who rises to the top, but who is tragically flawed. The life of Crystal's Buddy Young is a conglomeration of aspects of the lives of particular real-life comedians, including Milton Berle, Sid Caesar and Jackie Mason.

I recall having seen this film in the theater and being blown away by David Paymer as Crystal's brother; Paymer later won the Oscar for Supporting Actor. An at-the-time relatively unknown Helen Hunt also does some compelling supporting work in a brief featured role.

One major flaw, as another commentator pointed out, is the weak aging-effect makeup in the last part of the movie. You just have to suspend your disbelief and hang in there til the end.

Mr. Saturday Night (1992) ***

[JoeKarlosi · 7/10 · 18 January 2013]

Billy Crystal co-wrote and directed this highly satisfying Drama/Comedy (in that order) about the downfall of a fictional Jewish stage comedian (played by Crystal) named Buddy Young, Jr. Starting way back from when he was a funny child, entertaining the adult relatives in the living room at holidays, Buddy displayed a knack for offbeat Don Rickels-like humor, eventually got famous and had himself a hit television show in the early 1960s, but then fizzled out into oblivion. His long-suffering brother (David Paymer) took on the part of his agent who lived in Buddy's shadow and stood by him for all those years, despite having to endure his frequent conceit and abuse.

Most of the story centers around Crystal and Paymer in old age makeups, well past their prime but still trying to get Buddy some meaningful gigs. Unfortunately, Buddy is a short-tempered and self-centered egotist who is his own worst enemy. Helen Hunt plays a young newcomer to the agent business who's never heard of Buddy but takes him on to try and find old Bud some worthwhile jobs. Crystal is surprisingly strong in his turn as Young, not always likable but someone you can still feel for. But it's David Paymer as his sensitive brother who really turns in the best performance. People shouldn't go into MR. Saturday NIGHT expecting nonstop laughs and craziness; while it's got its share of both strong and weak jokes, the thrust of the piece is the emotional relationship between these two brothers. *** out of ****

"It's not funny. It's not fun."

[lukacs · 21 June 2001]

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?

Big surprise

[DirectorLawrence · 7/10 · 15 February 2004]

Wow, I saw this film for like 6 dollars at one of those discount stores and decided to pick it up. I watched it and it was great. Ever since I saw City Slickers I didn't think any Billy Crystal movies would be very funny. This one is funny. Billy Crystal is even a good director. I recommend it to anyone.

Uncomfortable

[RNMorton · 6/10 · 3 January 2004]

Lifelong story of comic Buddy Young (Crystal). I'm sure Billy wants to make us a little uncomfortable, to tell us something about ourselves. It's just that I find Billy's characters self-absorbed, over-analytical and not very sympathetic, so that when they agonize or suffer I'm more annoyed than touched. Julie Warner is stunning (as always) in role of Crystal's wife. 6/10

Wallpapered with shtick...

[moonspinner55 · 3/10 · 17 December 2006]

Billy Crystal co-wrote, produced, directed and stars in this sentiment-laden Neil Simon knock-off about a Jewish comedian in the late 1950's who becomes a television staple in the '60's, and an aged grouch in the present day. David Paymer tries hard in the doormat role of Crystal's put-upon older brother, but he and Crystal spend too much time in hokey old age make-up, bickering back and forth like in a road company version of "The Sunshine Boys". The movie looks good, with fine Don Peterman cinematography, but it attempts to combine nostalgia with stereotypical Jewish humor and half-hearted pathos--never cutting back on the insults and quips--for a static, unremarkable result. *1/2 from ****

Uneven but worth watching

[pmtelefon · 7/10 · 14 June 2023]

Writer/director Billy Crystal and company deserve an E for effort for "Mr. Saturday Night". There are some really good scenes in this movie but it's not as good a watch as it should have been. One problem is that Crystal's Buddy Young Jr character isn't always that likeable. The insult jokes Young throws out while on stage aren't that funny. Another problem with the movie is that most of the time they have the dreamy Julie Warner wearing old lady make-up. That's a silly mistake. Also, her character ends up not really having much to do after a while. You can tell "Mr. Saturday Night" was a very important movie to Crystal, unfortunately, it kind of misses the mark.

It doesn't stink... it just smells really really bad

[ddogfenley · 4/10 · 22 September 2007]

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.

Entertaining film

[toadwriter · 7/10 · 22 April 2011]

This film deserves a rating better than 5.9.

I think Billy Crystal does a great job as Mr. Saturday Night, and his brother complements him really well. The two could be brother's in real life and if there's one thing I wish is that they both did their act together and fed off one-another. But it's not about 2 Misters.

I recently watched the film again, but its been probably 10 years since I last saw it, so it seemed as fresh as the first time. I like the story, drama, intrigue, and I find it really entertaining. There are many funny parts and I do believe people are selling this film short.

Billy Crystal shines

[studioAT · 4/10 · 28 April 2017]

This is one of those films that aims to show the darker side of comedy, and Billy Crystal does well in bringing a lot of aspects of that together in one film.

Yes, the old age make-up looks slightly more 'Mrs Doubtfire' than authentic, but you can't take away the fact that Crystal is very good in his role, tracking the comedian from unknown to famous to back again.

I think this film is overlong, about half an hour in fact, but there are some lovely moments along the way, that are both funny and tragic.

I think this film is certainly worth a watch.

A multi-faceted drama.

[RichTC2 · 9/10 · 16 January 1999]

Billy Crystal's directorial debut was not a big success mainly due to the fact that people had no idea how multi-faceted he had the ability to be. This is not a comedy. This is a very moving drama about a comedian and his life, both public and private. There are several highly insightful moments and some real movie magic present. I assume Crystal had help with his directing, as there are a few crafty camera shots. I personally don't mind that most critics overlooked this movie, but I am very glad that the Academy recognized David Paymer, as Crystal's watching-from-the-wings brother, with a Best Supporting Actor nomination. He and Crystal play off each other wonderfully. They act so much like brothers throughout the years of the film, Paymer's last name might actually be Crystal.

Helen Hunt, Ron Silver, and Jerry Orbach have good roles, albeit fairly small. There are also several cameos, including Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. They co-wrote the movie with Crystal, and this duo have their names on Happy Days episodes, as well as a slew of films. This information is helpful to the humor when they appear as a couple of goofy young writers.

This fine film is not without a couple of drawbacks. The make-up job on Crystal and Paymer in their old age is far from realistic. This aspect of the film needed Rick Baker. The other item that detracts this from being a truly great film is that it is essentially a biography of a fictional person who isn't a very nice guy. The movie has a few moments where it wants the viewer to feel sorry for him for ruining his own life. To me, however, it is great storytelling and wonderful acting. It is sad, poignant, and, upon first viewing in 1992, nothing I expected from the mind of Billy Crystal.

If you've never seen this picture because you have heard too many negative things, please give it a viewing. You could very well be surprised.

I fell asleep

[francke-4 · 4/10 · 29 December 1998]

Although I like the actors in this film, I fell asleep within an hour of starting to watch. It is evidently quite boring.

marvelous!

[mattkratz · 16 March 2006]

I had waited a long time to see this movie, and it did not disappoint. Billy Crystal gives a marvelous turn as both director and star in this biopic of a stand-up comic. It is told in retrospective, as he is now in old age and reduced to performing in nursing homes. He tells his fascinating life story. I found a little bit of Laurel and Hardy in the movie as Buddy (Crystal) continuously frustrates his brother/manager Stan. Crystal was good as his character is portrayed as a comic who is brilliant at what he does but at the same time is difficult to work with. I liked it. I really recommend this one.

*** out of ****

Oh GOD no!

[Doctor_Masoud · 1/10 · 3 August 2006]

This was by far the worst "comedy" I have every seen. What a piece of garbage. I can just imagine Crystal writing this and visioning a cult classic that would be a biography of every "old school" comedian out there. This movie was so bad it left a bad smell in the room. What a piece of crap. garbage actors, a garbage story, garbage jokes. Even the make-up was sh!t. Billy Crystal is a hack, he was never funny, and never will be funny. I will never watch a Billy Crystal movie again, unless it is a "Pauley Shore must Die" type of movie. Why anyone would call this pile of trash a masterpiece I will never know...because I have a sense of humor. Jerry Lewis: "Funny, funny".....no not at all.

Paymer's great, Crystal stinks!

[astorian · 3/10 · 16 July 2000]

David Paymer is funny and touching as Billy Crystal's put-upon brother, but the rest of this movie is just awful. It's an ego trip for Billy Crystal. He doesn't seem to know that it takes more than 10 layers of latex to make a 40 year old actor believable as a 75 year old comic.

Ambassador Hotel Production Notes

[slawler-2 · 5/10 · 27 December 2004]

Mr Saturday Night was one of the 1,000 movies shot at the former Ambassador Hotel. Billy used the old Cocoanut Grove for a number of nightclub scenes. In one scene, it was a Catskills' night club: in another scene, a television studio. He also used the kitchen for some other scenes where Billy and David Paymer's character interact.

It was interesting that Billy chose the hotel for his nightclub scenes as it was a fixture in old Hollywood for variety acts and much of the social foundation in the old studio days. During the production, he was focused on the history of the place and seemed to enjoy the atmosphere it created for the scenes.

He came back to the Hotel to shoot a number of scenes from HBO's *61.

Billy Crystal's Masterpiece

[noahk · 9/10 · 16 January 2002]

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)

Worthy attempt but still only fair

[Jetset971 · 5/10 · 21 March 2011]

I love Billy Chrystal's movies, usually, and even the lesser ones make me smile. This movie is no exception but I really think it could have been better than what was presented here. Billy plays Buddy Young Jr, a long time comedic veteran who despite numerous close calls, never achieved stardom. He is accompanied through life through his weather beaten but devoted brother Stan, that acts as his manager. Its clear from the beginning that Buddy is self absorbed about himself and making it to the top. The two bicker and banter back and forth as stan wants to retire and Buddy wants to keep going. This is the best part of Mr. Saturday Night. The relationship between the two brothers. David Paymer is very convincing and extremely well cast as Stan. Frankly, when the two are together the movie is at its best but when Buddy is alone with others trying to salvage his career its a definite let down. Not that some of the scenes are not funny in there on right, but the movie needs the two brothers more. I think if they had centered the entire movie on just the two of them this would get a much Higher rating from me. Maybe if the whole movie had centered on the scene at the restaurant with Chrystal and Paymer reminiscing about the past ups and downs and near successes, it would have been more cohesive. Like remember when they talk about Buddy's blowing his chance on the Ed Sullivan show all those years ago and a fuming Buddy says "Look who you put me on after!". That "after" being the Beatles! LOL! If they had made the whole movie that way, well who knows.

opened Saturday night, closed Sunday night.

[whoreoffrankenstein · 27 January 2000]

What a steaming pile of burnt stuffed sausage this movie is. It was slower moving than a starfish. I almost expected to see Ed Wood's name in the credits. The worst thing was that Buddy Young's makeup looked like Billy Crystal stuck his face in a vat of hummus. It was so hideous looking I came close to choking on my gummi bears while watching it. I would have had more fun watching a school of fish.

garbage

[kipconlon · 1/10 · 7 June 2004]

do not see this movie. do not see this movie. within the movie everyone laughs at scenes that are painfully unfunny and you feel sorry for the actors for having to make themselves laugh at such weak weak jokes and then after feeling sorry for them for a while you start to hate them and wonder what motivates people to agree to do garbage like this if it isn't money because it should be money to be in something so corny and tired and schmaltzy schmaltzy schmaltzy the make up's the least of its problems though indeed production values are a small step up from porn film but how could it matter with something so dreadful the movie makes you feel bad for Jerry Lewis for having to be in this I don't generally feel sorry for Jerry Lewis but really felt this was a waste of his time, not to mention every single person except for Billy Crystal who deserves, I guess, to be in such junk if he insists on it.

Badly directed!

[JohnHowardReid · 3/10 · 19 December 2017]

I don't like movies in which every member of the cast, not matter how small or fleeting, or important or unimportant his or her role or appearance may be, gets at least four or five close-ups, This is TV style direction, and it has no place in a movie designed for a cinema release, or even in a TV movie which runs more than thirty minutes.

A close-up is an indication that the character is really important and that the audience should play close attention so that they will have no difficulty following the plot when the character re-surfaces.

But in most cases, the character does not re-surface. And what happens of course, is that by the time the movie ends, you end up with a terrific headache, as you to try to remember all 158 members of the cast who received a close-up, when actually only eight were actually relevant to the plot.

I'm sure other viewers have the same problem. Let's mount a campaign to stamp out unnecessary and totally misleading close-ups!

Let's face it. An unimportant close-up is a spoiler!

Boring.....

[Irishchatter · 1/10 · 9 January 2016]

I really like Billy Crystal but I just think having him playing as a Stand up comedian makes it better for his role even if he is one for real! The jokes didn't seem that genuinely funny and also over the top. I didn't like the jokes when he talks about his daughter in a negative way. You could tell how cheesed off she looked and if I was his daughter, I would feel exactly the same!

I only looked at this around ten minutes of the film because I knew in my opinion that it'll be a waste of time. I regret watching it but the problem was,the poster makes you want to badly see the film. It would've been ten times better to take a U - turn and don't look at this film id you can!

No week-ending!

[simonrosenbaum · 8/10 · 23 September 2004]

Took a chance and bought the DVD for an extravagant amount of money(well £2.99 to be exact) and it turned out to be an unexpected delight. Billy Crystal is brilliant as an acerbic comic ably supported by David Paymer as his long suffering brother. If your expecting an out and out comedy you might be disappointed, but as a moving story of someone's life who happens to be a comedian, it's touching, poignant and sometimes very funny. Although Paymer got an Academy Award nomination, Crystal who let's face it is the only reason to watch the awards got nothing,zero,zilch, not a dickey bird... but as someone once said "don't get me started..." (8/10)

Buddy was a yutz!

[dtucker86 · 4/10 · 12 April 2024]

I have been a big fan of Billy Crystal ever since I saw City Slickers and When Harry Met Sally. In most of his movies, and in interviews I have seen with him he comes across as the most likeable kind of guy. This movie was such a big let down for me because so many have called it Crystal's materpiece. He directed and co wrote it as well as starred and in many ways did a great job. He handled the dramatic shifts in time in the movie very well and got a great performance out of David Paymer as Buddy's long suffering brother but Crystal made one mistake. This movie is supposed to be a funny tear jerker where you feel sorry for Buddy but he is such an unlikeable character a mean bully to everyone around him that Don Rickle's wouldn't even like him. If you want to see Billy at his likeable best watch City Slickers.