Live from New York!

I enjoy sketch comedy very much but ironically, I wasn't fully aware of "Saturday Night Live" until my adult years. As a teen, I was more into "Royal Canadian Air Farce" because I live in Canada and it was on earlier in the evening ("Air Farce" by the way is older than SNL and its original cast members performed together for 28 years). I also didn't grow up with cable. My first indirect exposure to anything connected with SNL was "Wayne's World" for obvious reasons and even that was only jabs from my friends. I haven't even seen those movies to this day. Despite all this, I least of all can deny the impact and importance of SNL. It has inspired films and given us so many Hollywood comedy stars over the years. This documentary, "Live from New York!" looks back at the 40-year history of SNL and it does so quite seriously, which is a surprise. This makes for a very memorable, enjoyable yet informative documentary about "an American institution" created by a Canadian.

You might be surprised to hear that the tone of this film is somewhat serious but seeing as how this is a documentary about a TV comedy show, there are plenty of laughs. The straightforwardness fortunately mixes well with the comedy clips and interviews with comedians. There is a great balance between the seriousness and the stupidity. Some of the topics discussed in relation to SNL include racism and feminism. The controversial moments on the show are also made mention. Something less serious but important in the history of SNL is the political humor they have performed over the years. Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, Will Ferrell as George W. Bush and Darrell Hammond as Al Gore are just some examples of how influential the show became in politics. The moment the clip of Al Roker on the Today Show appeared in the film, I knew what was coming. This collage of news clips introduced the most serious part of the documentary in a very powerful and affective way. Suddenly, you were taken back emotionally to September of 2001. Then to see the then mayor of New York City, Rudolph Giuliani, say "Why start now?" says a lot about the importance of that particular SNL episode. I almost cried and laughed at the same time watching that clip in the documentary. I personally think that the best reading of the line "Live from New York" is by from Mayor Giuliani. The line was never intended to be spoken in defiance of terrorism but in this one case, it was a powerful cry. The very ending of the documentary has me stumped. Are there end credits? I saw this film on the big screen and after the last shot, the film seemed to cut off and I can't tell whether it is intentional or if there was a problem with the projector. If it is on purpose, I love it.

You will laugh, learn and contemplate when you watch "Live from New York!" I think the film is more powerful with its serious tone combined with clips of hilarious comedy from the past 40 years than it could have been otherwise.

4 Stars