My introduction to the late-night television sketch comedy phenomenon, “Saturday Night Live,” happened when I drove to Ambler, Montgomery County, during the mid-1970s to enjoy the show with my then girlfriend Linda Danish.

Linda would drive in her circa 1974 blue Honda Civic to her apartment after completing her shift as a cardiac-care nurse at then Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia. I would drive to her place in my 1963 red Porsche 356B from either The Bethlehem-Globe newspaper office, where I worked as a reporter and copy editor, or from the Center Valley farm in Upper Saucon Township where I lived with my parents for a time after college.

We were in our mid-20s, about the age or not much younger than the cast of “SNL.”

While I enjoyed “NBC’s Saturday Night,” as it was called in its Oct. 11, 1975, debut, I usually fell asleep like clockwork at 11:45 p.m. (the show began then as it does now at 11:30 p.m.) to the bemusement of Linda, an ardent “SNL” fan, as I barely made it through the TV show’s cold open and monologue.

Through the years, I watched “SNL” (“Saturday Night Live”) as it’s known, off and on, mostly dependent on who was guest host or what performer or group was music guest. Many seasons, I lost interest after watching a few opening episodes. The writing was uneven and frequently disappointing. It just wasn’t funny. I grew weary of the show’s political cold opens, politically-correct sketches and easy potshots, which bordered on rants and diatribes. The self-indulgent audience applause and laughter (canned or sweetened) was a turn-off.

The movie, “Saturday Night,” arrived during the “SNL” 50th anniversary season, which began Sept. 28. The movie goes a long way toward burnishing the memory of the legendary show’s early years and conveying the excitement, nuttiness and talents of the original “Not Ready For Prime Time” cast, some of whom, including John Belushi and Gilda Radnor, performed in “The National Lampoon Show,” Dec 6, 1974, in The Roxy theater, Northampton.

Casting in the “Saturday Night” movie is spot-on: Gabriel LaBelle (Lorne Michaels, “SNL” co-creator and producer), Cory Michael Smith (Chevy Chase), Matt Wood (John Belushi), Ella Hunt (Gilda Radner), Dylan O’Brien (Dan Aykroyd), Kim Matula (Jane Curtain), Lamorne Morris (Garrett Morris) and Emily Fairn (Laraine Newman).

It’s ironic that the original cast, which often portrayed famous people in “SNL” sketches, are now famous people portrayed by lesser-knowns.

Also in the movie: Cooper Hoffman (Dick Ebersol, NBC-TV executive who helped create “SNL”), Tommy Dewey (Michel O’Donoghue, “SNL” head writer), Matthew Rhys (George Carlin, debut show host), Willem Dafoe (David Tebet, NBC-TV executive), Nicholas Podamy (Billy Crystal), Rachel Sennott (Rosie Shuster, Lorne Michaels’ wife and “SNL” writer); Taylor Gray (Al Franken, “SNL” writer), Mcabe Gregg (Tom Davis, “SNL” writer), Nicholas Braun (Jim Henson, Andy Kaufman), Andrew Barth Feldman (Neil Levy, Lorne Michaels’ cousin and assistant on the show), J.K. Simmons (Milton Berle), Paul Rust (Paul Shaffer, “SNL” band leader), Corinne Britti (Valri Bromfield), Finn Wolfhard (NBC Page), Jon Batiste (Billy Preston), Brian Welch (Don Pardo, “SNL” announcer), Naomi McPherson (Janis Ian, who sang “At 17” on the debut show), Josh Brener (Alan Zweibel, “SNL” writer) and Tracy Letts (Herb Sargent, creator with Chevy Chase of “Weekend Update” on “SNL”).

It’s a huge cast. Each is excellent. And most gets his or her due in the spotlight to tell the rambunctious, chaotic and fascinating opening night tale of the show.

The movie, laugh-out-loud funny, with witty dialogue, off-color jokes, silly puns and obnoxious sendups, offers clever and apparently accurate insights into the business of making television shows. The sense is that of an actors’ improv theater company. “SNL” at its core is live theater, sketch comedy filmed on the fly.

With a ticking digital clock on the screen and frenetic percussion on the soundtrack by Jon Batiste, the movie captures the tumult of 90 minutes leading up to the Oct. 11, 1975, show premiere. It conveys alleged backstage antagonisms between Lorne Michaels and NBC-TV executives; the challenge of replacing reruns of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” which ran in the 11:30 p.m. time slot that “SNL” took over, and cast rivalries and insecurities.

Jason Reitman (Oscar nominee, picture, director, adapted screenplay, “Up in the Air,” 2010; director, “Juno,” 2008) directs with a sure hand and no looking back at the wreckage wrought on opening night of “SNL.” Reitman co-wrote the screenplay for “Saturday Night” with Gil Kenan (Oscar nominee, animated feature, “Monster House,” 2006).

Scenes whiz by, often under lit in brown tones with a 1970s’ cinema feel, by long-time Reitman collaborator, Director of Photography Eric Steelberg, who zooms across and between scenes and along the warren of backstage corridors of the Rockefeller Center building studios. The dialogue is fast and sometimes unintelligible.

When “Saturday Night Live” debuted in 1975, Baby Boomers such as myself were launching careers and families. It was akin to the Boomers’ parents’ generation, the Greatest Generation, back home after World War II, cooling their heels in front of the TV to “I Love Lucy” (1951-1957) and “Mr. Television” himself, Uncle Miltie, on “The Milton Berle Show” (1948-1956 ), rather than heating up the dance floor to the big bands.

“Saturday Night Live” made it hip to stay in on Saturday night, cuddling with a friend or cocooning with family, and watching variations of their hippie selves “take it to the man” with verbal and physical comedic salutes. The counter culture went to the kitchen counter for beverages and snacks. “SNL” became mandatory stay-in Saturday night appointment television: a date with class clowns in the Zeitgeist.

The movie “Saturday Night” captures, if not the innocence, then the bravado, of the young cast. They may have been called the Not Ready For Prime Time Players. Fortunately for them, and us, they didn’t know that or buy it. They were more than ready. It was television that wasn’t ready for them.

If you’re a fan of “Saturday Night Live” and the many actors on the show who became famous, don’t miss the movie, “Saturday Night.”

“Saturday Night,” MPAA rated R (Restricted: Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them.) for language throughout, sexual references, some drug use and brief graphic nudity; Genre: Biography, Comedy, Drama; Run time: 1 hour, 49 minutes. Distributed by Columbia Pictures-Sony Pictures Releasing.

Credit Readers Anonymous: “Saturday Night” was filmed March to May 2024 in Atlanta and Fayetteville, Ga., and New York City, N.Y. At the very end of the “Saturday Night” credits, a voice is heard, saying, “We got it.”

At The Movies: “Saturday Night” was seen in the standard format at AMC Center Valley 16.

Theatrical Movie Domestic Weekend Box Office, Nov. 1-3: “Venom: The Last Dance” made it one more dance at No. 1 two weeks in a row, with $26.1 million in 4,131 theaters, $90 million, two weeks, as “The Wild Robot,” the fall’s sleeper hit animation feature film moved up one place, $7.5 million in 3,231 theaters, $121.4 million, six weeks.

3. “Smile 2,” dropped one place, $6.8 million in 3,235 theaters, $52.6 million, three weeks. 4 “Conclave” stayed in place, $5.3 million in 1,796 theaters, $15.2 million, two weeks. 5. “Here,” starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright and directed by Robert Zemeckis, opening, $5 million in 2,647 theaters. 6. “We Live In Time” dropped one place, $3.4 million in 2,964 theaters, $17.6 million, four weeks. 7. “Terrifier 3” dropped one place, $3.2 million in 2,357 theaters, $50.5 million, four weeks. 8. “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3,” translated as “. Labyrinth 3,” an Indian Hindi-language comedy horror film, opening, $2.2 million in 754 theaters. 9. “Singham Again,” an Indian Hindi-language action film, opening, $2.1 million in 749 theaters. 10. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” dropped three places, $2 million in 2,251 theaters, $292 million, nine weeks. 21. “Saturday Night” dropped seven places, $235,000 in 453 theaters, $9.2 million, six weeks.

Movie box office information from Box Office Mojo as of Nov. 3 is subject to change.

Unreel, Nov. 8:

“Heretic,” R: Scott Beck and Bryan Woods direct Hugh Grant, Sophie Thatcher, Chloe East and Topher Grace in the Horror Thriller. Two Mormon missionary women are caught up in a game of cat-and-mouse.

“Small Things Like These,” PG-13: Tim Mielants directs Cillian Murphy, Patrick Ryan and Peter Claffey in the History Drama. In 1985, a devoted father discovers secrets at a convent. It’s based on the novel by Claire Keegan.

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” PG: Dallas Jenkins directs Peter Holmes, Judy Greer, Platte Clark, Darin McDaniel and Ryan Swanson in the Comedy Drama. Youngsters disrupt the annual Christmas pageant. It’s based on the 1972 book by Barbara Robinson.

Movie openng information from Internet Movie Database as of Nov. 3 is subject to change.

Four Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes