REVIEW: Live from New York

5/10 - I got a fever... And the only prescription... Is another movie. 

The premise of a documentary looking at the history, highlights, low-lights, and impact of the long running sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live is something the world was definitely looking for. Thankfully SNL celebrated it's 40th anniversary and mostly did that with a 3 hour television special. No need to go to the movies!

It was a big of a challenge to separate this documentary from the 40th anniversary television special, that aired in February. If you enjoyed one, you'll enjoy the other but there's only so much SNL to reminisce on.

Part of what separated the documentary Live from New York was putting SNL is a larger context. Political impersonations were compared directly to footage of the figure in question, a nice way to show the impact of the show. They showed your favorite sketches, and featured interviews from a variety of cast members. It was a nice way to look back at the evolution of television over the years.

However, this movie is all nostalgia and good feelings, without a lot of critical thinking, and definitely no big revelations. It's a perspective on SNL with rose-colored glasses that undermines some of the issues that have plagued the shows history, like drug abuse, sexism, racism, and dismisses them as being unimportant. Instead of acknowledging those unpleasant truths, it relies on the content of SNL sketches being enough to entertain the audience with little else to say.

Live From New York is an enjoyable watch, because it's a "best of" featuring great moments that cause belly laughs. As a movie, it's quite hollow.

IMDb - Live From New York (6.8)
Rotten Tomatoes - Live From New York (48%)
Film Website - Live From New York