Plot: A feature-length documentary featuring the untold stories behind the culture-defining, groundbreaking and news-making musical performances, sketches, and cameos of the past 50 years. Co-directed by Questlove, the three-hour special broadcast event will showcase interviews with musical artists, cast, writers, producers, and more from SNL’s legacy.
Review: As the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of Saturday Night Live kicks into high gear this month, there are a slew of specials and documentaries looking at the storied legacy of the NBC variety show. While Peacock is the home for the behind-the-scenes chronicle of the comedians and cast that have traversed the SNL stage, NBC will be airing the two-hour documentary Ladies and Gentlemen…50 Years of SNL Music. Directed by The Roots band member and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Emmy Award winner Oz Rodriguez, the documentary looks at the hundreds of legendary performers who have performed on the Lorne Michaels-created show. Using hours upon hours of performance footage, behind-the-scenes reels, and new interviews with musicians and cast members, this is a fascinating trip through the history of SNL, told in a less-than-narrative fashion.
Ladies and Gentlemen opens with a phenomenal mash-up of past and present musicians who have been guests on SNL. Blending similar songs and very different genres, the first minutes of the documentary set the stage for just how varied the range of talent has been over the last fifty years. Questlove and Rodriguez do not chronologically tell the story of SNL‘s musical side but connect thematically through the show’s historic run. While a deep-dive into all of the moments of significance would have taken far more than a couple of hours, Ladies and Gentlemen instead picked some of the more relevant and impactful parts of the SNL legacy, including introducing the world to artists that would go on to become superstars as well as moments that went from live television to global news. Whenever possible, the documentary showcases the footage of the actual performance and interviews the musicians still alive today, including Mick Jagger, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, and Debbie Harry, to name a few. The cast members who were around at the time were also interviewed, adding very cool anecdotal and first-hand historical context to these moments.
The documentary looks at SNL‘s impact in showcasing musical genres that were not considered mainstream when they appeared on the show. The influential jazz performances from SNL‘s early days to the first time hip-hop was featured on national television got to focus, as does the infamous punk rock performance from the band Fear. There are also insights into seeing performers like Adele and Nirvana appear on SNL before they became global superstars. The documentary also digs into performances famous for other reasons, like Elvis Costello clarifying that he was never banned from the show, Sinead O’Connor tearing a photo of Pope John Paul II, Rage Against the Machine breaking rules at the last minute, Kanye West going rogue, and the lip sync controversy involving Ashlee Simpson. The context around these moments removes some of the details of the urban legend surrounding them. Still, it is fascinating to hear the artists and those there, including producers, technicians, and SNL musicians, discuss what they saw when it happened.
The documentary also looks at the role that musicians have played in sketches as well as a deeper glimpse into the preparation when a musical guest pulls double duty as host with Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, Justin Timberlake, and more shedding light on how the week leading up to a live show is even more daunting when you must sing as well as perform in sketches. Bad Bunny, host and musical guest in 2023 is the central focus, as his taping occurred when this documentary was being assembled. While his episode was weaker in the overall history of the show’s hosts, it is interesting to see how it all comes together from an angle other than the one we see on our televisions on Saturday nights. The documentary also spends time on famous musical impersonations over the years with Eddie Murphy, Jimmy Fallon, Joe Piscopo, and more, walking through how their takes on Stevie Wonder, James Brown, Mick Jagger, and Frank Sinatra came to fruition. We also get insight into the rise of Adam Sandler and The Lonely Island, showing how their careers blended the world of comedy and music into songs that have transcended SNL and become part of pop culture history.
Those interviewed discussed major historical moments in the world that impacted SNL, including September 11, 2001, and the COVID-19 pandemic, giving us a good look at how a silly comedy show could help people get over the horrors of the real world. Questlove and Rodriguez were able to talk with a huge list of famous names including musicians Bad Bunny, DJ Breakout, Elvis Costello, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish & Finneas, Dave Grohl, Debbie Harry & Chris Stein, Mick Jagger, Dua Lipa, Darryl DMC McDaniels, Tom Morello, Kacey Musgraves, Olivia Rodrigo, MC Sha-Rack, Paul Simon, Chris Stapleton, Justin Timberlake, Lee Ving and Jack White. SNL cast and crew interviewed include Lorne Michaels, Fred Armisen, Conan O’Brien, Eli Brueggemann, Jane Curtin, Jimmy Fallon, Al Franken, Josiah Gluck, Bill Hader, Steve Higgins, Marci Klein, Melanie Malone, Tom Malone, Mary Ellen Matthews, Eddie Murphy, Ego Nwodim, Liz Patrick, Leon Pendarvis, Lenny Pickett, Joe Piscopo, Andy Samberg, Brian Siedlecki, Akiva Schaffer, Paul Shaffer, Sarah Sherman, Howard Shore, Robert Smigel, Jorma Taccone, Kenan Thompson, Maya Rudolph, Hal Willner and Bowen Yang
Ladies and Gentlemen…50 Years of SNL Music is not as polished of a film as Questlove’s 2021 documentary Summer of Soul, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary. What the two films have in common is a musician’s perspective on the importance of the art form to the public and how music has the power to change over the years. Fifty years is a long time to pore through anything and condense it into a feature-length film, but this is a valiant attempt to look at how SNL has evolved over five decades and how music has evolved with it. There are certainly musical moments that could have made their way into Ladies and Gentlemen that may hold a more impactful place in your memory. Still, I found seeing this collection of performers to include countless I either forgot about or never got to see when they originally aired. The focus is on some comedy sketches with musical connections. It feels out of place with limited running time, but I enjoyed watching this quite a bit. Worth watching for fans of SNL and music aficionados in general.
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