Here's a one-sentence review: The new film about Saturday Night Live's five-decade history of (mostly) live musical performances kicks off with the best opening to a music-centered documentary I have ever seen.
Directed by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon bandleader and legendary DJ Questlove, with producers RadicalMedia, Ladies and Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music starts with an opening montage which plays like the coolest musical mash-up ever concocted — or one of Quest's legendary sets behind the Wheels of Steel. Leading with a cavalcade of stars invoking the trademark, three-word introduction for musical guests — everyone from Daniel Craig to Paris Hilton is shown saying "ladies and gentlemen …" — Questlove and his producers build to a montage of performance clips, mixed so that they flow from one to the other, often sounding like multiple artists are playing together.
The Time's "Jerk Out" and R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" occupy the same sonic space. Queen's "Under Pressure" vibes with Dave Matthews Band's "Ants Marching," into Vanilla Ice's rip off of Queen, "Ice Ice Baby," through Fine Young Cannibals' "She Drives Me Crazy," alongside Michael Bolton's "Love Is a Wonderful Thing." (It really works!) Prince's "Partyup" and Rick James' "Super Freak" flow into and out of each other's jams. Grooves by Busta Rhymes, TLC and Bobby McFerrin fit together like they stood together on the same stage, though their performances were actually years apart.
It is a powerful reminder of the grand span of powerhouse musical moments the show has hosted over 50 years and the unifying spirit that emerges when talented artists bring their "A" game to network television live — regardless of style, genre or musical era.
Questlove does much more than stitch together cool musical moments. He goes beyond the artists' performances to talk about sketches centered on music, pulling great stories from an avalanche of big names, including Mick Jagger, Paul Simon and superstar alum Eddie Murphy — who didn't even provide an interview for SNL's other, four-part documentary series about itself on Peacock.
Here are a few of the coolest musical moments from the film (not including the amazing beginning):
Eddie Murphy originally refused to do the James Brown Celebrity Hot Tub sketch
This bit, which aired in 1983, features Murphy's sidesplitting impression of the Godfather of Soul hosting TV's craziest variety show. At the time, it was considered powerful evidence of how Murphy's talent and connection to Black culture was reinvigorating SNL. "I didn't want to do it, first of all," Murphy says in Questlove's film. "Back then, I didn't smoke or get high … At SNL, a lot of people were smoking [and] it was 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning … [the writers said] 'You know what would be funny? If you were James Brown in a hot tub.' I was, like, 'Get the f*** out of here' … And when we did it, it was the funniest thing ever."
The Blues Brothers' first appearance almost didn't happen
Breakout SNL star John Belushi teamed with blues fan and fellow cast member Dan Aykroyd to play music on SNL early on, dressing up in bee costumes at first, continuing a long-running joke on the show. Eventually, Belushi and Aykroyd came up with two blues-playing characters who fronted a band — "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, known as the Blues Brothers — which they debuted on the show April 22, 1978. Executive producer Lorne Michaels hated the idea and cut it from the program, but when they ran short on time, he told the two "we have nothing worthwhile to put in those three minutes; you guys might as well make fools of yourselves," according to Tom Malone, a trombone player in the SNL and the Blues Brothers bands. Eventually, their first record — Briefcase Full of Blues — topped the Billboard charts.
Reaction to Sinead O'Connor's rebellious performance has changed
In 1992, when O'Connor appeared on SNL, she surprised producers by ripping up a picture of Pope John Paul II during an a capella rendition of Bob Marley's "War," saying "fight the real enemy." Her actions drew thousands of complaints to NBC amid rebukes from celebrities like Joe Pesci, Madonna and even Michaels. But Questlove's film features SNL's executive producer offering a much more sympathetic view of O'Connor's actions now, perhaps because of more recent accusations the Catholic Church failed to adequately respond to child sexual abuse cases involving clergy. "She did it on her own," adds former SNL writer and performer Al Franken in the film. "And she was kinda right."
SNL hosted the first live rap performance on national TV
When SNL started, there weren't many live performances by contemporary musical artists on network TV — so the show became an important spot for checking out new musical trends and cutting-edge artists. When Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry hosted the show in 1981, she got SNL to feature the seminal rap group Funky 4 + 1 — which featured one of the first female MCs in hip-hop, MC Sha-Rock, and inspired artists like the Beastie Boys.
Elvis Costello wasn't banned forever from SNL
Costello became an SNL legend by doing something few musical artists dare: He decided, seconds into his first performance on the show in 1977, to change the song he and his band were playing — stopping the group to launch into an energetic tune criticizing the commercialism of the British radio industry, called "Radio Radio." Showbiz lore always held that Costello was banned from the show, but Questlove's film shows the British rock star performed on SNL several times since, even spoofing his original performance for their 25th anniversary show in 1999. "We've never banned anyone … we're way too crass and opportunistic," Michaels says in the film. But Costello had a 12-year gap between his first and second appearances.
The Lonely Island's "D*** in a Box" almost didn't come together
A consistent theme in Questlove's film involves stories of how sketches now considered classic SNL moments almost didn't happen. The Lonely Island — a trio that included SNL writers Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer with cast member Andy Samberg — created a rap music video parody in 2005 called "Lazy Sunday," which inspired legions of fans to upload unofficial versions on YouTube. A year later, when Justin Timberlake was hosting the last episode before Christmas 2006, the trio tried to develop a video satirizing '90s R&B. But they had such a tough time figuring it out, a final version of the pre-taped video wasn't ready until that Saturday. "The reason it made it onto the show was that no one really knew what the sketch was," Timberlake says.
Ashlee Simpson's infamous lip-synching incident may not have been entirely her fault
The actress and singer, younger sister to Jessica Simpson, drew derisive headlines when she seemed to get confused onstage during a live SNL performance in 2004, as her pre-taped vocals briefly played and she eventually walked offstage. In Questlove's film, SNL music producer Josiah Gluck says "it was decreed" just before the live show began that Simpson would save her voice by lip-synching both musical performances instead of one. Her drummer accidentally cued up the first song again for the second performance, confusing Simpson and revealing her vocals were not live. Questlove even provides audio of the show's technicians freaking out as Simpson decides to simply walk away. "I can hear myself being fired [for] saying [this]," Gluck quips after telling the story.
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