Product Details

• Actors: Sage Allen, Julius Branca, Josh Byrne, Ben Diskin, Kay Freeman
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: French
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Polygram Video
• DVD Release Date: December 8, 1998
• Run Time: 119 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305181365
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #303,212 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Mr. Saturday Night" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Billy Crystal co-wrote, directed, and starred in this ambitious 1992 comedy-drama about an aged comedian named Buddy Young Jr., whose foul attitude and poor judgment have a strongly negative effect on his career and the people who care for him most. A survivor of the Borscht Belt tradition of stand-up comedians, Buddy's quick with a one-liner but clueless about how to treat people--he's like a cross between George Burns, Milton Berle, and a rabid pit bull. Helen Hunt plays Buddy's tolerant new agent who's been hired to revive his lagging career, but the movie's saving grace is David Paymer's Oscar-nominated performance as Buddy's much-maligned brother, who's helpless to stop Buddy's downward spiral. Having invented the Buddy Young character for his own comedy routines, Crystal knows this comic curmudgeon inside and out, and his show-biz savvy adds much-needed authenticity under layers of phony-looking old-age makeup. The movie works best when it's offering insight into Buddy's lifetime of disappointment, and some of the dialogue is memorably sharp. Crystal can't resist a seemingly forced happy ending, however, and the closing scenes resort to sentimentality that clashes with the rest of the movie. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendously Moving Performance, November 9, 2000

By 

ConBrio (Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr Saturday Night [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Poignant and moving--a transformational performance by Billy Crystal who gives such a finely nuanced performance of such depth that the movie has stayed with me for years. This isn't about a comdeian per se, its about somebody who realises that they have just missed the boat, felt that they were naturally entitled to be on the boat, and have to deal with that sense of life's betrayal. Crystal stops being just a funny man, and shows himself to be deeply sensitive and actually -- very deep. Disappointed viewers were looking for comic fluff, and when they got a sophisticated performance of a difficult man, they expressed their shock by rating the film badly.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A forgotten masterpiece, March 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mr. Saturday Night (DVD)

Something really rare in these days of disposable pop culture film. It's hilariously funny, poignant without being maudlin, and pulls off the hardest trick there is; namely, the drama works and the comedy works. This was truly an oscar winning effort that got ignored.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!, February 25, 2002

By 

Alan Crowe (Bournemouth, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr. Saturday Night (DVD)

Truly an outstanding performance by Billy Crystal that deserved an Oscar. A fantastic movie that moved me greatly. This film is virtually unknown in the UK but got a screening on an English cable channel and I enjoyed it so much and I just had to buy the DVD. Billy Crystal is superb in the lead role. I had never seen, nor heard of, Mr Crystal prior to viewing this movie so I was able to judge him purely by this movie - outstanding!