Mr. Saturday Night

Took a chance and bought the DVD for an extravagant amount of money(well £2.99 to be exact) and it turned out to be an unexpected delight. Billy Crystal is brilliant as an acerbic comic ably supported by David Paymer as his long suffering brother. If your expecting an out and out comedy you might be disappointed, but as a moving story of someone's life who happens to be a comedian, it's touching, poignant and sometimes very funny. Although Paymer got an Academy Award nomination, Crystal who let's face it is the only reason to watch the awards got nothing,zero,zilch, not a dickey bird... but as someone once said "don't get me started..." (8/10)

I was surprised to see such a low rating on IMDB for this film, which I feel is Crystal's masterpiece. While watching it, it becomes clear quickly that making this movie is a real labour of love for Crystal. He really displays his entire range in this surprising drama about a rather complex Vaudeville-esque comedian (whose character Buddy Young Jr. was introduced years before during Crystal's unforgettable stint on the 1984-5 Saturday Night Live season). Perhaps I was just in the mood for a sentimental film while I was watching it, but I was really compelled by the film, which also featured an unbelievable performance by David Paymer as Crystal's brother. The flashback sequences were fabulous-- I just can't say enough good about this film. Just don't set your expectations for a comedy, remember this is a rather long, sentimental (yet never sappy) drama with comic elements and enjoy! (rating 9/10)

I had waited a long time to see this movie, and it did not disappoint. Billy Crystal gives a marvelous turn as both director and star in this biopic of a stand-up comic. It is told in retrospective, as he is now in old age and reduced to performing in nursing homes. He tells his fascinating life story. I found a little bit of Laurel and Hardy in the movie as Buddy (Crystal) continuously frustrates his brother/manager Stan. Crystal was good as his character is portrayed as a comic who is brilliant at what he does but at the same time is difficult to work with. I liked it. I really recommend this one.

*** out of ****

As previously noted in other comments, this is the story of the rise and fall of a very Jewish stand-up comic named Buddy Young Jr. (Crystal). More importantly, its the story of Young's relationship with his brother/agent.

The movie was billed as a comedy, but it's actually a heavy drama with nuggets of comedy thrown in - mainly during the flashbacks to the early days of Young's career. I agree with the other negative reviewers that the drama side of the movie is pretty lousy - almost painfully over-the-top. But the fact is that the little nuggets of comedy scattered throughout the film really are funny. Laugh out loud funny. But is it worth watching two hours of really bad drama to catch about 20 mins of good comedy? I'd have to say no.

By the end of the flick, the funniest thing about this movie is the farce of watching Crystal trying to be all serious and dramatic while wearing horribly bad make-up which makes him look more like a Star Trek alien than a senior citizen.

Buddy Young, Jr. (Billy Crystal) is a talented comedian after forty years of struggling to reach the top. But Buddy can be unsympathetic man towards his comedy, his family and especially his long suffering brother/manager (David Paymer). Now Buddy has to make a choice between pushing forward to his dying career or making piece with the family, he's hurting.

Directed by Billy Crystal (Forget Paris, Have a Nice Day, 61) made his directorial debut with this sometimes flawed but an genuinely touching and bittersweet comedy. Crystal is good in the lead role, since it's based on his comedy character routine but when Crystal plays the older version of his character. He's hardly convincing as the older Buddy, especially with the heavy make-up role. Which he looks like Carl Reiner than himself. Paymer and Julie Warner as Buddy's wife plays the older version of their characters more convincingly. Paymer received an Oscar Nomination for his terrific supporting performance.

DVD has an good anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an fine-Dolby 2.0 Surround Sound. DVD has an interesting commentary track by Crystal, which Paymer joins him during the last fifty minutes of the movie. DVD also has three new featurettes with Crystal and Paymer, deleted scenes with introduction by the director, gag reel and the original theatrical trailer. This dramatic comedy has good supporting roles for Oscar-Winner:Helen Hunt and Ron Silver. Some amusing cameos by Jerry Orbach, Jerry Lewis and an young Adam Goldberg. This is one of the few underrated films of Billy Crystal, which he appears in. Written by Crystal, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. Which Ganz and Mandel wrote comedies like "City Slickers 1 & 2", "EDTV" and "Greedy". (****/*****).