The list of comedians commonly assumed to be the big stars of SNL includes:
- Chevy Chase
- John Belushi
- Bill Murray
- Eddie Murphy
- Martin Short
- Chris Farley
- Tina Fey
- Will Ferrell
- Billy Crystal
- Dan Ackroyd
- Amy Poehler
Quick– name a single important movie that any of these “stars” made? Name a movie made by an SNL alumnus that mattered. All right– maybe these:
- Lost in Translation
- Driving Miss Daisy
- Groundhog Day
- Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
- When Harry Met Sally
- Ghostbusters
- Punch-Drunk Love
- Enough Said
- This is Spinal Tap
Okay, some of these were okay as entertainment. None of them, with the exception of “Groundhog Day”, which was, at moments, transcendent, or “Lost in Translation”, really mattered in any serious way. “Punch-Drunk Love” was completely out of character for Adam Sandler (so out of character it’s the only Sandler movie I can stand) and doesn’t really qualify as the product of an SNL alumnus.
So, while reading the book “Saturday Night Live”, I kept cringing when someone or another would go on and on about what a great “star” so-and-so was when I couldn’t think of single movie this star was in that was important in any way to me– except, perhaps, Bill Murray. Here’s another discussion of the issue. In fact, Tina Fey’s “Date Night” had the singular honor of being one of a very, very tiny number of movies I simply walked out on. Now, I rarely give up on a move no matter how bad it is because I consider it always educational to see what Hollywood is up to even if the answer is “not very much”. But it is well known that SNL alumni have starred in some of the worst movies ever made in the past 45 years. That is amazing, and it’s a testament to the power of celebritydom in modern entertainment. Hollywood moguls routinely believe that a well known comedian will draw droves of fans to their movies.