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Saturday Night Movie Review : A tale of tight friends that needed tighter editing

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Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive . Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.

J 421 days ago

Giving this a 1 star because system won't allow any lower. Yet another movie that no one asked for. Portrays true friendship as when grown men with families rides on the back of a convertible Toyota that had a paint job accident constantly shouting "woo", "yaaaahh", "yaa duuude". Some female characters are thrown in, well why not? Dog droppings on film would be more entertaining than this piece of grade A abomination.

naveen Krishnan 1465 422 days ago

tastless, stale and pretty boring ! skipped through most of the movie !

jaijagadeesh 425 days ago

Em movie ra babu ������ endhuku th estharo emo assal aa hero charector evarra ayya anthunnadu

Jose Thankachan 426 days ago

This movie is a disaster. A story with no sense whatsoever. Most of the dialogue makes the audience uncomfortable. Nobody understands why these actors are there or really they are in a circus These movie makers start thinking that if they have some famous actors in hand, anything will be a movie. No logical story. No comedy. This movie makes you start hating Malayalam movies. Don't waste your time and money for this one. Really surprising that actors such as Nevin Pauley accepted this idiotic script. Highly unlikely that someone will watch the whole movie unless they are watching in a theatre. Hopefully, the producers will realize why they lost money on this movie.

Vinitha Abilash 299 426 days ago

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The Roshan Andrews directorial written by Naveen Bhaskar is comedy movie that belongs to the reunion genre

Saturday Night Movie Review: A tale of tight friends that needed tighter editing

• Times of India

Saturday Night - Official Trailer

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Saturday Night | Song - Nilaathumbi Nee (Lyrical)

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J 421 days ago

Giving this a 1 star because system won't allow any lower. Yet another movie that no one asked for. Portrays true friendship as when grown men with families rides on the back of a convertible Toyota that had a paint job accident constantly shouting "woo", "yaaaahh", "yaa duuude". Some female characters are thrown in, well why not? Dog droppings on film would be more entertaining than this piece of grade A abomination.

naveen Krishnan 1465 422 days ago

tastless, stale and pretty boring ! skipped through most of the movie !

jaijagadeesh 425 days ago

Em movie ra babu ������ endhuku th estharo emo assal aa hero charector evarra ayya anthunnadu

Jose Thankachan 426 days ago

This movie is a disaster. A story with no sense whatsoever. Most of the dialogue makes the audience uncomfortable. Nobody understands why these actors are there or really they are in a circus These movie makers start thinking that if they have some famous actors in hand, anything will be a movie. No logical story. No comedy. This movie makes you start hating Malayalam movies. Don't waste your time and money for this one. Really surprising that actors such as Nevin Pauley accepted this idiotic script. Highly unlikely that someone will watch the whole movie unless they are watching in a theatre. Hopefully, the producers will realize why they lost money on this movie.

Vinitha Abilash 299 426 days ago

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• This film marks the first collaboration of uncle-nephew duo Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. Arjun is the son of Anil’s brother Boney Kapoor. Share
• This film marks the first collaboration of uncle-nephew duo Anil Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor. Arjun is the son of Anil’s brother Boney Kapoor.
• This is the second time Arjun Kapoor is playing a double role, the first being Aurangzeb (2013).
• The song ‘Yamma yamma’ from ‘Shaan’ is sampled in the song ‘Partywali Night' for the film.

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‘Saturday Night’ starring Nivin Pauly, Aju Varghese locks OTT release date

‘Saturday Night’, which hit theatres in November has finally received an OTT release date. The movie, featuring hit combo Nivin Pauly and Aju Varghese, along with Siju Wilson, Saniya Iyappan and Grace Antony, revolves around a group of friends who get together after several years. The feud between the friends, their adventures and their love lives are explored in the movie, helmed by Rosshan Andrrews.

The movie had received mostly negative reviews, with many suggesting that the film failed to connect with ordinary people. The character played by Nivin Pauly had also been a major disappointment.

The film also hit headlines after the director criticised those who were putting out negative reviews about films, especially on the first day of movie release. He had also alleged there were several paid reviewers who were destroying Malayalam cinema.

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Now, as per reports, we hear that the film will release on Disney+Hotstar on January 27. ‘Saturday Night’ was Nivin Pauly’s third film in 2022 after ‘Mahaveeryar’ and ‘Padavettu’. However, none of the three films received the expected response and had also been a huge disappointment for fans of Nivin Pauly, who were eagerly awaiting his comeback. The actor recently made news after he posted photos of his drastic weight loss earlier this month.

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Home » Review » Saturday Night movie review: Nivin Pauly's movie tries hard to be fun but works sparingly »

Saturday Night movie review: Nivin Pauly's movie tries hard to be fun but works sparingly

It's also one of those movies where you feel the characters are shallow and the story flabby.

• Sanjith Sidhardhan

Last Updated: 09.34 PM, Nov 04, 2022

Stanley forms the core that binds his circle of friends who include 'Poocha' Sunil, Justin and Ajith. Issues begin to crop up between latter two over a girl that soon escalates to a point that Stanley and Sunil are trying to run around solving their problems. Despite warnings from those whom Justin and Ajith have failed, Stanley sticks by them. But an incident happens that has far-reaching repercussions, especially for Stanley. Years later, when the group comes together, they just find out what happened and also accomplish a long-cherished plan of Stanley. 

It's always a joy to watch movies revolving around friends. Such films come with a set of characters that you could at least relate to one of them. More importantly, it also evokes nostalgia. In Rosshan Andrrews' Saturday Night , the filmmaker tries to accomplish both those aims - with a story about childhood friends who grow estranged while becoming adults. The makers try hard, really hard to make it work, and to their credit it does when it lets go of its dramatic dialogues and becomes goofy. But to get there, it would test the audience's patience. 

The movie revolves around a group of friends, who are brought together after a gap of eight years as a solution to the current crisis they are facing in their adult lives. But unknown to them, the protagonist Stanley, who is the core of the group, has had to face another challenge - one that makes him stuck in the past, which is also the most happiest phase of his life.

Also read: Exclusive! Nivin Pauly: Saturday Night demanded an over-the-top performance but there’s also a reason for that  

While it's fun to imagine a group of men in their 30s trying to rekindle some fun and energy into the monotonous lives filled with expectations and responsibilities, the film's script doesn't reveal anything new than what the audience has already seen. The writing is flat and sometimes overtly dramatic. Even Nivin's Bob Marley-esque dialogues wear out the humour after the actor has to repeatedly say it, just to inject some energy into the proceedings. 

It's also one of those movies where you feel the characters are shallow and the story flabby. This weighs down the proceedings, especially in the first half where the incidents lack any soul whatsoever. The backstories of each character doesn't evoke any emotions. The sequence, apparently inspired by Say Anything…, with Siju Wilson also appears cliched. 

To totally pull off a zany movie like this, the actors had to go all out and here there are times where you'd feel that even the actors are only partially convinced. But then again, it's the goofy bits in the second half when the other characters let their guard down, it becomes fun. 

Also read: Kooman movie review: Asif Ali's thriller is a fine addition to Jeethu Joseph's 'criminal vs cop' universe

The positives though could be the intention of the makers - to show how for Stanley, who is perceived as the core of the movie, his friends are his world. The scene where the friends break the ice and shake a leg with Ashvin Mathew's magistrate character is one of the highlights that is sure to bring a smile to your face. The art department also does a decent job in the film that has high production values. 

The film doesn't try to be a Zindagi Milegi Dobaara, The Hangover or even In Harihar Nagar ; it's original that way but that doesn't do any favours when the writing lacks imagination. 

This Rosshan Andrrews' film is rather forgettable.

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Saturday Night

0 /5 Filmibeat

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Saturday Night

In this Saturday Night film, Nivin Pauly , Aju Varghese played the primary leads.

The Saturday Night was released in theaters on 04 Nov 2022.

The Saturday Night was directed by Rosshan Andrrews

Movies like Level Cross , Written & Directed by God , Lovely and others in a similar vein had the same genre but quite different stories.

The soundtracks and background music were composed by Jakes Bejoy for the movie Saturday Night.

The cinematography for Saturday Night was shot by Aslam K. Purayil .

You can watch the Saturday Night movie on Disney + Hotstar,.

On 27 Jan 2023 Saturday Night was released on the Disney + Hotstar, platform.

The movie Saturday Night belonged to the Comedy,Drama, genre.

Saturday Night User Review

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Saturday Night (II) (2022)

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• Stanley's portable tape recorder and his gang's "vibing dance"
• A few lines in the second half that guys in their 30s now can relate to
• The realization that friends you make in your childhood/adolescence are the ones you'll always want around more, yet life always takes them away

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• ENGLISH HINDI MALAYALAM TAMIL TELUGU KANNADA BENGALI  

Saturday Night Malayalam Movie

On first impressions, Roshan Andrews' Saturday Night seems to have all the ingredients for a good friendship film. In Nivin Pauly, Siju Wilson, Saiju Kurup, and Aju Varghese, it has four actors with great chemistry on screen. Except for Saiju Kurup, all four members of the gang are friends off screen too. This helps establish an easy-to-like vibe of friendship on screen. The movie tries to sell its big ideas, like "live in the moment" and "live life to the fullest," sincerely, but these are not original themes.

Stanley (Nivin Pauly) is the happy-go-lucky guy in the gang with a plan to celebrate Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday followed by a Saturday night party before he goes off for his new pilot job. However, he finds it challenging to execute his plan as differences of opinion and small rifts start to threaten the longevity of their friendship. The four of them go their separate ways, but life situations again bring them back together. Will Stanley's big plan ever materialize?

Stanley's plan seems like a silly excuse for a movie. Usually, films that celebrate male bonding show the passing of time so well. But the characters in Saturday Night hardly grow old enough on screen for us to feel the effect of passing time. This is why some dialogues, like "you are the same as before," do not land as authentically as they could. The four members of the gang all look and behave identically, even after years of separation. This is a major issue that deprives the film of its authenticity.

Another big issue is with the Nivin Pauly character. At some point, something happens to Stanley, and the movie spends way too long in the lunatic zone without even bothering to explain it. The intent is to bring out some laughter, but there is little funny about the situations here.

Besides, the conflicts between these friends are resolved so easily that it seems silly for someone to even make a movie about them. The movie also has the late Pratap Pothen in a small role, yesteryear actress Shari, and Saniya Iyappan. The women get the seriously underwritten parts. I felt bad for Saniya Iyappan, who now perhaps holds the record for riding a bike for the longest time on screen without even changing the gear.

This static-ness applies to the whole movie itself. It glides along for way too long without any major change in the plot, narrative, or tone. Nevertheless, it is fun to spend some time with the four actors at the heart of the film. Their chemistry is so good that I enjoyed the film to an extent, although I wish they were in a film with better writing. Jakes Bejoy's soothing background music is another redeeming quality of this madcap film.

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Saturday Night Review: Party Ruined

PUBLISHED DATE : 11/Nov/2022

Saturday Night is a film about re-inventing friendship starring Nivin Pauly in the lead roles. It is directed by Rosshan Andrrews.

Four friends who are carefree attain the age to become responsible in life. They realize they won't be able to hangout together like before. Eventually, their bond breaks but after a few years how they reinvent their friendship forms the crux of the story.

Writing/ Direction:

The theme of the film is such a feel-good one, everybody has or would have had a friend, so it is probably the most relatable one. But any content that is relatable cannot be a wholly satisfying film unless and until the moments, characters, the depth in which their relationship is shown, like this everything matters. Despite getting most of the stuff wrong, the final portions stand tall as the emotion clicks when the reunion happens, but that’s not the victory of the film, it is only the success of the friendship factor they have touched. The flow is extremely random, it is in fact uncertain, clueless scenes placed one after the other appear without any purpose. What they have tried is a dark comedy, but making the characters behave in a weird way is not the only way to make the audience laugh, at least the director could have concentrated on making the easiest path interesting, that’s also a failure here. Certain quirky moments offer a little smile here and there, but most are silly to the core and create an irritation.

Performances:

It was disheartening to see Nivin Pauly on screen, the charmer is in a hard-to-digest shape. What bothers me is the director has put in zero effort to smartly hide his physical flaws and make him look better. The three friends have done a good job and have justified their roles, especially Aju Varghese’s role and performance was touching. The other characters didn’t have much scope, a few appeared needlessly too.

Technicalities:

Just average songs, nothing soothing for a film like this. Background score is comparatively better, the composer has conceived the mood better and worked accordingly. Neat camera work, nothing to complain with the visuals, the locations also worked out well. Weak editing as the film feels like going on for one full day, plenty of scenes, even some characters could have chopped off completely.

What could have been a sweet little film about four friends became a restless watch due to an uneven screen-writing filled with haphazard situations and absurd characters.

Rating - 2.25/ 5

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‘Saturday Night Live’ Presents Trump Bibles

Ramy Youssef hosted this weekend’s episode, which also spoofed immigrant fathers and Flaco the owl.

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By Dave Itzkoff

Former president Donald Trump’s recent foray into the business of selling his own Bibles provided plenty of comic fodder for “Saturday Night Live” on Easter weekend, including an opening sketch that, for a moment, seemed like a sincere retelling of the resurrection of Jesus.

This weekend’s broadcast, hosted by Ramy Youssef and featuring the musical guest Travis Scott, began with a voice-over recounting that the resurrection was witnessed by three women “who had come to anoint the body of Jesus and tend to his tomb.”

Following an aside from one of the women played by Sarah Sherman (who wryly observed, “When we’re done grieving, maybe we should come up with a girl’s name other than Mary”), the stone of the tomb was rolled away to reveal a glowing light.

“Is it Jesus?” asked another woman, played by Heidi Gardner.

“Basically, yes,” answered James Austin Johnson, in his recurring role as Trump. “Happy Easter, everybody,” he declared as he entered. “As it was stated in the Bible: ‘Guess who’s back, back again. Shady’s back.’”

Johnson noted that it was “the time of year when I compare myself to Jesus Christ,” which is “just a thing I do now, and people seem to be OK with it.”

He continued, “And if you think that this is a bad look, imagine how weird it would be if I started selling Bibles. Well, I’m selling Bibles.”

Johnson went onto make a sales pitch for his Bible (“made from 100 percent Bible”), noting, “I’m not doing this for the money. I’m doing this for the glory of God and for pandering and mostly for money.”

He showed off illustrations that placed Trump in his own basket on the Nile alongside baby Moses; in the Garden of Eden; and at Noah’s Ark, telling Noah, “Hey buddy, you forgot the raccoons.”

Before concluding his pitch with a garbled version of the Lord’s Prayer, Johnson also offered customers a free Miracle Trump Toaster, which would print Trump’s face on a side of toast. “The other side does Hello Kitty,” he said.

Monologue of the week

Youssef, the standup comedian and star of TV’s “Ramy” and the film “Poor Things,” began his monologue by noting, “This is an incredibly spiritual weekend.”

“We’re in the holy month of Ramadan,” he said. “Tomorrow is Easter, and yesterday Beyoncé released a new album . It’s just so many religions celebrating all at once.”

Youssef shared a story about traveling to upstate New York for a show but nonetheless feeling like he was in the South.

“I could feel the fear when my mom called me,” he said. “I didn’t want to speak Arabic. She was like, ‘Salaam alaikum, habibi.’ I was like, ‘Mother, peace be upon you. And the prophet. You know which prophet. The best one, the last one.’”

Youssef also made fun of President Biden (“Joe looks good when he’s aware. You know those days when he just comes out and he’s just like thawed? Like they gave him an extra 10 in the microwave?”) and said he wasn’t happy voting for either Trump or Biden, preferring that the next president be a transgender woman.

“She’d be like, ‘A lot of politicians talk about change,’” Youssef said. “You could see the bumper sticker: Real Change.”

Youssef concluded with a story about praying for two friends: one who is fighting in court for custody of his dog and the other who has family members in Gaza.

“My prayers are complicated,” he said. “I’ve got a lot to fit in.” He continued:

I’m like, God, please, please help Ahmed’s family. Please stop the suffering, stop the violence. Please free the people of Palestine, please. Please. And please free the hostages, all the hostages, please. And while you’re at it, free Mr. Bojangles. He’s a beautiful dog. I’m praying for that dog.

Too many good sketches of the week

This week’s “S.N.L.” offered an embarrassment of comedic riches, so much so that we hoped they save something for coming hosts Kristen Wiig and Ryan Gosling. They included an increasingly absurd sendup of “The Newlywed Game” and a music video in which the Please Don’t Destroy guys get a little too high smoking weed with Scott.

That said, we’d still like to single out “Immigrant Dad Talk Show,” featuring Youssef and Marcello Hernández as the title hosts, who bond over their mutual dislike of their sons and their shared appreciation for a belt; as well as the fake ad promoting Ozempic for Ramadan , the holiday-theme weight-loss drug whose spokesman boasts, “As long as I shoot up before the sun rises, it’s halal.”

Weekend Update jokes of the week

Over at the Weekend Update desk, the anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che continued to riff on Trump’s Bible sales and a Democratic fund-raising event attended by former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as President Biden.

Jost began:

Four presidents visited New York City at the same time on Thursday. Three to do joint fund-raiser at Radio City, and one selling bibles door to door. Donald Trump has partnered with country music star Lee Greenwood to sell a $60 special edition of the Bible that also includes the Constitution, the lyrics to Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.,” and I assume God’s letter of resignation. This Bible is mostly the same, but Trump’s version ends with Jesus’ disciples storming Jerusalem to overturn the results of the Crucifixion. Trump also posted this video urging his followers to buy it. [He played a video of Trump saying, “All Americans need a Bible in their home, and I have many.”] Many? I actually believe he has many bibles. I’m sure he’s been sent thousands of bibles with a note that says, “Please read this.”

Che continued:

More than 5,000 people attended a Democratic fund-raiser at Radio City Music Hall, featuring big-name celebrities like Barack Obama, Stephen Colbert and Lizzo. As well as lesser-known celebrities like President Joe Biden.

Weekend Update character of the week

If there is such a thing as owl heaven, we hope that the escaped Central Park owl Flaco, who died in February , is looking down in appreciation at the tribute paid to him by Sherman, who dressed up in a veil and a costume covered with feathers to play Flaco’s widow.

In addition to asking “Who?” a lot, Sherman pointed out the awkward fact that Flaco’s autopsy indicated that the owl had a severe pigeon herpesvirus when it died. “And by the way, why was there even an autopsy?” she asked. “When a bird basically explodes into the side of a building, who’s like, ‘How did he die?’” When Jost tried to comfort her and Sherman misinterpreted his advances, Sherman joked that Jost might actually be her type after all: “Nocturnal predator.”

Dave Itzkoff is a former Times culture reporter. More about Dave Itzkoff

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