Ten Favorite Movies Featuring the Saturday Night Live Season One Cast
(Here, in chronological order, are what I consider to be the ten best movies featuring any of the season one Saturday Night Live* cast of “Not Ready for Prime Time Players”: Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner, and—just to be pedantic—George Coe (credited in the first episode of the season) and Michael O’Donoghue (credited in the last). Bill Murray didn’t join the cast until season two and deserves a list of his own.)
Animal House (with John Belushi, 1978)
Manhattan (with Michael O’Donoghue, 1979)
Kramer vs. Kramer (with George Coe, 1979)
Continental Divide (with John Belushi, 1981)
Trading Places (with Dan Aykroyd, 1983)
Fletch (with Chevy Chase, 1985)
Grosse Pointe Blank (with Dan Aykroyd, 1997)
Twin Falls Idaho (with Garrett Morris, 1999)
Monsters, Inc. (with Laraine Newman, 2001)
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (with Jane Curtin, 2018)
* Is it permissible to hate SNL but admire the talents of the cast? Because if so, that’s me.
— April 26, 2021