Saturday Night Live skits have given us some of the funniest and most enjoyable movies of their eras. OK, there aren’t many – we’re really mostly talking about The Blues Brothers, the Wayne’s World double feature and MacGruber – but what’s there is choice comedy. On the other side, we have crap like It’s Pat, The Ladies Man and Stuart Saves His Family, all proving that just because something works for five minutes doesn’t mean it can sustain 90. Take another recurring skit, Debbie Downer, for another example, who Rachel Dratch turned into a signature character in more than a half-dozen appearances. Thankfully such a movie never happened – something that Dratch is perfectly fine with.
Speaking with ComicBook.com, Rachel Dratch recognized that while the character stands as one of her greatest contributions to SNL, she just wouldn’t have the legs to make it on the big screen. “I used to get asked that a lot about the Debbie Downer movie, but the thing about Debbie Downer is she’s best in small doses, I think. I think with a whole movie – even a sketch, like the first couple were great and then people are on to you after, you know, they know what to expect – So I think a whole movie might not work. I think some things are best in teeny tiny little snippets…We never did because she barely could make it the seven minutes sometimes…So 90 minutes would probably be a snooze fest.” While she’s absolutely correct – then again, imagine how much of Debbie Downer’s life there is to explore… – we’d also like to imagine Dratch went full-on Debbie Downer when saying so, complete with sad sack sound effects.
We haven’t gotten a new Saturday Night Live adaptation in well over a decade. Not that we’re overdue or clamoring for one, but there might be some interest in, say, The Californians or Stefon getting their own movies. Going back to the ‘90s, two were actually in at least minor discussion: one centering on Chris Farley’s motivational speaker Matt Foley, as well as another for Dana Carvey and Kevin Nealon’s bodybuilders Hans and Franz, with the pair close to recruiting Arnold Schwarzenegger for the movie. The latter was more or less axed due to some of the aforementioned SNL movies tanking and Arnold stepping aside.
What is your favorite Saturday Night Live adaptation? Which skit do you think would make a great movie?