Let's ignore the title and assume that is meant for the masses, as opposed to anyone who is here at a site run by a podcast about Seventies and Eighties TV. I think even if we hadn't done
an episode about the show, most of our listeners would know
SCTV unless some other circumstance were present.
Let's also forget about whatever it was Martin Scorcese had done on this project, and let's thank Jimmy Kimmel for stepping in to oversee its completion. And let's posit that even if this is not the deepest documentary out there and even if it is mostly promotion or accompaniment for Netflix's acquisiton of the series, well, that's OK! We got the episodes (albeit in edited form), and we got this entertaining documentary that should "turn on" a lot of folks who have not heard of the program or maybe just haven't seen much of it.
It is fantastic entertainment. You get lots of clips, though some are all too fleeting, showing what made SCTV so funny. I can often do without celebrity talking heads, but they work pretty well in this one if you don't fume over the fact they may be bumping out more archival material or interviews with people from the actual production. Tom Hanks is thoughtful as always, and Bill Hader's delight at remembering some sketches is infectious.
The production is built around a reunion of some of the cast (Unfortunately, some were gone, and unexplainedly, Rick Moranis was not there) gathered to watch some old clips. It's nice watching them, and there are some quality moments. This is combined with separate interviews to let the cast tell the story of SCTV.
Any SCTV fan will enjoy this, I think, and it should be enough to make novices seek out the shows.
As a documentary, though, it's lacking. While there is some great info here, I was surprised at how much was missing. I am by no means an expert, but I knew enough to notice some gaps. Here is a basic list of things you don't get in the movie:
*Mention of the Cinemax run
*Mention of peripheral castmembers like Tony Rosato
*Mention of writers who weren't in the cast
*Mention of the vast majority of crew (the costumer and makeup artist do get big ups)
*Explanation of John Candy leaving the show twice
*Mention of musical guests
*For that matter, mention of guests, period--so no
Bonar Bain, folks
In addition, I thought poor Joe Flaherty got shortchanged. We see him in a few archival interview clips, but his characters and contributions weren't as prominent. I think you can make a similar argument that Andrea Martin gets similar (lack of) consideration, but she has many contemporary interview moments that stand out.
Flaherty had a memorable moment with Milton Berle at the Emmys one year, one that inspired an actual sketch. Yet, much to my frustration, we see a visual of Flaherty accepting in a segment devoted to the show's Emmy win, but we don't get that story.
The doc does get into--maybe playing up more than is warranted?--tension between Moranis/Thomas and the rest of the cast as the two got a little big for their britches. It's an interesting thread. It is nice to see Moranis' recollections, even if he is filmed apart from the others, but the doc almost repeats the phenomenon of he and Thomas being elevated at the expense of others.
These are legit issues, I think, but I recognize that director Jason Hehir may have had a tough task to try to salvage something out of whatever it was Scorcese had planned. This certainly warrants a bigger approach, and I bet a lot of the absences are due to the 90-minute runtime. I'm sure that runtime was dictated by Netflix and not by creative concerns.
What we are left with is a cool hour and a half with laughs, nostalgia, and some emotion. It's not the tribute the series deserves, but it's very good for what it is.
