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The Best Movies Starring Saturday Night Live’s “Not Ready for Primetime” Players
There’s just something so special about those first few years of Saturday Night Live. They were basically just winging it, swinging for the comedy fences as fresh faces hoping to make people across the country talk about the same thing around watercoolers come Monday morning. And they often did just that. But many of the earliest SNL stars, its “Not Ready for Primetime” players, also managed to build massive careers after their time on the sketch comedy series. And, here, we’re going to go through the best movies that starred said early days SNL players, a roster which included Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase (who departed midway through the second season), Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner, George Coe, Michael O’Donoghue, and Bill Murray (who replaced Chase midway through Season 2).
There were only two factors that led to a film being up for inclusion. First, it had to star at least one “Not Ready for Primetime” in a major role. So, the Jack Nicholson-fronted classic The Last Detail didn’t count, because Radner only had a tiny non-verbal cameo. Two, the movie had to be comedic in nature. And, as it so happens, most of the “Not Ready for Primetime” members starred in almost exclusively comedy movies.
10) The Blues Brothers
What was initially just a sketch on SNL became a second career for Aykroyd and Belushi, at least in Belushi’s eyes. Belushi pushed for him and Aykroyd to essentially become musicians first and actors second, and while that wasn’t Aykroyd’s plan, it’s clear he was having just as much fun as his counterpart.
That’s as applicable to The Blues Brothers movie as the sketches. Granted, it runs a little long and its humor wavelength isn’t for everyone, but this is one of the definitive “Not Ready for Primetime” movies. It was the first movie based on an SNL sketch for goodness’ sake and remained the only one for a dozen years. Just avoid its horrendous, Belushi-free sequel.
Stream The Blues Brothers on Prime Video.
9) Fletch
Chevy Chase was always at his best when he could be his snarky self. Behind-the-scenes that’s proved to be a problem in the past, but in Fletch it’s absolutely ideal.
This was the solo star vehicle that allowed him to really dive into that part of himself, and it helps his character feel like a wonderfully atypical intelligent detective type (or investigative reporter, in this case). We find ourselves engrossed with its murder for hire plot, but what helps the mystery solving process zip by is Chase’s hilarious and expediently vocalized line readings.
8) Stripes
The underrated Meatballs was Bill Murray’s first leading man movie and Caddyshack proved he could stand out in an ensemble, but Stripes was the first movie of his that felt like a through and through star vehicle. But, really, while he’s the soul, it wouldn’t be as great as it is without the supporting cast, including John Candy, Harold Ramis, and Judge Reinhold.
Murray was always great for a slacker iconoclast character, and his John Winger is the best example of this. Watching him bounce off of Warren Oates’ furious Sergeant Hulka is classic ’80s cinema.
Stream Stripes on Netflix.
7) Trading Places
Trading Places was essentially the merger of two SNL eras. On one end you have “Not Ready for Primetime” player Aykroyd and, on the other, you have Eddie Murphy, the man who basically single-handedly saved the show in the ’80s.
Both Murphy and Aykroyd are on fire throughout the movie, and their chemistry is just as great as Murphy and Nick Nolte’s in 48 Hrs. if not even better. Toss in assured direction by John Landis, Jamie Lee Curtis’ break out of horror, and a pair of amazing villain performances by Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche, and Trading Places is something special.
Stream Trading Places on Starz.
6) Caddyshack
Caddyshack can be hit or miss, and its structure may be too loose for some, but it’s still a blast of a movie to have on in the background. Quotable and carrying an aura of spontaneity, it’s an early ’80s classic.
Yet, while Chevy Chase and Bill Murray are both in top form, and this was the second-best Rodney Dangerfield ever was in a movie besides Back to School, Caddyshack is really Ted Knight’s movie. As the definitive snob on the snob side of the “slobs vs. snobs” narrative, his outbursts are hysterically unhinged. Plus, the chocolate bar in the swimming pool scene is still a winner four and a half decades later.
Stream Caddyshack on AMC+.
5) Groundhog Day
A premise as brilliant as Groundhog Day‘s isn’t an easy thing to get right. Fortunately, director Harold Ramis and star Bill Murray (reuniting after Stripes and another movie we’ll get to in a bit) knew that the key was to not lean into the fantasy too much. We needed to find ourselves roped in by a selfish character who could actually use a little change in his life.
And what better way to initiate change than have him get wedged into a time loop. At some point he’ll have to analyze his existence and which aspects of it make life worth living. Which brings us to the heart of Groundhog Day, which is the believable romance at its core. One part charming and one part funny with the occasional dash of heartfelt drama, Groundhog Day is fairly timeless and age appropriate for just about everybody in the family.
Stream Groundhog Day on Netflix.
4) National Lampoon’s Animal House
Not all of it has aged particularly well, but Animal House was undoubtedly an important movie. This is where the college comedy subgenre came from. Before Animal House there was no movie that went there.
Animal House was also a launching pad for several notable performers. Number one was, of course, Belushi. He may have proved to be the big breakout of SNL, but this revealed him to be someone who could frontline a studio movie (he’s more part of an ensemble here, but he’s the first performer who comes to mind when someone thinks of the film). Other examples include Fletch‘s Tim Matheson, Amadeus‘ Tom Hulce, Reacher‘s Bruce McGill, The Mask‘s Peter Riegert, and Kevin Bacon in one of his more memorable villain roles.
Stream National Lampoon’s Animal House on Philo.
3) Ed Wood
It’s not exactly a traditional comedy as much as it’s a heartfelt biopic with sprinklings of a comedic tone, but Ed Wood was too great not to include here. It was also one of the earliest examples of how Murray is actually at his best when he’s a part of genre blenders.
Allow this entry to also serve as the spot for Murray’s other phenomenal movies that merge comedy with another genre. For instance, Wild Things, which merged the comedy with the thriller and Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, Lost in Translation, Broken Flowers, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and On the Rocks, which all blended comedy and drama.
2) National Lampoon’s Vacation & National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Attaching National Lampoon to movies usually has signified a lack of quality, but there are a few notable exceptions, especially towards the beginning of the trend, when the movies were actually written by one of more of the writers for the magazine. First was, of course, Animal House, but then after two duds (Movie Madness and Class Reunion) the association generated another winner in National Lampoon’s Vacation.
For one, in former The National Lampoon Radio Hour performer Chase, it had the perfect lead for a character who just wants his family to have a good time but is increasingly exasperated and enraged by events that he can’t fully control. This was put to great use in the road trip original film but was even better in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, which smartly incorporates his frustration with his corporate drone job that ends up valuing him as a fruit of the month club recipient.
Stream National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation on Hulu.
1) Ghostbusters
A genuine event, Ghostbusters was one of those movies that managed to catch its cast and crew right at the peak of their enthusiasm for making art. Ghostbusters is a seriously innovative, unique, and energetic movie, with a gold core concept that is grounded just enough in reality. The equipment we see the team use looks and feels like it was made in someone’s basement, and that’s the key to the film’s joy: It’s basically about a pair of men with great excitement for the unknown, and like Bill Murray’s Dr. Peter Venkman and Ernie Hudson’s Winston Zeddemore, we’re just along for the ride.
It’s not hard to imagine Aykroyd pitching Ghostbusters as a sketch back in the day. But, fortunately, that wasn’t the case. Instead, it was one of the most financially successful and beloved film of the 1980s, regardless of genre. Not to mention, when it comes to Murray’s trademark wiseacre line deliveries, the original Ghostbusters is the gold standard.
Stream Ghostbusters on fuboTV.
Which is your favorite of these movies? Let us know in the comments.
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