I thought Lorne Michaels had learned his lesson. I thought films like Superstar and The Ladies’ Man had finally gotten through to him: movies based on Saturday Night Live sketches are simply not a good idea. But it seems that Lorne has forgotten the sting of It’s Pat. He’s talking up a MacGruber movie.
MacGruber is a skit on the show that contains a timely lampoon of MacGyver; in recent months it’s been the focus of a new wave of SNL commercialization as Will Forte playing MacGruber himself has appeared in cola ads. Now he’s looking to make the jump to the big screen. And I bet he’ll be bringing many of his corporate sponsors with him!
“It would have to be in the summer because we are back in
production in the fall,” Michaels told The Hollywood Reporter while picking up a Peabody for the sketch show. “We’re still in discussions” on details, he
added.
Stop the discussions! Don’t make the same mistake twice! For every Wayne’s World there’s a Stuart Saves His Family and a Coneheads. Sure, there have been a hit or two… well, a hit, since I don’t really count Blues Brothers as being based on a skit, since it’s just based on a band that happened to debut on SNL. And MacGruber, with its purposefully repetitive nature, seems more suited for advertisements than feature films.
Let’s hope that Michaels comes to his senses. I liked Hot Rod; I think he can keep taking SNL stars and making movies with them – just leave the characters on TV.