Every SNL Movie Ranked Worst to Best

Saturday Night Live is fairly notorious for being hit or miss, all sketch comedy is. But, when it comes to the 11 movies that have resulted from popular SNL sketches, it’s far more miss than hit. The main issue is that an SNL sketch is, on average, about five minutes and the average comedy film is about 90 minutes. No matter how popular the sketch is, no matter how many times it’s been able to come back and prove repeatedly entertaining, a series of five-minute sketches a 90-minute movie does not make. A movie requires a three-act structure, it requires character development, and it requires a genuine threat or issue for the protagonist or protagonists to contend with.

Sketches aren’t bound to the three-act structure and, for the most part, the characters aren’t given room to develop. If anything, it’s just astonishing that the creatives behind a few of the movies based on an SNL sketch have made them work at all. And that’s the case. In fact, three of the eleven are fantastic.

11) It’s Pat

It’s Pat was the first of two SNL movies in a row that were outright swept under the rug, and it’s easy to see why. At the time, Julia Sweeney’s major SNL recurring character, Pat Riley, was one note. The whole point was that the character was androgynous.

Suffice to say, Pat isn’t a character who would fly today, nor is the movie. Furthermore, Pat was always written to be whiny and obnoxious…in no way do those traits translate to being effective in a feature film, even if that feature film is only a merciful 78 minutes.

10) Blues Brothers 2000

Even though he’s essentially a host who could be an SNL cast member, John Goodman was no replacement for John Belushi. That’s not to say Goodman doesn’t put his best foot forward. In fact, if anyone could have replaced Belushi in the role of Jake Blues, it would be Goodman.

The workaround Blues Brothers 2000 took was to kill off Jake and have Goodman play a new character, Mack “Mighty Mack” McTeer. The issue is, without Belushi, there really is no Blues Brothers. Belushi took the band very seriously, even more so than Dan Aykroyd. As time went on, Belushi saw playing music as integral to his life as a performer as being a sketch comedy or film star. Without him the spirit just isn’t there. The lame script and surplus of musical cameos don’t help, either.

9) Coneheads

The third movie based on an SNL sketch broke the winning streak set by The Blues Brothers and Wayne’s World in a substantial way. The term “one note” is going to be used fairly frequently throughout this list because it’s often quite applicable even to SNL‘s most popular recurring characters.

And, for a while, the title characters of Coneheads were quite popular. But their success also just hinged on people finding pointy, flesh-colored heads and shrill voices funny. It makes sense why the Coneheads ended up being considered for a movie, as there is humor in aliens getting left on Earth and having a tough time getting acclimated to the customs of their new home. But these aliens, in particular, get annoying fairly quickly.

Stream Coneheads for free on Hoopla.

8) Stuart Saves His Family

Al Franken was an integral presence on SNL from the very beginning. He’s an incredibly funny and smart guy, so he was nothing short of an asset as a writer. As a performer? Less effective.

Take for instance his main recurring character, self-help guru Stuart Smalley. Like the aforementioned Pat Riley, there are certain elements to the effeminate Smalley that wouldn’t let him fly today in our modern PC world. And, like the aforementioned It’s Pat, Stuart Saves His Family was a movie that wasn’t given a wide release and has been swiftly forgotten. Even still, as a film, it’s far superior to It’s Pat. But when the bar is set that low, surpassing it isn’t much of an accomplishment.

Stream Stuart Saves His Family for free on Hoopla.

7) Superstar

When two SNL cast members get along it can be magic. Think Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph, Chris Farley and David Spade, and Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon. Their chemistry sparkles.

It also tends to sparkle in on the big screen, but not so much when the movie on the big screen is based on an SNL sketch. For Fey and Poehler it worked in Baby Mama, for Hader and Wiig it worked in The Skeleton Twins, for Wiig and Rudolph it worked in Bridesmaids, and for Farley and Spade it worked in Tommy Boy. But with Ferrell and Shannon, it didn’t work at all in Superstar. Not so much because of a fault on the performers’ side of things, but rather because the title character (Mary Katherine Gallagher) is about as one-note as a recurring SNL character can get.

6) The Ladies Man

While Superstar and A Night at the Roxbury managed to turn a tiny profit, The Ladies Man did not, and it put the notion of making SNL movies on ice for a decade. Then, MacGruber came out and did just as poorly.

In the case of The Ladies Man, the failure was deserved. Tim Meadows is great in his supporting roles, but his talk show host with poor romantic advice just wasn’t enough to carry a film. The best thing that can be said about The Ladies Man is that it has its moments. Not as many as A Night at the Roxbury, but more than Superstar.

Stream The Ladies Man for free on Hoopla.

5) A Night at the Roxbury

We’ve finally arrived at the first movie based on an SNL sketch that’s actually worth watching. Just once, but it is worth watching.

A Night at the Roxbury works thanks to the chemistry between Chris Kattan and Will Ferrell. It’s also a timepiece on several fronts. For one it has a great roster of ’90s head boppers. Two, while he’s billed second, this is really Kattan’s movie. Ferrell is playing second fiddle to him. It’s hard to imagine that being the case post-1998. It’s not a great movie, but it is impressive how Roxbury takes a one-gimmick pair of characters and give them (especially Kattan’s Doug) actual character arcs. Molly Shannon also steals her scenes in an against-type performance and Dan Hedaya is perfect as the pair’s exasperated father.

Stream A Night at the Roxbury on Paramount+.

4) Wayne’s World 2

The first two SNL movies, The Blues Brothers and Wayne’s World, both inspired sequels. In the case of The Blues Brothers, it didn’t work at all. In the case of Wayne’s World, it was one of diminishing returns, but the return was still pretty funny and enjoyable in spots.

When Wayne’s World 2 is repeating jokes from the first movie (released just one year earlier), it feels a little pointless. But when it’s actually focusing on the duo setting up a concert, it’s kind of fun. Furthermore, Wayne’s World 2 gave Chris Farley his first prominent role in a film, and he nearly runs away with it.

Stream Wayne’s World 2 on Paramount+.

3) MacGruber

There’s a strong argument to be made that the most recent film based on an SNL sketch, 2010’s MacGruber, is the best of the bunch. For those who can get on its (and, more specifically, Will Forte’s) wavelength, it’s a gold mine. It only ranks third here because those out there who hate it really hate it. It’s easily the most divisive SNL movie.

But even its strongest detractors have to admire how it turned particularly short SNL sketches and turned it into a feature length narrative. It’s also important for being one of the final theatrical films to feature the late Val Kilmer and for featuring the most creative usage of celery in cinematic history.

Stream MacGruber on Netflix.

2) The Blues Brothers

Featuring two of the OG SNL cast members (who were integral parts of the excellent Saturday Night), The Blues Brothers is a must-watch for those who see the charm in SNL‘s early years, when it was trying to find itself. Is it laugh out loud funny? The answer to that question depends on who you ask. What’s less up for debate is just how important it was.

The film came out one year after both John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd left SNL, and its a testament to their overwhelming popularity at the time that the film netted $115.2 million worldwide, adjusted for inflation that’s about $448.5 million. For a comedy movie that’s absolutely gargantuan. It’s also fun to see music legends like James Brown and Ray Charles perform. Unlike in Blues Brothers 2000, the musician cameos are fairly organically included because, in the end, the original The Blues Brothers is less concerned with conveying a flowing narrative than it is showing two men wander through life, playing tunes for whoever will listen.

Stream The Blues Brothers on Netflix.

1) Wayne’s World

Dana Carvey was many SNL fans’ favorite cast member throughout his 12-season run on the show. He buoyed every sketch of which he was a part. And, thanks to recurring characters like the Church Lady, he often held center stage.

But he was never more effective than as the ultra-timid Garth Algar in the “Wayne’s World” sketches. And, in the Wayne’s World movie, he’s still integral to its success and utter rewatchability. It’s so energetic and entertaining that one would never know that, behind the scenes, Carvey and Mike Myers didn’t get along at all. Toss in a scene-stealing Tia Carrere, a perfect douchey villain performance by Rob Lowe, and a few hilarious scenes with Lara Flynn Boyle’s creepy Stacy and Wayne’s World is the best SNL movie (and it comes equipped with a killer soundtrack, to boot).

Stream Wayne’s World on fuboTV.