‘Mr. Saturday Night’ review: Billy Crystal brings yuks to Broadway
nypost.commade some dud films lately, but this is Crystal reliving his “When Harry Met Sally” prime.Crystal’s musical, which he’s written the book for alongside Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, is based on one of his lesser films, 1992’s “Mr.
Saturday Night,” which got mixed reviews back then. The story of a TV comedy has-been’s attempt at a comeback moves gracefully to the stage, and comes at a more appropriate time in the actor’s life.
Thirty years older and wiser, he still plays Buddy Young, a faded comedy legend of a long-gone black-and-white show called the “Coleman Comedy Hour” who was blackballed after a mental breakdown.
Now he does depressing morning stand-up gigs at retirement homes. One of his go-to gags: “Moses called. He said you were a good f – – k!”One night, while watching the Emmys with his supportive wife Elaine (Randy Graff), he spots his own mug during the “In Memoriam.” And the next morning, he goes on a career revitalizing “I’m not dead!” press tour.
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