Overview
Tagline:
It's lonely at the middle.
Plot:
Buddy Young was the comic's comic, beloved by everyone. Now, playing to miniscule crowds in nursing homes...
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Awards:
Nominated for Oscar.
Another 5 nominations
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User Comments:
A multi-faceted drama.
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| Billy Crystal | ... | Buddy Young, Jr. |

| David Paymer | ... | Stan |

| Julie Warner | ... | Elaine |

| Helen Hunt | ... | Annie Wells |

| Mary Mara | ... | Susan |

| Jerry Orbach | ... | Phil Gussman |

| Ron Silver | ... | Larry Meyerson |
 | Sage Allen | ... | Mom |

| Jason Marsden | ... | Buddy, age 15 |

| Michael Weiner | ... | Stan, age 18 |
 | Larry Gelman | ... | Mr. Gimbel |
 | Kay Freeman | ... | Mrs. Gimbel |
 | Howard Mann | ... | Stage manager |
 | Julius Branca | ... | Stage manager |
 | Liz Georges | ... | Script girl |
 | Bill Wendell | ... | Announcer (as William Wendell) |
 | Hartley Haverty | ... | Susan, age 6 |
 | Will Jordan | ... | Ed Sullivan |
 | Josh Byrne | ... | Buddy, age 6 |
 | Ben Diskin | ... | Stan, age 9 |
 | Irving Wasserman | ... | Uncle Moe |
 | Phil Forman | ... | Uncle Julius |
 | Joe Shea | ... | M.C. |

| Michael Ben-Edward | ... | Fat guy in audience |
 | Carl Ballantine | ... | Freddie |
 | Slappy White | ... | Joey |
 | Richard Mehana | ... | Sidney |
 | Mark Lonow | ... | Producer |

| Conrad Janis | ... | Director |

| Tim Russ | ... | Assistant director |

| Marc Shaiman | ... | Lucky Zindberg |
 | Cantor Chayim Frenkel | ... | Cantor at funeral |
 | Jan Lucas | ... | Karen (casting director) |
 | Daniel Tisman | ... | Reece |
 | Peter Kim | ... | Maitre d' |
 | Greg Paik | ... | Owner |
 | Eugene Kaufmann | ... | Old man |
 | Miranda Garrison | ... | Apache dancer |
 | Alberto Toledano | ... | Apache dancer |

| Richard Kind | ... | Reporter |

| Jerry Lewis | ... | Guest |
 | Edith Fields | ... | Woman in commercial |

| Adam Goldberg | ... | Eugene Gimbel |
 | Maria A. Ferrari Olivo | ... | Fat guy's wife |

| Talbot Perry Simons | ... | Man at Catskills |
 | Lonnie Burr | ... | TV show dancer |
 | Randy Doney | ... | TV show dancer |
 | Joe A. Giamalva | ... | TV show dancer |
 | Birl Jonns | ... | TV show dancer |
 | Shadoe Stevens | ... | Fred |
 | Bert Copello | ... | Sulivan A.D. |
 | Lindsay Crystal | ... | Screaming girl |
 | Dana Lipsic | ... | Other screaming girl |
 | Jerry Gadette | ... | Stagehand |
 | William T. Yamadera | ... | Japanese client |
 | Lowell Ganz | ... | Writer #1 |
 | Babaloo Mandel | ... | Writer #2 |
 | Gary Grossman | ... | Backstage man |
 | Bob Yerkes | ... | Acrobat |
 | Marinela Cimpoeru | ... | Acrobat |
 | Costin Csizmas | ... | Acrobat |
 | Voinea Dumitru | ... | Acrobat |
 | Adrian Smertcov | ... | Acrobat |
 | Steven Kravitz | ... | Young comic |
 | Randy Crenshaw | ... | Buddy, Buddy singer |
 | Geoff Koch | ... | Buddy, Buddy singer |
 | Steve Lively | ... | Buddy, Buddy singer |
 | Rick Logan | ... | Buddy, Buddy singer |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: |
 | Jackie Gayle | ... | Gene |
 | Joe Mays | | |

| Walton Goggins | ... | Shaky kid (uncredited) |
 | Michael Pasby | ... | Cameraman at game show (extra) (uncredited) |

| David Pires | ... | Young Woody Allen (uncredited) |

| Steven Rozic | ... | Dancer (uncredited) |

| Cari Shayne | ... | (uncredited) |

| Marc Ian Sklar | ... | Family Member (uncredited) |
Additional Details
Runtime:
119 min
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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MOVIEmeter: 
6% since last week
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Fun Stuff
Goofs:
Factual errors: Stan explains that rating for Buddy's Saturday night TV show are sliding because the show is opposite Davy Crockett, a serial that actually ran midweek for three weeks on a TV's Disneyland show.
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Quotes:
Stan:
Buddy, my whole life I listened to ya' bellyache about your luck. Well, you are where you are because of who you are.
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FAQ
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Message Boards
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IMDb message board for Mr. Saturday Night (1992)
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Recommendations
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Billy Crystal's directorial debut was not a big success mainly due to the fact that people had no idea how multi-faceted he had the ability to be. This is not a comedy. This is a very moving drama about a comedian and his life, both public and private. There are several highly insightful moments and some real movie magic present. I assume Crystal had help with his directing, as there are a few crafty camera shots. I personally don't mind that most critics overlooked this movie, but I am very glad that the Academy recognized David Paymer, as Crystal's watching-from-the-wings brother, with a Best Supporting Actor nomination. He and Crystal play off each other wonderfully. They act so much like brothers throughout the years of the film, Paymer's last name might actually be Crystal.
Helen Hunt, Ron Silver, and Jerry Orbach have good roles, albeit fairly small. There are also several cameos, including Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. They co-wrote the movie with Crystal, and this duo have their names on Happy Days episodes, as well as a slew of films. This information is helpful to the humor when they appear as a couple of goofy young writers.
This fine film is not without a couple of drawbacks. The make-up job on Crystal and Paymer in their old age is far from realistic. This aspect of the film needed Rick Baker. The other item that detracts this from being a truly great film is that it is essentially a biography of a fictional person who isn't a very nice guy. The movie has a few moments where it wants the viewer to feel sorry for him for ruining his own life. To me, however, it is great storytelling and wonderful acting. It is sad, poignant, and, upon first viewing in 1992, nothing I expected from the mind of Billy Crystal.
If you've never seen this picture because you have heard too many negative things, please give it a viewing. You could very well be surprised.