Stuart Saves His Family (1995)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Harold Ramis

Writers (WGA):

Al Franken (screenplay)
Al Franken (book)

Release Date:

12 April 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

You'll laugh because it's not your family. You'll cry because it is.

Plot:

Stuart Smalley, the Saturday Night Live character, comes to the big screen. Stuart, the disciple of the 12 step program...

Plot Keywords:

Saturday Night Live | Public Access | Based On TV Series | Accidental Shooting | Hunting

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Al Franken	...	Stuart Smalley
Laura San Giacomo	...	Julia
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Donnie - The Smalley Family
Shirley Knight	...	Mom - The Smalley Family
Harris Yulin	...	Dad - The Smalley Family
Lesley Boone	...	Jodie - The Smalley Family
John Link Graney	...	Kyle - The Smalley Family
Marjorie Lovett	...	Aunt Paula - The Smalley Family
Walter Robles	...	Smalley Uncle - The Smalley Family (as Walt Robles)
Erik Cord	...	Smalley Uncle - The Smalley Family
Denver Mattson	...	Smalley Uncle - The Smalley Family
Grant Hoover	...	Young Stuart - Flashbacks
Cory Milano	...	Young Donnie - Flashbacks
Michelle Horn	...	Young Jodie - Flashbacks
Harris Laskaway	...	Mr. Dimmit - Flashbacks (as Harris Laskawy)

Also Known As:

Stuart Stupid - Eine Familie zum Kotzen (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and substance abuse.

Runtime:

Brazil:96 min | USA:95 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:L | Canada:PG | USA:PG-13 (No. 33363) | Spain:T | UK:12 (video premiere) | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Stuart gets his show on Health Cable Network, he goes to have twenty episodes shot. The time they give him to do this is four hours, which is impossible because all the shows are fifteen minutes. At least five hours would be needed, even if the cameras were never turned off.

Quotes:

Stuart Smalley: [despairing] Listen to me. I'm should-ing all over myself.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Bob Saget/TLC (#20.19)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Silver Bells

not quite good enough or smart enough, but kind of likable

"Stuart Saves His Family" came out before I had heard of Al Franken, so I took no notice. After I read Franken's book "Rush Limbaugh is a Big, Fat Idiot and Other Observations", I decided to check it out. It turns out that there's not really very much here. Franken plays Stuart Smalley, a character from "Saturday Night Live", and the movie portrays him having a crazy family. Why do movies and TV shows always seem to portray families as nearly mental? I actually giggled when he resorts to name-calling ("You are a big...!), but it seemed like the movie didn't have much of a point beyond that. Then again, few "SNL" skits make good movies. Of course, I might just be too tough on Al Franken; having read his political satires, I expect the highest quality from him.

So I don't recommend it. I do think that Al Franken would make a really good senator (in case you haven't heard, he's running for senate in Minnesota), but for entertainment, he should stick to mocking the Bush administration and right-wing commentators.