Rating: 
Summary: don't anal-yze the realism, just enjoy!!
Review: funny, warm, realistic, borscht belt humor at its best.Paymer received an academy-award nomination for best supporting and rightfully so. I loved this movie! A real "feel-good" flick. The type of harmless humor that is a dying breed. A funny movie and a fun movie at the same time!
Rating: 
Summary: Tremendously Moving Performance
Review: Poignant and moving--a transformational performance by Billy Crystal who gives such a finely nuanced performance of such depth that the movie has stayed with me for years. This isn't about a comdeian per se, its about somebody who realises that they have just missed the boat, felt that they were naturally entitled to be on the boat, and have to deal with that sense of life's betrayal. Crystal stops being just a funny man, and shows himself to be deeply sensitive and actually -- very deep. Disappointed viewers were looking for comic fluff, and when they got a sophisticated performance of a difficult man, they expressed their shock by rating the film badly.
Rating:
Summary: Tremendously Moving Performance
Review: Poignant and moving--a transformational performance by Billy Crystal who gives such a finely nuanced performance of such depth that the movie has stayed with me for years. This isn't about a comdeian per se, its about somebody who realises that they have just missed the boat, felt that they were naturally entitled to be on the boat, and have to deal with that sense of life's betrayal. Crystal stops being just a funny man, and shows himself to be deeply sensitive and actually -- very deep. Disappointed viewers were looking for comic fluff, and when they got a sophisticated performance of a difficult man, they expressed their shock by rating the film badly.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor, poor film
Review: Simply awful filmization about a comedian coming to terms with his own life. Embarrassing in all ways, with Crystal and rest of the cast wasted horrendously. To add to the "turkey" list, grade-Z makeup. Judge for yourself what is worse about this bomb: the dialouge, acting, or makeup.
Rating:
Summary: A forgotten masterpiece
Review: Something really rare in these days of disposable pop culture film. It's hilariously funny, poignant without being maudlin, and pulls off the hardest trick there is; namely, the drama works and the comedy works. This was truly an oscar winning effort that got ignored.
Rating: 
Summary: I'll take Calvero
Review: The washed-up entertainer at the ...end of his life and career takes stock, learning what really matters. I've seen this movie before, when it was called LIMELIGHT. Chaplin handles the same thematic material in a much classier way.
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: Truly an outstanding performance by Billy Crystal that deserved an Oscar. A fantastic movie that moved me greatly. This film is virtually unknown in the UK but got a screening on an English cable channel and I enjoyed it so much and I just had to buy the DVD. Billy Crystal is superb in the lead role. I had never seen, nor heard of, Mr Crystal prior to viewing this movie so I was able to judge him purely by this movie - outstanding!
Rating: 
Summary: Too mean to be funny, and too funny to be meaningful
Review: What a gyp - "Mr. Saturday Night" is supposed to be at least either heartwarming or funny, but is neither. Billy Crystal is Buddy Young, one of the sort of old time Jewish comics who got his start in the postwar "borscht belt". When the flick opens up, Buddy old yet still going strong - perhaps a bit too strong. Still playing gigs, it's clear that Buddy has missed out on big success despite a lifetime of hard work. Record deals and primetime haven't elevated Young to the pantheon of American entertainment like Sid Ceaser or Jerry Lewis. Instead, he plays rest homes and (when he's lucky) cruise ships. Though married, Buddy's true companion is his long suffering brother, Stan (David Paymer). In flashbacks, we learn that Buddy and Stan were originally supposed to have been a team, but Stan backed out at the last minute - leaving Buddy to accept the spotlight. The attention, which gave Buddy fame at first, only produced resentment later on. At first a primetime draw, Buddy's show eventually sank in the ratings (Davy Crockett killed him). A shot at comeback on the Sullivan show turned disastrous - he shared the bill with the Beatles. Various attempts to cash in on the latest craze each ended in failure (when was the last time you dusted off your LP of "Disco Jew"?). Though Buddy seems resolute to go on, each failure erodes a veneer within him, exposing Buddy's nastier side, one that drives away all but his closest relatives, and makes life hell even for them. Though covering years of Buddy's life in flashback, the plot centers around what may be a new break - when a new agent (Helen Hunt) manages to snag for Buddy a promising role in a movie to be directed by a young Buddy fan (played by Ron Silver). Ofcourse nothing works out - but that's not the movie's problem. Instead, the flick pulls strings shamelessly, using the same tricks that made "A League of their Own" look contrived and very Hollywood. Whether the swelling music or the tears, nothing looks real in this movie. What really kills this flick? The script plays either very funny or very sad, but forgets (or simply never understood) that real Jewish humor is both at the same time - only wearing different faces, but essentially both heartbreaking and hysterically funny at the same time. Instead, the flick never manages to reconcile how such a nasty guy can be both funny and mean and just makes him too separate characters - unfortunately, the mean and less entertaining one gets most of the screen time. If the flick had played it lighter on both counts, it may not have been as funny, but it would have been more poignant and believable.
Rating:
Summary: Too mean to be funny, and too funny to be meaningful
Review: What a gyp - "Mr. Saturday Night" is supposed to be at least either heartwarming or funny, but is neither. Billy Crystal is Buddy Young, one of the sort of old time Jewish comics who got his start in the postwar "borscht belt". When the flick opens up, Buddy old yet still going strong - perhaps a bit too strong. Still playing gigs, it's clear that Buddy has missed out on big success despite a lifetime of hard work. Record deals and primetime haven't elevated Young to the pantheon of American entertainment like Sid Ceaser or Jerry Lewis. Instead, he plays rest homes and (when he's lucky) cruise ships. Though married, Buddy's true companion is his long suffering brother, Stan (David Paymer). In flashbacks, we learn that Buddy and Stan were originally supposed to have been a team, but Stan backed out at the last minute - leaving Buddy to accept the spotlight. The attention, which gave Buddy fame at first, only produced resentment later on. At first a primetime draw, Buddy's show eventually sank in the ratings (Davy Crockett killed him). A shot at comeback on the Sullivan show turned disastrous - he shared the bill with the Beatles. Various attempts to cash in on the latest craze each ended in failure (when was the last time you dusted off your LP of "Disco Jew"?). Though Buddy seems resolute to go on, each failure erodes a veneer within him, exposing Buddy's nastier side, one that drives away all but his closest relatives, and makes life hell even for them. Though covering years of Buddy's life in flashback, the plot centers around what may be a new break - when a new agent (Helen Hunt) manages to snag for Buddy a promising role in a movie to be directed by a young Buddy fan (played by Ron Silver). Ofcourse nothing works out - but that's not the movie's problem. Instead, the flick pulls strings shamelessly, using the same tricks that made "A League of their Own" look contrived and very Hollywood. Whether the swelling music or the tears, nothing looks real in this movie. What really kills this flick? The script plays either very funny or very sad, but forgets (or simply never understood) that real Jewish humor is both at the same time - only wearing different faces, but essentially both heartbreaking and hysterically funny at the same time. Instead, the flick never manages to reconcile how such a nasty guy can be both funny and mean and just makes him too separate characters - unfortunately, the mean and less entertaining one gets most of the screen time. If the flick had played it lighter on both counts, it may not have been as funny, but it would have been more poignant and believable.
Rating:
Summary: Undiscovered masterpiece
Review: Why this film has yet to be considered a masterpiece is beyond me. I suspect it may be considered "too Jewish." Nevertheless, it is completely accessible to any adult audience and Billy Crystal has created a character, Buddy Young, Jr., who is truly unforgetable. Buddy is a brilliant comedian who, like Jerry Lewis, Buddy Hackett, and countless other comics jumps from the Catskills and Vegas to one of television's highest rated shows. But Buddy is flawed and his loses his show. And that's where the story truly begins. A poignant story that explores the conflicts between career ambitions and family relationships--and yet will make you howl with laughter--will make you wish to see it again and again.
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