The transition from television to a motion picture is hard – for actors and shows. But, the Mary Katherine Gallagher skit from “Saturday Night Live” isn’t one of those things. The clumsy, socially inept Catholic school girl makes a smooth move from the boob tube to the big screen with a movie that is better than the skits that inspired the film.
Superstar (Paramount) doesn’t follow the precedent set by some “SNL” skits-turned-movies. Coneheads and A Night at the Roxbury are funny skits, but they didn’t have enough substance to become a movie. With fresh comedy added to the backbone of a good sketch, Superstar resembles Wayne’s World.
Molly Shannon is charming throughout the film, and her strong performance is complemented by a rousing performance by fellow “SNL” member Will Ferrell (A Night at the Roxbury). Ferrell plays Sky, the “best dancer in school” and the boy who Gallagher dreams of kissing on her way to becoming a superstar.
Shannon’s eccentric mumblings and hallucinations of grandeur allow for a plot that does not take any surprising twists or turns. She prays that she will make out with Sky. She practices the “kiss scene” with a tree and a stop sign – and is caught both times.
Comedy abounds throughout the film because Gallagher is so dedicated to becoming a superstar. She gets a job as “rewind girl” at a video store where she spends countless hours watching made-for-TV movies. In her first encounter with Sky, they exchange lines from John Travolta’s classic Boy in A Plastic Bubble.
Ferrell puts a new twist on the traditional “Mr. Popularity.” Despite acting like a loser, he is revered by all the other people in school because of the dances he makes up, such as “the peppermint” and “the fax machine.”
Harland Williams (There’s Something About Mary), who recently performed at GW’s Lisner Auditorium, is perfect as Slater. He is the silent, presumably psychotic bad-boy of the school who falls in love with Gallagher.
The movie is surprisingly romantic. Shannon plays Gallagher so well that the viewer sympathizes with her and hopes that she does get that kiss at the end of the film. In the end, Superstar is as sweet, funny and entertaining as the skit that inspired it.
Superstar is playing in theaters.
