Stuart Saves His Family

Stuart Saves His Family (1995)

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by: Harold Ramis

Starring: Al Franken, Vincent D’Onofrio, Harris Yulin, Shirley Knight, Laura San Giacomo

From: Paramount

An SNL movie oddity I’ve always liked since the late 90’s-even if the last viewing was in the late 90’s before a streaming rental this past evening. I haven’t regularly watched Saturday Night Live in almost 30 years but during the era w/ Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, etc. it was (at least during my youth) something that entertained me. 

The effeminate New Age weirdo Stuart Smalley was an odd choice for an SNL character to bring to screen as I always thought of the character as a minor one. Then again, there’s It’s Pat, something I’ve thankfully not experienced due to the toxic WOM and the presumption is that in 2024, an entire motion picture devoted to the “humor” of an androgynous character’s “true” gender is a YIKES. I mean, how can it not be utterly horrifying, aged like spoilt milk?

No comment on Al Franken once he got into politics but he did a swell job as Smalley, and expanded a silly recurring TV character. Here, a death in the family brought him from Chicago back to Minnesota to deal w/ what we’d designate now a toxic family. Dad Harris Yulin is an alcoholic and so is his brother Vincent D’Onofrio, who also smokes weed… the women have their own issues & via flashbacks, we realize that overweight kid Stuart wasn’t always treated well by “the fam.”

The important detail, re: Stuart Saves His Family… it is a darkly humorous comedy-drama which has several particularly dark moments. Thankfully the relationship w/ my parents & siblings is not as bad as in the Smalley clan. However, for some reading this the odds are that this may hit too close to home. If you have/had a father and/or mother who’s a verbally abusive drunk, this may not be an enjoyable journey for you unless in a cathartic sense.

Judging by opinions in the almost 30 years since this was released, the movie will forever be an acquired taste. Myself, it thankfully was as fine a time as it was during the VHS era. There are a variety of famous faces throughout, whether in supporting roles (Shirley Knight, Laura San Giacomo) or in bit parts-Joe Flaherty, Kurt Fuller, Richard Riehle, etc. This Harold Ramis (!) film may be for you regardless if your family is dysfunctional.