Saturday Night Special (film) explained

Saturday Night Special
Director:Dan Golden
Starring:Billy Burnette
Production Companies:-->
Distributor:New Horizons
Released:1994
Country:USA
Language:English

Saturday Night Special is a 1994 American film written and directed by Dan Golden starring Billy Burnette.[1]

The film was co produced by Roger Corman for his New Horizons company.[2]

The script reworked Corman's earlier Kiss Me a Killer (1991) which was remade again as The Showgirl Murders (1996).[3]

Burnette wrote several songs for the film. He later made Not Like Us (1995) and Carnosaur 3: Primal Species (1996) for Corman.[4]

Premise

A country and western singer and a dissatisfied wife plot to get rid of the latter's husband.

Cast

Reception

According to TV Guide the film is "an umpteenth-generation retooling of The Postman Always Rings Twice, ostensibly grounded in the Nashville music scene on the strength of some of its real-life cameos. Using Music Row ringers in both lead and incidental roles, it tries to weld a quintessential film noir story line to the crying-in-your-beer conventions of country weepers. "[5]

Joe Bob Briggs in the Orlando Sentinel thought the film was inferior to the original.[6]

The Roanoke Times thought "there are no real surprises in the plot" and felt the director "handled the physical action clumsily" but thought Maria Ford was a "sexy, spirited heroine."[7]

The Schlock Pit called it "an engaging and crisply delivered yarn bolstered by Michael Negrin’s magic hour photography and James R. Shumaker’s Americana production design... Given the talent operating under Golden’s deft helmsmanship, the bulk of the performances on show are excellent."[3]

B and S Movies said "Double Indemity or Sorry, Wrong Number, this ain’t. Hell, it ain’t even Jade. Or Showgirls. But if you’re a rock n’ roll film dog.. then there's something here for you to watch. "[8]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rolling Stone. Billy Burnette on His Brief, ‘Magical’ Stint in Fleetwood Mac: ‘No Regrets’. 6 December 2022.
  2. News: Name Brands. Chicago Tribune Tempo. 24 March 1994. 3.
  3. Web site: Saturday Night Special (1994): Honky-Tonk Blues. 9 March 2023. The Schlock Pit.
  4. http://billyburnette.net/biography/ Biography
  5. https://www.tvguide.com/movies/saturday-night-special/review/2000276691/ Review of film
  6. News: An erotic thriller without the erotic. Joe Bob. Briggs. The Orlando Sentinel. 20 May 1994. 102.
  7. News: Mayo. The Roanoke Times. 30 April 1994. 18.
  8. Web site: Saturday Night Special. B and S About Movies. 19 July 2020.