YMMV / Mr. Saturday Night

• Award Snub: Played for Laughs at the Academy Awards when Billy Crystal was reading off the Best Picture nominees, with him naming off this film, seeing what it would have felt like. While this film wouldn't get nominated for Best Picture, David Paymer would get the nomination for Best Supporting Actor. And while Crystal was ignored by the Oscars for Best Actor, he would get the nomination at the Golden Globes, as well as Paymer.
• He Really Can Act: In spite of the faults of the film, Billy Crystal does well taking on a more dramatic role.
• Retroactive Recognition: Jason Mardsen as teenage Buddy.
• Special Effects Failure: The make-up jobs for Billy Crystal, David Paymer and Julie Warner as the older versions of their characters weren't all that convincing.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: One of the faults of the film is how uneven the movie views Buddy, whether or not we're supposed to love or hate him. And if we were meant to love him, this film's done a poor job giving us a reason to. We're supposed to feel for Buddy because he's just a washed-up comic who wants one more crack at the spotlight, but his Jerkass tendencies have rubbed people the wrong way, burning bridges and causing his career to fall in shambles. And he also blames everyone but himself for his troubles. In the end, it's a character study of just why Buddy never lasted in show biz despite his talent.