Live From New York Review/ Tribeca Film Fest 2015 Opening Night Recap

Tribeca Film Festival 2015 kicked off with hilarious, laughs, a great documentary and an amazing concert from one Hip-Hop’s finest superstars. Robert DeNiro was on hand to introduce the audience to kick off the event. DeNiro talked about the importance of filmmaking, indie films and the importance of the festival. How it’s important for filmmakers to have a platform to showcase their work and the importance of craft. After DeNiro’s introduction the night kicked off with the first film of the festival “Live from New York” the documentary telling the story of Saturday Night Live.

As a fan of SNL and having watch it through the years I have to say that this documentary was a home run hit. Not only did it contain interviews from classic SNL alumni such as Chevy Chase. The documentary shows how SNL began with interviews and insight from the original cast. One thing I really like is how they showed the struggle and worry of having a comedy sketch show air live. The documentary didn’t pull any punches when it came to the story-telling of the beloved show. Race diversity and women equality which has always been a hot topic on SNL was touched on and explored. Actors such as Garret Morris who was the first black cast member to recent cast members such as Kennan Thompson and Leslie Jones all chimed in on the hot topic. Tina Fey and other female cast members talked about women in comedy and the influence the show allowed them to have. As documentaries go the film was excellent. Watching the film tackle the stages of SNL from the Chevy Chase Era, Eddie Murphy Era, Sandler and Chris Rock Era, to today’s era was like going through a time capsule. It showed how important SNL is to the America culture, to New York and most importantly the fans. While comedy is subjective there is no denying the impact and importance that SNL has had. The show has had it’s up and downs but it has always manage to stay relevant with today’s times. If you’re a SNL fan this is a much watch documentary. It’s filled with laughs, social commentary and it’s one big nostalgic trip. A great way to kick of Tribeca Film Festival 2015.

After the documentary was finished we got a nice treat with a performance from Ludacris. He performed some of his greatest hits like Move B**tch, Area Codes, Southern Hospitality and more. This was my first time seeing Ludacris performed live and I must say it was a great way to end the night.