You probably know Al Franken as the former U.S. Senator from Minnesota who resigned in 2018. Or maybe you know him as the guy who spent years on Saturday Night Live telling us he was "good enough, smart enough, and doggone it, people like me." But if you actually look at the full list of Al Franken movies and tv shows, things get weird fast.
He didn't just write sketches. He co-wrote a heavy-hitting Meg Ryan drama about alcoholism. He played a baggage handler in a cult classic 80s comedy. He even has a voice credit in a 2024 animated movie called Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue. Seriously.
The SNL Years: More Than Just Stuart Smalley
Honestly, most people think Franken was just a cast member. He wasn't. At least, not at first. He and his partner Tom Davis were part of the "original" writing crew in 1975. They were basically the young, hungry kids hired to fill the gaps between the stars.
Franken's TV career is defined by three different stints at SNL. He was a writer from '75 to '80, then came back in the mid-80s, and stayed until 1995. You've probably seen the "A Limo for a Lame-O" sketch where he relentlessly mocked NBC president Fred Silverman. That's the kind of move that gets you legendary status but also makes sure you don't get the Weekend Update anchor job you wanted.
When he finally left in '95, it was famously because Norm Macdonald got the Update desk instead of him. It’s wild to think about how different his trajectory would've been if he had stayed in that chair.
The Characters You Forgot
- The Al Franken Decade: He actually tried to claim the entire 1980s for himself on air.
- Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber: He wrote this. It’s one of the best Steve Martin sketches ever.
- Henry Kissinger: His impression was surprisingly biting for the time.
Why "Stuart Saves His Family" Is Actually Good (Sorta)
If you look at the box office numbers for Stuart Saves His Family (1995), they are depressing. It made less than a million dollars on a twelve-million-dollar budget. That's a disaster.
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But here’s the thing: critics like Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert actually gave it "two thumbs up." They saw something most audiences missed. Instead of a wacky SNL comedy like Wayne's World, Franken wrote a brutally honest, almost dark movie about 12-step programs and family dysfunction.
Vincent D'Onofrio plays his brother. Think about that for a second. The guy who played Kingpin and the cockroach alien in Men in Black is in a Stuart Smalley movie.
The Screenwriting Curveball: "When a Man Loves a Woman"
This is the one that usually shocks people. Al Franken co-wrote the 1994 film When a Man Loves a Woman. It stars Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia.
It is not a comedy.
It’s a deeply serious, painful look at a woman’s struggle with alcoholism and how it tears her family apart. Franken drew from his own experiences in Al-Anon to write the script. It’s a side of his creative life that rarely gets mentioned because it doesn't fit the "funny political guy" brand. If you watch it today, you can see the same DNA found in the better parts of the Stuart Smalley movie—a real understanding of how people hurt each other.
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Every Al Franken Movie Cameo You Missed
Franken and Tom Davis were the kings of the "blink and you'll miss it" cameo.
- Trading Places (1983): Look for the baggage handlers on the train. That’s them.
- The Manchurian Candidate (2004): He shows up as a reporter in the Denzel Washington remake.
- One More Saturday Night (1986): He and Davis actually wrote this movie and starred in it as members of a band called Bad Mouth.
- Harvard Man (2001): He plays a character named Sol Vitner.
Lateline: The Show That Should Have Worked
In the late 90s, Franken co-created and starred in a sitcom called Lateline. It was a spoof of ABC’s Nightline.
It was smart. It had huge guest stars like Ralph Nader and G. Gordon Liddy playing themselves. But it lived on NBC during an era where they didn't know how to market political satire that wasn't SNL. It only lasted two seasons. You can find episodes online now, and honestly, it feels like a precursor to shows like The Daily Show or Veep.
The Recent Stuff: 2024 and Beyond
Even after the Senate, he hasn't stayed away from the screen. He appeared in the 2025 project The Residence and did voice work for Gracie & Pedro recently. He’s also been popping up in documentaries about the history of comedy, like Downey Wrote That (2025).
He’s clearly in a "legacy" phase of his career.
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What to Watch First
If you want the "Full Franken" experience, don't start with the sketches.
Start with Stuart Saves His Family. Ignore the 30% Rotten Tomatoes score. It’s a much more interesting, human movie than the marketing suggested. Then, go back and find the Franken & Davis bits from the late 70s. They have a dry, weird energy that feels modern even forty years later.
Next steps for your watch list:
- Search for "Al Franken A Limo for a Lame-O" on YouTube to see the peak of his SNL arrogance.
- Watch When a Man Loves a Woman if you want to see his range as a writer.
- Check out his recent guest hosting spots on The Daily Show to see how his political and comedic lives finally merged.
The reality is that Al Franken’s filmography is a bit of a mess, but it’s a fascinating mess. He’s one of the few people who can say they’ve been an Emmy-winning writer, a failed movie star, a serious dramatist, and a U.S. Senator. That’s a weird life.