You know that head bob. Even if you haven't watched the movie in a decade, the second "What is Love" by Haddaway starts playing, your neck starts moving rhythmically to the left. It's a reflex. The cast of Night at the Roxbury managed to turn a one-note Saturday Night Live sketch into a cult classic that somehow feels more relevant in the era of TikTok memes than it did in 1998. It was a weird time for comedies. People weren't sure if Doug and Steve Butabi could carry ninety minutes of cinema.
They did. Sorta.
Critically, the movie was a disaster when it dropped. Critics hated the thin plot and the repetitive gags. But fans? We didn't care. We just wanted to see two guys in shiny rayon suits try to get into a club they clearly didn't belong in. Looking back at the ensemble today, it’s actually wild how many recognizable faces were packed into this neon-soaked fever dream.
Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan: The Heart of the Hype
Will Ferrell was the breakout. Obviously. As Steve Butabi, he brought that aggressive, loud-yet-clueless energy that would eventually define Anchorman and Step Brothers. At the time, he was just "the guy from SNL," but Roxbury proved he could be a leading man, even if the leading man was an idiot with a bowl cut. He didn't just play Steve; he inhabited the silk shirts.
Chris Kattan was the other half of the puzzle. As Doug Butabi, he was the shorter, more frantic brother. Kattan’s physical comedy was the engine of the movie. While Ferrell provided the girth and the deadpan delivery, Kattan was all elbows and nervous energy. Honestly, their chemistry is what saved the film from being a total wash. They felt like brothers who had spent way too much time in their parents' plant shop.
After the film, their paths diverged in a big way. Ferrell became one of the biggest comedy stars on the planet. Kattan stayed with SNL for a while and later wrote a pretty revealing memoir, Baby Don't Hurt Me, where he talked about the physical toll the Roxbury sketches took on his body, including a serious neck injury. It makes those head-bobbing scenes look a lot more painful in retrospect.
The Supporting Players You Forgot Were There
The casting director, Ken Liotti, really pulled out all the stops for the side characters. Take Molly Shannon, for example. She plays Emily Sanderson, the woman Doug is basically forced to marry. Shannon was in her prime "Mary Katherine Gallagher" era here, bringing that same high-stakes desperation to the role. Her performance is a masterclass in making a secondary character feel like the protagonist of their own tragic comedy.
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Then there’s Loni Anderson. Yes, the Loni Anderson.
Playing the Butabi mother, Barbara, she was the perfect foil to the father, Kamehl, played by Dan Hedaya. Hedaya is an absolute legend. You know him from Cheers or as the grumpy lawyer in The Addams Family. In Roxbury, he’s just a guy who wants his sons to sell fake plants and stop embarrassing him. The contrast between Hedaya’s grizzled, old-school toughness and the boys' neon-colored delusions is where most of the actual "acting" happens.
Jennifer Coolidge and the Early Glimpse of Greatness
Before she was Stifler’s Mom or winning Emmys for The White Lotus, Jennifer Coolidge was "Hottie Cop." It’s a tiny role. Blink and you miss it. But she brings that signature breathy delivery that has since made her a household name. Seeing her pull over the Butabi brothers is one of those "wait, is that who I think it is?" moments that makes rewatching 90s movies so much fun.
The Club Scene Royalty
You can't talk about the cast of Night at the Roxbury without mentioning the people inside the clubs. Richard Grieco plays... Richard Grieco. It was a bold move playing a washed-up version of himself, but it worked perfectly. He becomes the accidental mentor to the brothers after a car accident, and his willingness to poke fun at his own "heartthrob" status from 21 Jump Street is genuinely charming.
Then we have Michael Clarke Duncan.
Rest in peace to a literal giant. He played the bouncer at the Roxbury. This was right before The Green Mile made him a superstar. He didn't have many lines, but his physical presence was enough to make the brothers' constant rejection from the club feel earned. He was the gatekeeper of their dreams.
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- Gigi Rice and Elisa Donovan: They played Vivica and Cambi, the "A-list" girls who the brothers think are into them. Donovan was already a 90s icon thanks to Clueless, and she brought that same "popular girl" energy here, albeit with a more predatory, gold-digging twist.
- Lochlyn Munro: He played Craig, the over-the-top fitness buff and Emily’s actual love interest. Munro has since become a staple in shows like Riverdale, but here he was just pure, unadulterated muscle and ego.
- Colin Quinn: Another SNL heavyweight. He played Dooey, the guy working at the boutique. His role was small, but it added to the feeling that the entire SNL 1998 roster was just hanging out on set.
Why the Chemistry Worked (When It Shouldn't Have)
Normally, SNL movies fail because they stretch a three-minute premise into ninety minutes of filler. It's Pat or Stuart Saves His Family suffered from this. But the cast of Night at the Roxbury had something different. They had a weird, earnest heart.
Doug and Steve weren't mean. They were just dim.
The supporting cast played it straight, which is the secret sauce of any good absurdist comedy. When Dan Hedaya screams about the "lighting" in the plant shop, he isn't playing it for laughs; he's playing it like a man whose soul is dying. That's why it's funny. If everyone was in on the joke, the movie would have been unbearable.
The film also leaned heavily into the aesthetics of the late 90s. The velvet ropes, the oversized cell phones, the obsession with "Eurodance." It captured a very specific moment in nightlife culture that was about to be wiped out by the grittier, post-millennium vibe.
The Legacy of the Roxbury Suits
Looking back, the movie serves as a time capsule. It’s a reminder of a period when Will Ferrell was still discovering his "voice" and Chris Kattan was the king of physical bits. While Kattan’s career didn't hit the same heights as Ferrell's—partially due to that aforementioned injury and the shifting tastes of comedy—his contribution to the "Butabi dance" is immortal.
Interestingly, the movie has seen a massive resurgence on streaming platforms. Younger generations who weren't even born in 1998 are finding the Butabi brothers on TikTok. The "head bob" has become a universal shorthand for "cluelessly confident." It’s rare for a movie that was panned by critics to have this much staying power, but that’s the power of a perfect cast.
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Tracking the Cast Today
If you're wondering what happened to the rest of the crew, most are still working steadily.
Dan Hedaya is still the go-to guy for "tough but tired" characters. Elisa Donovan has become a queen of holiday TV movies. Molly Shannon is having a massive career renaissance, appearing in everything from The Other Two to The White Lotus (alongside Coolidge, funnily enough).
The only person who really stepped away from the spotlight was Richard Grieco, though he still makes occasional appearances and has leaned into painting. It's funny to think that the "star" the brothers were chasing is the one who ended up the most low-key.
Actionable Takeaways for Movie Buffs
If you’re planning a rewatch or just want to dive deeper into the world of 90s SNL cinema, here is how to get the most out of it:
- Watch the original SNL sketches first. You can find them on YouTube. Seeing how the characters evolved from silent clubbers to speaking roles gives you a lot of appreciation for Ferrell and Kattan's character work.
- Look for the cameos. Beyond Coolidge and Duncan, keep an eye out for Chazz Palminteri as Mr. Zadir. He’s the owner of the Roxbury and his performance is surprisingly intense.
- Check out the soundtrack. It’s a 90s goldmine. Beyond Haddaway, you’ve got La Bouche, Amber, and Ace of Base. It’s the ultimate "getting ready to go out" playlist.
- Read Chris Kattan's book. If you want the "behind the scenes" truth about the tensions on set and the physical toll of the movie, it’s a fascinating, if somewhat heavy, read.
The movie isn't Citizen Kane. It never tried to be. It was just a story about two guys who wanted to be cool, written by people who knew exactly how uncool they really were. Because of that, the cast of Night at the Roxbury created something that transcends its own bad reviews. It’s a celebration of the loser in all of us, provided that loser has a really nice suit and a decent sound system.