Netflix unveils 'short-ass' movie category inspired by SNL skit

Pete Davidson and Chris Redd posing in front of a wall of movie posters in SNL skit
Pete Davidson and Chris Redd in "Short-Ass Movie" skit on Saturday Night Live (Image credit: Rosalind O'Conner/NBC)

Saturday Night Live’s Pete Davidson has inspired a brand new category on Netflix to help subscribers pick what to watch on the streaming service.

In the most recent episode of Saturday Night Live on April 2, one skit saw Davidson and other cast members (as well as musical guest Gunna) do a rap parody all about wanting to watch "short-ass" movies, i.e. ones that come in at under 100 minutes.

Well, Netflix apparently tuned into SNL, as the streaming service announced it has created a brand new category, literally dubbed "Short-Ass Movies."

The skit addresses a question that many have had recently, and that What to Watch actually did some research on — are movies getting longer? One of the funniest jokes is how Davidson brings up that Sex and the City 2, featuring already established characters just in a different location, clocks in at two hours and 26 minutes, while Jurassic Park, which covers things like dinosaur species, DNA science and chaos theory, is two hours and seven minutes. He also mentions The Batman’s nearly three-hour runtime and, for those of us who remember, two-VHS box sets of movies.

But the sneaky part of the skit is that it’s not just animated movies and comedies like The Lion King and the Austin Powers movies that come in at an hour 40 minutes or less. Referenced in the skit are critically-acclaimed titles like Good Time, Evil Dead, Punch-Drunk Love and David Lynch’s Eraserhead.

The new Netflix category appears just like any other category does on the streaming service, offering curated movies for subscribers while also organizing titles in subcategories like what is currently trending, different genres and award-winners.

Here are some of the best movies that we’ve spotted in the "Short-Ass Movie" category: Zoolander, Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Stand By Me, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It.

While some movies need a longer runtime and can be just as fun to watch even if they clock in at two and a half hours, if you’re ever just in the mood for something short and sweet then this new Netflix movie category is for you.

Michael Balderston

Michael Balderston is a DC-based entertainment and assistant managing editor for What to Watch, who has previously written about the TV and movies with TV Technology, Awards Circuit and regional publications. Spending most of his time watching new movies at the theater or classics on TCM, some of Michael's favorite movies include Casablanca, Moulin Rouge!, Silence of the Lambs, Children of Men, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Star Wars. On the TV side he enjoys Only Murders in the Building, Yellowstone, The Boys, Game of Thrones and is always up for a Seinfeld rerun. Follow on Letterboxd.