Photo: Carlos Alvarez, Getty Images

"Saturday Night Live" has been on the air for 35 years, and it has been inspiring movies based on its sketches for nearly as long. It makes sense, since the show's recurring characters can quickly become hugely popular and instantly recognizable. Still, a concept that is hilarious in a three-minute long skit doesn't always hold up when it's stretched out to an hour and a half.

But while SNL has spawned more than its share of cinematic trainwrecks -- "It's Pat," "Superstar," "The Ladies Man," and "A Night at the Roxbury" are the chief offenders -- it has also been the starting point for some truly funny flicks. With "MacGruber," the inventive, mullet-sporting hero played by Will Forte, headed to the big screen in April, here are the five best movies to come out of "Saturday Night Live," including some you might not know got their start there.

  • The Blues Brothers

    The Blues Brothers (1980)
    The first feature film spun off from SNL is still considered to be the best. The characters of "Joliet" Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood Blues (Dan Aykroyd) were never in a sketch on the show, but they were the musical guests in 1978. The movie is not only wildly funny with some of the best car chases ever filmed, but it also preserves some wonderful performances by music legends like James Brown, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and John Lee Hooker.

  • Wayne's World

    Wayne's World (1992)
    After Mike Myers and Dana Carvey helped revitalize SNL in the early '90s, it was only logical to bring their signature characters to the big screen. The movie was so popular it put Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" back on the Billboard top 10 singles chart nearly two decades after it was first released. "Wayne's World" was a surprise smash, taking in $121 million in the U.S., but the sequel in 1993 made less than half that amount.

  • Bob Roberts

    Bob Roberts (1992)
    Tim Robbins wrote, directed and stars in this mockumentary about a folk-singing, far-right politician who will do anything to win a Senatorial election. The character first appeared in a short film Robbins made for "Saturday Night Live" in 1986. Robbins and his brother wrote all of the movie's ironically conservative songs, but he refused to put out a soundtrack because he worried listeners would take them seriously. Robbins was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role.

  • Office Space

    Office Space (1999)
    Milton, the mumbling, bespectacled cubicle drone from this cult classic, first appeared in an animated short that Mike Judge created before he made "Beavis and Butthead." The series of cartoons were featured on SNL in 1993. In the original, Judge provided the voice of both Milton and his boss, and much of the dialogue was re-used in the movie version, including Milton's threat to "set the building on fire."

  • A Mighty Wind

    A Mighty Wind (2003)
    When Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer were cast members in 1984, they teamed up with their "Spinal Tap" bandmate Michael McKean to become the musical trio, The Folksmen. They would revive the characters from time to time, occasionally as the opening act for Spinal Tap (some fans didn't realize they were the same guys and booed them). Nearly 20 years after their first performance, the group appeared in this movie directed by Guest that earned Oscar and Grammy nominations.

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