Of course by now all of you have seen at least one of the classic Farrelly Brothers comedies like âThereâs Something About Mary,â âDumb and Dumber,â âKingpin,â âMe, Myself & Irene,â âShallow Hal,â âStuck On Youâ and âFever Pitch.â
Anyway, this new one is the first one that Ben Stiller has done since âThereâs Something About Mary,â but unlike that one which had one female lead, this new one has Malin Akerman as his new wife and Michelle Monaghan as the woman he falls for on his honeymoon.
So while most of us thought the Farrellyâs would be paired together for the roundtable interviews, for some reason each was put with one of the female leads⦠and this interview is with Michelle Monaghan and Bobby Farrelly. During the interview they talk about road trips, being cut out of movies, Danny McBride, has Ben changed in the 10 years since âMaryâ and a lot more. Itâs a very good interview and one you might want to listen toâ¦
As always you can either read the transcript below or download the audio as an MP3 by clicking here. And since I know some of you are fans of Carlos Mencia, you can click here for his audiointerview and you can click herefor the audio of the interview with Jerry Stiller, Rob Corddry and Danny Mcbride.
Finallyâ¦if you missed the movie clips you can watch them here. âThe Heartbreak Kidâ opens this Friday at theaters everywhere.
Question: You have press junkets for âGone Baby Goneâ and âThe Heartbreak Kidâ during the same weekend. Whatâs your day been like?
Michelle Monaghan: I havenât been doing too much for âGone Baby Gone.â Iâve been concentrating on âThe Heartbreak Kid.â Actually, that title could work for âGone Baby Goneâ as well. Thatâs interesting. We scheduled this first. Iâve been doing a little bit of press, here and there, but the junkets were the same day, so I havenât been able to do [much press for âGone Baby Goneâ].
Q: Those Afflecks are going to kill you.
Michelle: [Laughs] Exactly. I didnât know which brothers to go with (the Farrellys or the Afflecks). I like to be with you (she says to Bobby Farrelly). What can I say? [Laughs]
Q: Which is easier for you to play, a comedic role like this, or a dramatic role like that?
Michelle: Itâs really challenging to play comedy. I had never really done comedy before, so I was totally game. If youâre an actress in
Q: So much of the film is about misunderstandings. Were there ever takes where you thought you had said a little too much?
Bobby Farrelly: I donât think so much in the takes, but we did spend a lot of time in the writing, thinking that whole part where she (Michelle) thinks that his wife was murdered, and Ben thinks that she knows about his wife and sheâs cool with it. Thatâs a critical moment because, if it doesnât work and the audience isnât understanding what each oneâs thinking, then the whole movie collapses. It was dangerous for us, filming it. I kept thinking, âGeez, I hope this works âcause weâre in big trouble if it doesnât.â But, they really sold it. To look at you (Michelle) during that scene, you clearly were thinking that this is a guy who is down here grieving, and he was playing it like, âI canât believe it! She knows Iâm married and it doesnât even bother her!â I think it was the writing, and then the editing. We had to make sure that that was water tight.
Q: How likable is Ben Stillerâs character then?
Bobby: In most of our movies, we spend a lot of time trying to set up a guy that you do like enough that all these crazy things can happen to him and you like him, as they happen. And, we did do that in this movie, but as the story unfolds in this, more than any of our other movies, he is a bit of a cad. Heâs a bit of an anti-hero. What heâs doing is not necessarily right, and thatâs why there is no real traditional happy ending to this movie. He didnât really deserve one. He is the Heartbreak Kid. But, hopefully, you like him enough that you can understand him and you understand that he falls for Miranda. He does mean to tell the wife, but a lot of things get in the way of that. He means well, but heâs still walking on thin ice.
Q: How has Ben changed in 10 years?
Bobby: Heâs a little grayer, but it works. Heâs been so successful, for the last 10 years, non-stop. He just keeps going and going. And, heâs been involved with so many movies that have really been good movies. I just think heâs more vocal about what his opinions are, and things like that. Early on, when we were making âThereâs Something About Mary,â if he had opinions, I think he kept them to himself. But, now, he thinks about what everyone else is doing, and he comes over and tells us his opinions. With him, itâs good because heâs so smart that heâs almost always right about the things he points out. Itâs not like heâs just being difficult for the director, or something. He really is extraordinarily helpful in making it better and better, so itâs much more collaborative.
Q: Is it easier, making an R-rated movie now than it was back then?
Bobby: I donât think itâs easier. The beauty about when we made âMaryâ was that people didnât see it coming. They really didnât expect it. And so, the type of comedy was really explosive and really worked. And then, after that movie, once it was a big hit, there was a bunch of those kind of movies, and so, it become more expected. Itâs not that making them is easier, but getting them to a point where the audience is like, âWow, this is unbelievable! Thereâs something really fresh about this!,â is harder than before because thereâs been so many of them.
Q: What made you think of Michelle for this part?
BF: We read Michelle for Lila. Michelle had a fair amount of buzz going on, in town. We had seen her in âKiss Kiss Bang Bang.â We read her for the Lila role, but as soon as we saw her in that, we thought, âShe is good, but I think sheâs going to be even better for the girl that is really cool and grounded and fun.â
Q: Michelle, how did you feel about that?
Michelle: Oh, I just said, âJust hire me for one of the roles.â I just so desperately wanted to be in the movie.
BF: You wanted to play [Carlos] Menciaâs role. [Laughs]
Michelle: I wanted to play the role of the donkey for awhile. [Laughs] I was prepared to do anything. And, it was well cast. It ended up being perfectly the way it should have been.
Bobby: I hate to compare the movie to other movies, âcause I love all our movies, but I donât think we ever got the total caliber as acting here, as a whole troup, before. Everyone in it is the best weâve ever had. Weâre no better, as directors, than we were when we started, so I think it was just better casting.
Q: Michelle, was there anything in the film that was too outrageous for your taste?
Michelle: No. Certainly not in this movie. Itâs one of those things where you have to look at a script and say, âYes, Iâll go here with them.â Iâm not too modest of a person. Iâve got a pretty blue sense of humor. So, Iâm pretty much game for anything. I couldnât think of something, off the top of my head, thatâs really offensive to me. As far as comedy, you can pretty much go anywhere.
Q: Can you talk about working with Danny McBride?
Michelle: I love Danny McBride so much. Danny McBride is just about the best guy ever. He is so funny and clever and quick. That character that he portrayed is just really . . . Heâs just always some character. Heâs so funny. But, I think my favorite line that he has in the movie is, âWhat are you smoking, the devilâs lettuce?â And, he just came out with that, and we were like, âOh, shit! [Laughs] The devilâs lettuce? Iâm so going to have to use that!â [Laughs]
Bobby: McBride made good choices. As written, heâs just the guy whoâs like, âI donât know about that guy.â And, weâve seen it in other movies. Heâs suspicious of someone whoâs dating the sister or the cousin, or something, and thereâs a lot of ways to do that.
Michelle: He really made it into something special.
Bobby: He did it in such a way that it was really unique. His take on it was unusual, and I loved it.
Q: Michelle, can you talk about how it feels to have been cut out of a couple films? Does that breed a paranoia?
Michelle: I have been cut out of the films and, at that particular point in my career, I was like, âBut, am I still getting the paycheck?â [Laughs] They were like, âYeah, but youâre not going to be in the film,â and I was like, âAlright, I can deal with that.â I did âNorth Countryâ after I had been cut out of âConstantineâ and âSyriana,â and I had a few scenes cut out of a film called âUnfaithful,â and I remember thinking, âOkay, I donât think they can cut me out of here. Iâm integral to the script. If they take me out of here, then that doesnât make sense, that doesnât add up.â It was so funny. Both of those directors were real gentlemen, and they called me up personally and said, âWeâre so sorry. We have to take you out.â And, Francis Lawrence was really dear and he put those scenes on the DVD, so that meant a lot to me. But, the paycheck meant a hell of a lot more. [Laughs]
Q: Bobby, except for âFever Pitch,â every one of your movies has featured some kind of road trip. Why is that material that you return to?
Bobby: My brother and I were road trip guys. We used to love to [go on road trips], and we still do. When we get a little bit of writerâs block, weâll get in the car and drive from one end of the country to the other. Weâll drive from here back to
Q: Michelle, have you ever gone on a road trip with your husband?
Michelle: Yes. And, weâre still married. [Laughs]
Q: Can you guys talk about what you have coming up?
Bobby: I believe my brother and I are going to make âThe Three Stooges,â at some point. Weâre going to try to reinvent them. We also have a project over at Fox, called â
Q: Do you think youâll be able to tackle a project before this âstrikeâ happens?
Bobby: Iâd hate to think that I would jump into a project, just for that reason. We would only make a movie if we felt like we had a script where we wanted it to be and, right now, we donât. But, maybe we will by the time the strike happens. I donât know.