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Michelle Monaghan at the premiere of Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang held at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood, Calif. on October 18, 2005.
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After years of bachelorhood and ample pressure from his father (Jerry Stiller) and best friend (Rob Corddry), Eddie Cantrow (Ben Stiller) starts to wonder if he is being too picky about the women he meets. So, when a chance encounter with an alluring blonde named Lila (Malin Akerman) leads to romance, the unmarried and 40-year-old Eddie impulsively proposes. But, as the newlyweds get to know each other on the drive down the California coast, Eddie begins to realize that he’s made a terrible mistake. He discovers that his new bride not only has the face of an angel, but a trucker’s vocabulary and a nearly insatiable appetite for acrobatic sex. By the time they reach their swanky and exotic Mexican hideaway, Lila has transformed from a gentle and sweet life partner into a crass wench with a sordid past, leaving Eddie wondering what he’s gotten himself into.
Soon after reaching the resort, Eddie meets the down-to-earth Miranda (Michelle Monaghan), who has no clue he’s on his honeymoon. As he falls for the laid-back high school lacrosse teacher’s down home allure, he tries his best to level with both women, but a series of misunderstandings leads to an eventual confrontation between Eddie and the two women.
Michelle Monaghan and writer/director Bobby Farrelly (who comprises one half of the Farrelly brothers directing team, along with his brother, Peter) talk to MediaBlvd Magazine about the Dreamworks Pictures raunchy comedy The Heartbreak Kid.
MediaBlvd Magazine> So much of this film is about misunderstandings. Were there ever any takes where you thought the actors had said a little too much?
Bobby Farrelly> I don’t think it happened so much in the takes, but we did spend a lot of time in the writing, thinking about that whole part where Miranda thinks that his wife was murdered, and Eddie thinks that she knows about his wife and she’s cool with it. That’s a critical moment because, if it doesn’t work and the audience isn’t understanding what each one’s thinking, then the whole movie collapses. It was dangerous for us, filming it. I kept thinking, “Geez, I hope this works ‘cause we’re in big trouble if it doesn’t.” But, they really sold it. To look at Michelle during that scene, you can tell she was clearly thinking that this was a guy who was grieving, and he was playing it like, “I can’t believe it! She knows I’m married and it doesn’t even bother her!” I think it was the writing, and then the editing. We had to make sure that it was water tight.
MediaBlvd> How likable is Ben Stiller’s 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, when all these crazy things can happen to him, 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, Eddie is a bit of a cad and an anti-hero. What he’s doing is not necessarily right, and that’s why there is no real traditional happy ending to this movie. He didn’t really deserve one. He is the Heartbreak Kid. But, hopefully, you like him enough that you can understand him, and 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 he’s walking on thin ice.
MediaBlvd> What made you think of Michelle for this part?
Bobby> Michelle had a fair amount of buzz going on, in town, and we had seen her in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. We read her for the Lila role, but as soon as we saw her do that, we thought, “She is good, but I think she’d be even better for the girl that is really cool and grounded and fun.”
Michelle Monaghan> And, I said, “Just hire me for one of the roles.” I just so desperately wanted to be in the movie. 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, because I love all our movies, but I don’t think we’ve ever gotten the total caliber of acting, as a whole troup, before this. Everyone in it is the best we’ve ever had. We’re no better, as directors, than we were when we started, so I think it was just better casting.
MediaBlvd> Which is easier for you to play, a comedic role, like in The Heartbreak Kid, or a dramatic role, like in Gone Baby Gone (opens October 19th)?
Michelle> It’s really challenging to play comedy. I had never really done comedy before, so I was totally game. If you’re an actress in Hollywood and you want to do a comedy, who better to do it with than the Farrellys. But, you can’t really prepare to be funny. With drama, you can really develop your character over a course of time, and you know what you want to achieve when you’re making the film. But, on the day, you’ve just got to hope you’re going to be funny, and just be prepared to go for it and really push the envelope and improv, or do whatever it takes. So, that was a definite challenge for me. It was good I had Ben Stiller to lead the way because, as you all know, he goes for it. It was fun. It was a great atmosphere to work in. The Farrellys create an atmosphere where you’re expected to embarrass yourself. You can try anything, and that’s a great gift when you’re doing a comedy.
MediaBlvd> Was there anything in the film that was too outrageous for your taste?
Michelle> Certainly not in this movie. It’s one of those things where you have to look at a script and say, “Yes, I’ll go here with them.” I’m not too modest of a person. I’ve got a pretty blue sense of humor, so I’m pretty much game for anything. I can’t think of something, off the top of my head, that’s really offensive to me. As far as comedy, you can pretty much go anywhere.
MediaBlvd> What was it like to work with Danny McBride, who played your cousin?
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Peter & Bobby Farrelly at the premiere of The Ringer held at the Directors Guild of America in West Hollywood, Calif. on December 14, 2005.
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Michelle> I love Danny McBride so much. He is just about the best guy ever. He’s so funny and clever and quick. I think my favorite line that he has in the movie is, “What are you smoking, the devil’s lettuce?” He just came out with that, and we were like, “Oh, shit! The devil’s lettuce? I’m so going to have to use that!”
Bobby> McBride made good choices. As written, his character was just the guy who makes you think, “I don’t know about that guy,” and we’ve seen it in other movies. He’s suspicious of someone who’s dating his cousin, and there’s 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.
MediaBlvd> Michelle, can you talk about how it feels to have been cut out of a couple films, in your past acting career? Does that breed paranoia?
Michelle> I have been cut out of films and, at that particular point in my career, I was like, “But, am I still getting the paycheck?” They said, “Yeah, but you’re not going to be in the film,” and I said, “Alright, I can deal with that.” I did North Country after I had been cut out of Constantine and Syriana, and I had a few scenes cut out of a film called Unfaithful, and I remember thinking, “Okay, I don’t think they can cut me out of this. I’m integral to the script. If they take me out of here, then that other thing doesn’t make sense, and that won’t add up.” It was so funny. Both of those directors were real gentlemen, and they called me up personally and said, “We’re so sorry, but we have to take you out.” And, (Constantine director) Francis Lawrence was really dear and he put those scenes on the DVD, so that meant a lot to me. But, at the time, the paycheck meant a hell of a lot more.
MediaBlvd> Bobby, why is it that every one of your films, except for Fever Pitch, has featured some kind of road trip?
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 writer’s block, we’ll get in the car and drive from one end of the country to the other. We’ll drive from L.A. back to Massachusetts because, when you’re stuck in a car, you have nothing to do, so you get creative. It always helps us get through to the next level. So, we enjoy road trips. It’s good for this story because, if you think you’re about to get married, get in a car and take a road trip with the person. You find out an awful lot. It’s hard to be in a car with someone for three or four days. Little tiny things will start to get on your nerves. It’s kind of a microcosm of marriage.
MediaBlvd> Michelle, have you ever gone on a road trip with your husband?
Michelle> Yes. And, we’re still married.
MediaBlvd> How has Ben changed in 10 years since you made There’s Something About Mary together?
Bobby> He’s a little grayer, but it works. He’s been so successful, for the last 10 years, non-stop. He just keeps going and going. And, he’s been involved with so many movies that have really been good movies. I just think he’s more vocal about what his opinions are now. Early on, when we were making Mary, if he had opinions, 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, it’s good because he’s so smart that he’s almost always right about the things he points out. It’s not like he’s just being difficult for the director. He really is extraordinarily helpful in making it better, so it’s much more collaborative.
MediaBlvd> Is it easier, making an R-rated movie now than it was back then?
Bobby> I don’t think it’s easier. The beauty about when we made Mary was that people didn’t see it coming. They really didn’t expect it. It was the type of comedy that 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 it become more expected. It’s not that making them is easier, but getting them to a point where the audience is like, “Wow, this is unbelievable! There’s something really fresh about this!,” is harder than before because there’s been so many films like that.
MediaBlvd> What do you have coming up?
Bobby> I believe my brother and I are going to make The Three Stooges, at some point. We’re going to try to reinvent them. We also have a project over at Fox, called Hall Pass, about a couple of married guys whose wives give them a week off from the marriage, so they can sew their oats. We’ve got a couple projects like that, but I’m not exactly sure what’s next. We’re always writing and trying to work on new stuff. We’ll come up with something.
