The Breakup Girl Interview
Wendi McLendon-Covey on ‘The Goldbergs’ and ‘The Breakup Girl’
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I love movies about siblings, the more dysfunctional the better, and The Breakup Girl, written and directed by Stacy Sherman, does not disappoint. This funny and poignant film features the brilliant Wendy McLendon-Covey as the eldest of three sisters, Sharon, who seems to be the most settled of the three. Shannon Woodward plays Claire, the middle sister who is dumped on her birthday, and India Menuez plays Kendra, the youngest and most emotional sister. The three women are very different and they’ve never gotten along that well, but they are brought together by the news that their father (Ray Wise) is terminally ill and wants to keep it a secret from their doting mother (Mary Kay Place). The Breakup Girl also features Natasha Leggero, Catherine Bach, Joe Lo Truglio, and Casey Wilson. I recently had the pleasure of talking to Wendi McLendon-Covey who I believe is one of the funniest women on the planet.
Danny Miller: First, I have to say that Beverly Goldberg is one of the greatest characters in TV history. She kills me every week — and reminds me so much of my own mother!
Wendi McLendon-Covey: Thank you, that’s such a compliment! I love when people relate to Beverly. No one has more fun than we do on our show. I adore Jeff Garlin and the rest of the cast and I’ve missed them so much during this hiatus. We start our third season next month!
Obviously a very different character from Sharon, but there are a few parallels between Beverly and your character in this film in that both could come across as shrill or grating in lesser hands. You always infuse your characters with such vulnerability, no matter how “out there” they are. Is that something you think about a lot?
You know, it’s funny — I never worry about “likeability.” I don’t care if anyone likes these people, I just love playing them. And I do want people to say, “Ooh, I know that person.” One thing that Sharon says in the movie that made me fall down is when there are construction workers all over her house and she tells her sister in a kind of offhand way, “Oh yeah, we’re moving the swimming pool.” Who moves their swimming pool? It was just a few inches off so let’s bring in a huge crew to move it? Moments like that told me a lot about that character.
It must have great having Mary Kay Place as your mom — another favorite of mine.
Mary Kay is fabulous and I’m so impressed that she works constantly! She was juggling all sorts of things when we shot this film. Honestly, Mary Kay is one of the sweetest most lovable women you will ever meet, she’s genuinely interested in people, she asks really good questions, she’s just one of those people who’s really present and loves life and people. I’m really shy myself so I kept telling myself, “Don’t geek out on Mary Kay Place!” I was afraid that I’d start staring at her all day so instead I just clammed up. I really need to work on that!
I love the intense dynamic of this family. I totally bought the three of you as sisters. When you’re making this kind of film do you worry about taking the time to bond with other family members before the shoot?
You always want to do that but the reality is there is never any time for it.
Especially for a small film like this, I guess. It must be different on a TV series where you can all naturally bond over time because you’re together so much.
Exactly! But even on The Goldbergs, we had no bonding time before we shot the pilot. It was like, “Oh, first day of shooting, go hug Troy (who plays Barry) and start crying!” You just find a way to get there.
I loved the whole cast in this film. How do you choose which film projects you take on these days?
I always want to do stuff that I’ve never done before. I think with this film I first read for a different part but then they decided they wanted me to play Sharon.
You are so perfect for Sharon. (No offense!)
(Laughs.) None taken! I was thrilled to play her. Sometimes I’ll make a film because I really want to work with a specific director or cast member. I’ve said “yes” to a few things because I heard an actor was going to be in the cast and then I arrive on set and it’s like, “Oh, that was just a rumor!”
Oops!
But for me, there was something about this script that was reminiscent of Hannah and Her Sisters, which I loved. Families are such a rich source of material — they’re hilarious and awful at the same time.
I know this film was made a while ago. Do you sometimes worry that some of the smaller films you make may never see the light of day?
Oh, all the time, it’s crazymaking, and not just with the smaller films! Unless it’s a comic book remake, there’s no guarantee that anything is going to get seen. There’s no guarantee that you’re even going to be in the damn thing when it comes out since they can cut you, replace you, or CGI you! You just have to do because you love it and cross your fingers that it finds an audience. I’m very proud of this film, I love it, and I think Shannon Woodward deserves some kind of award — she is exceptional in this, her ending monologue CRUSHED me.
I know you’re busy with The Goldbergs and hopefully will be for quite some time, but do you have an overall plan for your film career?
I’m writing and trying to develop stuff right now. To be honest, there’s not a whole lot of stuff at the movies that I want to see these days. So I’m trying to write stuff that at least I would want to see. I just did a movie that I think will be fun called Army of One with Larry Charles directing. I love his sensibilities. It’s about a guy named Gary Faulkner, you can look him up, who was a Colorado contractor who had voices in his head that told him to go the Middle East and ill Osama bin Laden! The first thing he did was buy a sailboat in San Diego off of Craigslist and try to sail to Afghanistan!
Oh boy. And who do you play in that film?
I play the special kind of lady who would fall in love with someone like that! That was very fun.
You’re one of the funniest actors around but I’d also like to see you in a hardcore drama.
Oh, I’d love to do that — something gritty and awful. You know what I really want to play? A serial killer! I want to head straight into John Malkovich territory!