Risque Shenanigans: The Overnight
THE AWKWARD COMEDY OF MANNERS The Overnight has Alex (Adam Scott) and Emily (Taylor Schilling) anxious about having to make new friends in Los Angeles, where they’ve recently moved. When their son RJ (RJ Hermes) befriends Max (Max Moritt) at the playground, Max’s father Kurt (Jason Schwartzman) invites RJ and his parents over for pizza with his wife Charlotte (Judith Godreche). The bond that starts to form between the adult couples quickly mirrors the easygoing friendship between the kids. However, after RJ and Max are put to bed, things become a bit more intense. Alcohol is consumed, bongs are shared, and clothes are shed. Then Alex reveals his concerns about inadequacy, and things get even more sexually explicit and intense.
Writer/director Patrick Brice met with Out Front to talk about his inspiration for the sexual shenanigans that happen during The Overnight.
So, let’s talk about penises. Why are they a source of awe and shame for the film’s adult male characters?
I wanted the movie to be about [Alex] overcoming [inadequacy] and gaining self-acceptance.
Did you write about this issue because it’s taboo? Is it something you grapple with?
*laughs* I have never seen it done in this context or point of view where it’s almost taking an empathetic approach to it. I wanted it to be funny, but not in a way where you are laughing at the characters. You are laughing with [Alex] as you’re discovering stuff.
So given the penises on display, and discussions about d*cks in the film, I’m curious to know your issue with nudity and body image?
I wouldn’t call them issues! Obviously I saw it as fodder for comedy. It goes back to this joke I pull on my wife, where I do this impression of Buffalo Bill from The Silence of the Lambs and do a little dance. Nothing brings me more joy than that.
I would love to see that! It’s a shame we’re in a hotel lobby and not a private room.
*laughs* I know! I saw it as being this kind of interesting bait and switch … that 20 minutes into the movie, you find out of the crux of the main character is that he has this body issue. I also knew that, because the movie takes place in 24 hours, there could only be so much of an emotional arc, or growth or journey for the character in that amount of time. I wanted his thing to be overcoming this small — no pun intended — issue.
What can you reveal about the, ahem, climactic scene, which I don’t want to spoil?
That scene was initially written to be much more intense and emotional. Once we got to that point during filming, that didn’t seem to be the right way to go. One of the things that was refreshing and surprising to me was that we left a lot up to the actors. You can only control so much. You create these boundaries for people to play with and I think it’s really cool to have a movie where you’re laughing and being surprised by it, then having this moment of calm and sweetness. It’s interesting to see different audiences react to it — laughing or completely f*cking uncomfortable or in complete shock.
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