Stars Jack Quaid and Maya Erskine joined writers/directors Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer at the premiere of their new romantic comedy/drama ‘Plus One’ at the Tribeca Film Festival premiere.
From the first-time feature filmmaking duo Jeff Chan and Andrew Rhymer, the new film Plus One tell a story that is all too familiar to people in their late 20s/early 30s — how to deal with wedding season when single. Jack Quaid and Maya Erskine star as Ben and Alice, friends for life who are both single as they go to every wedding they are invited to as friends. As they grow closer as the weddings get hotter, the two begin to test whether their friendship is maybe something more.
The stars of the movie and the writer/director duo of Chan and Rhymer spoke to the Knockturnal at the film’s Tribeca World Premiere, sharing stories about the production of the film and what makes romantic comedies so much fun to watch and to make.
The Knockturnal: So Plus One is a romantic comedy-drama…
Jeff Chan (Writer/Director): He [Andrew Rhymer] is going to hate this, but I call it a “Romantic Dram-Com.” I put it out in the world and make sure people know.
The Knockturnal: Okay so in making this dram-com, how did you balance the tones first in writing it and then in directing it?
Andrew Rhymer (Writer/Director): I think what we were kind of aiming for was just to create as much of an honest story that reflects the relationships that we have been in and that our friends have been in, the ways people fall in and out of relationships. It’s no shocker that it doesn’t always match up to what we see in movies where there’s a lot of meet-cutes and that kind of stuff, and I think with this that most of our friends have wound up with people they’ve known for long periods of time, and something over time changed. In terms of going about it tonally, we really just tried to tell the most honest story we could about a relationship.
The Knockturnal: Romantic comedies have been done a million times, but never against the real struggle that is wedding season. How did you settle on that?
Jeff Chan: I think it can be really tough to go to a lot of weddings by yourself, especially if you don’t have a lot of buddies there, you just sit at the singles table that people get stuck at. To have someone there to go with is really important. I will also say that one of the things that most excited us about the concept as we were writing it is that these weddings serve as a sort of manipulation on our two characters. The better the weddings get, the more they are likely to view the idea of love a little differently.
The Knockturnal: How did the two of you establish this artistic dynamic?
Jeff Chan: We were college roommates!
Andrew Rhymer: Yup, and we made a lot of really bad short films in our bedrooms and in the random places to make a film with no money on. And most of them are quite frankly the people who are in this movie today.
The Knockturnal: I love the show PEN15 that you created and star in, but on the topic — what is it like playing someone your own age?
Maya Erskine (‘Alice’): It’s actually really great. While we were filming PEN15, there is something really liberating about playing your ugliest self in a way, you know? No makeup, putting a mustache on and all that. But after a couple of months of strapping down my breasts, I was like “I’m ready to be a woman.” So you know, it’s nice to be closer to my age and to express myself here.
The Knockturnal: What has the experience been like of bringing Plus One here and doing the “leading lady” experience?
Maya Erskine: I mean, it’s all very new to me, so I’m trying to enjoy it and not get too stressed out. But look at this [She gestures to the rest of the red carpet]! Look at all of these people, we all went to school together, so it’s just like a weird reunion at a film festival.
The Knockturnal: So it’s a romantic comedy/drama kind of movie. What was it like balancing those tones for yourself?
Maya Erskine: It was almost natural because life is not just one thing or the other. I think there has got to be a balance of comedic moments and dramatic moments and that is what is so beautiful about this script, that they were able to balance out those two in such an authentic way. And there was so much depth to these characters, a lot of it was just in the writing.
The Knockturnal: So you’re the second in a generation of romantic comedy stars [Jack Quaid is the son of Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid]. Did you grow up watching a lot of them?
Jack Quaid (‘Ben’): Yeah, I watched a few. It’s weird though, before this movie, I had never seen When Harry Met Sally… [co-starring Meg Ryan]
The Knockturnal: Really?
Jack Quaid: Yeah, I mean… okay. You have to understand something. When you grow up and your mother has a famous orgasm scene, you tend to avoid that movie [laughter]. Put yourself in my shoes.
The Knockturnal: [laughter] Nope, I understand now.
Jack Quaid: Yeah. But I watched the movie because I said: “I have to watch the rom-com before I do a rom-com.” But the movie is so much more than just that scene. It’s so amazing and I immediately started crying, because I was so proud of my mom. And I went into rehearsal with Jeff and Rhymer and Maya and was just bawling. And it was a great moment that drew us all together. I took a lot of inspiration from that movie, definitely.
The Knockturnal: You’re here at Tribeca for the series The Boys as well. What was it like balancing the two different projects, especially in promoting it.
Jack Quaid: Thankfully my schedule was good that it was Plus One first and then I work on The Boys starting tomorrow, so my wires aren’t going to get crossed. Which is good, because The Boys is… it’s pretty f*****d up. It’s a world where superheroes are complete and utter assholes, and we are a group of normal people who are just trying to stop them. It’s just so much fun, and I had a blast on both. They’re both vastly different budgets and vastly different genres but were both a blast to work on. I feel incredibly lucky.
The Knockturnal: Between Plus One and The Boys and a personal favorite project of yours, Logan Lucky—
Jack Quaid: Oh my god! I loved Logan Lucky. It’s such a good movie. Usually, I watch a movie I’m in once or twice, but I watch that movie a lot.
The Knockturnal: Kind of on that topic, what do you get recognized most for?
Jack Quaid: I think it’s usually The Hunger Games from back in the day. I had this thing where my little sister became a teenager at one point, and all of her friends watched it at the same time. So as long as that movie stays popular, wave after wave of children are just going to hate me because I killed Rue, this adorable little girl. She called me once from a sleepover, and this kid in the back was like “Is that your brother? Let me talk to him.” And she was so angry. So I realized as long as the movie stays popular, people will hate me. And that’s my life!
The Knockturnal: Hopefully something comes along where you save a little child soon.
Jack Quaid: Yes, I need to make five “Save A Kid” movies to balance out the scales a little bit.
Plus One premiered April 28th at the Tribeca Film Festival.
