Erstellt am: 17. 3. 2013 - 15:10 Uhr
Wenn der Ruddster mit dem Juddster
"Wie Bergman mit Pointen. Wie Cassavetes mit Laurel-Canyon-Feeling. Wie Truffaut auf Viagra. Als würde ‚Szenen einer Ehe’ denselben Eheberater wie ‚Rumours’ von Fleetwood Mac beschäftigen und ‚Blue’ von Joni Mitchell so lustig sein wie ‚Der Stadtneurotiker’. Judd Apatows vierte Regiearbeit ist Comedy am Rande des Nervenzusammenbruchs und etalbliert den wichtigsten Innovator der amerikanischen Komödie nun auch als einen der führenden Filmemacher des Landes."
Solche schönen Sätze schreibt mein deutscher Lieblingskritiker, Tomasso Schultze vom "Musikexpress", über "This is 40". Die kleine Hymne, die meine Wenigkeit zu dem Film verfasste, könnt ihr an dieser Stelle nachlesen.
UPI
Die Resonanz auf Judd Apatows neuestes Werk fällt ansonsten verhaltener aus als bei anderen Streifen aus der Comedy-Schmiede des Produzenten und Regisseurs. Meine private These dazu: "This is 40" berührt viele wunde Punkte. Menschen, die das magische Datum des Films noch lange nicht erreichen, wollen nicht wahrhaben, dass es einmal so kommen könnte. Menschen, die mit dem Vierziger bereits in Berührung kamen, verdrängen jeglichen Bezug zu dem Film.
Einer, dem nichts peinlich ist, auch nicht Szenen, in denen er nackt vor seiner Filmfrau Leslie Mann mit gespreizten Beinen liegt und um Untersuchung seiner Hämorrhoiden bittet, ist der großartige Paul Rudd.
Ich möchte euch den Mann jetzt gar nicht mehr näher vorstellen, wer seine Erinnerung auffrischen will, kann bei meiner liebsten heimischen Filmkritikerin, der Kollegin Pia Reiser, nachlesen.
Nur eine kleine Paparazzi-Anmerkung: Bei dem kurzen Gespräch mit Paul Rudd sitzte ich nicht (wie im Fall seines ebenfalls verehrten Kumpels Jason Segel) einem hochprofessionellem Hollywoodkomiker auf Pressetour gegenüber. Sondern einem charmantem Indie-Dude, der sicher einen Schnürlsamt-Anzug im Kasten hat, den Musikgeschmack mit Robert Rotifer teilt und Woody Allens frühe Filme liebt. Es waren äußerst nette Minuten mit dem Ruddster.
constantin
Was it a little bit traumatic for you to turn 40, like in this film?
A little bit. I didn’t have this thing where I was dreading it. But I had so many things happen to me right before, that by the time 40 rolled around, I was already in a different kind of headspace. I already had children, already hat lost a parent. So in a way I was already feeling different than I did in my twenties. So when 40 hit, it only felt a little surreal.
This film is very funny. But also a little bit depressing. To make this kind of movies, is it just a big laugh for you guys or has it some therapeutic qualities?
Yeah, it does. It’s therapeutic for me and Judd and Leslie as well. We do talk about our own lifes and marriages when the script is being written. So there is something very personal about it. And then when you acted it out and it’s in a movie and it’s projected, in a way it’s a little bit like couples therapy (lacht). Especially when you hear other people say: Yes, that’s just like me, my wife and I go through that, my husband and me deal with that issue all the time. Then you know you’re not alone with that and there’s something therapeutic about that. But even though we approach these stories in a depressing way, we want it to be funny. That’s always the goal, trying to balance these things.
Is this mixture of funny and tragic moments responsible for the success of all the Judd Apatow productions and many of your films?
Well, I think he is trying to get more and more into that mix. Getting away from straight up comedies. Even something like "40 Year Old Virgin" is a story about someone’s struggle and insecurities. But with each film Judd Apatow is trying to get deeper and deeper into real issues, explore them. He wants to make movies more in the way that some of his filmmaker heroes have, like James L. Brooks or Cameron Crowe. Judd approaches all his movies like dramas. He always writes jokes later. But don’t worry about the jokes, is his motto, focus on the stories and the relationships.
UPI
For some critics, including myself, these kind of comedies are a true american artform of the last decade, more than some serious Hollywood films. Where do you think will it go in the near future? Will it be more dramatic ore more hilarious? Or always be a mixture?
You have to ask Judd himself. I don’t know where it’s going. Even if we are doing the next project together, which is "Anchorman 2" and that’s a cartoon, that’s silly. But in general: The idea is to make these movies that are like life. Even "This is 40" does not follow a particular arc, it’s not very linear, you pop into these peoples lifes for a few weeks. And the story is dramatic, it’s funny, like life is. And maybe a little more dramatic, a little more funny, that’s not just…boring.
How big is improvisation on set? Does personal experience come into the film?
Personal experience is a big part of the film. We work on this stuff for a long time. When he’s working on these stories, we get on the phone a lot, my wife and I spent time with Leslie and Judd, we talk about stuff in our own lives, our own marriages, the problems that we have with each other. Sometimes it all finds a way into the story. "This is 40" is fictional, but there is a lot of things about Judd and Leslie that is represented in this movie…
I won’t ask which things…
All the really bad one’s, that’s theirs! (lacht) As far as improvisation goes: You know, we improvise while we rehearsing, sometimes that makes it’s way into the film. But Judd keeps the cameras always rolling, he barely ever yells "cut", we will improvise a lot. We go off in different directions and sometimes he yells from the sidelines: More of this! More of that direction!
universal
Was there a scene where you couldn’t stop laughing on set?
Yeah! The one that was the biggest is also on the credits of the film, it was Melissa McCarthy improvising. I’m a laugher, I laugh all the time and feel terrible not the ruin the takes, but I never seen anybody destroy a room like Melissa did in this scene. The crew was laughing so hard they had to leave the room.
But she herself keeps a frozen face…
She is a force of nature. She’s so hysterically funny but very composed. It was impressive to see.
Talking about the "Anchorman" Sequel you mentioned - how was it to come back on a set with these guys?
The movie starts shooting next month, it hasn’t happened yet. But when the movie was announced the four of us got together just to shoot a teaser. But just doing that and getting back in our Anchorman clothes, we were all giddy. We were so excited!
Apatow Productions