Aniston looks for laughs in Mother’s Day
Aniston, Sudeikis are single parents who cross paths in Mother’s Day
LOS ANGELES Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis continue their unlikely comedy couple crusade with Mother’s Day, out April 29.
The Garry Marshall movie counts as their fifth film together. In the ensemble, Sudeikis plays a widower with two girls, while Aniston is a divorced mother of two boys.
Their separate lives cross paths near the end of the movie, but getting there is the fun as the narrative mixes intertwining subplots reminiscent of Marshall’s previous all-star comedies New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day.
Co-starring in Mother’s Day are Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson, Margo Martindale, Timothy Olyphant and Marshall regular Hector Elizondo.
As a change of pace, the movie includes modern-day references such as gay marriage. But mostly the tone is Marshall mainstream — which Sudeikis, 40, and Aniston, 47, embrace.
Previously, the Saturday Night Live veteran and the star of Friends worked together on The Bounty Hunter, Horrible Bosses and its sequel, and We’re the Millers.
For their fifth film, they made themselves available at a Beverly Hills Hotel suite to discuss their he/she thoughts: On working for the iconic Marshall, who was also showrunner on the classic sitcoms Happy Days, The Odd Couple and Laverne and Shirley:
“Garry Marshall was the reason I think most of us said ‘yes’ to this movie,” says Aniston. “Without even reading a script, I think we said, ‘Yep.’ ” On the director’s past and present reputation, from Happy Days to Pretty Woman:
“He’s had so much influence over modern comedy the last 50 years, whether it be on TV or films,” Sudeikis says. “To make him laugh feels really, really good.” On Marshall’s ability to orchestrate an ensemble:
“Garry really does a beautiful job on touching all of the different scenarios of what the family unit looks like today,” Aniston says. On acting opposite friends Hudson and Roberts:
“It was kind of a tease,” Aniston says. “I only had a day with Julia and two days with Kate.
“I’ve known Kate for, gosh, almost 20 years and I’ve never had the opportunity to do something together with her or Julia, so I was just over the moon ... although I wish we had more together.” On the Aniston and Sudeikis bond:
“Well, we have fun together,” Aniston says. “He makes me laugh.” “Vice versa,” says Sudeikis. “And it’s in our contract,” says a smiling Aniston.
“Yeah, it’s part of our deal,” Sudeikis says. “I get to ride her coattails for as long as I am possibly capable.”
Adds Aniston more seriously: “It’s years of knowing each other, feeling comfortable.” On improvising lines in Mother’s Day and being told by Marshall it’s not clicking:
“That doesn’t hurt my feelings,” Sudeikis says. “I’ve been calloused about people not thinking something’s funny.” On Sudeikis’s ability to improv:
“When we did We’re the Millers, (Jason) was such a lifesaver and added so much because of his (SNL) comedy background,” Aniston says. On the first 30 minutes of introducing Mother’s Day characters: “Laying pipe,” Aniston says. “That’s the industry term,” Sudeikis explains. “Setting stuff up, and then you just trust the scene and the person you’re performing with.” On making it work:
“The comedy part has to make sense dramatically,” Sudeikis says. “It has to make sense how we get from one place to the next place. I think in certain movies, confusion can be the death of comedy, or exposition can be the death of comedy.” On their mothers:
“She has a great sense of humour, and so does Dad,” says Aniston. “And I’m a nervous driver (like my mother).”
“You were even nervous answering that,” Sudeikis says.
“I’ve always had an appreciation for my mom being a single mom,” says Aniston, whose parents divorced. “That’s not lost on me.” “Luckily, it didn’t take this movie for me to realize that same thing,” Sudeikis says. On whether Aniston will ever become a mom:
“Is this the child question?” she says. “Well, when and if there’s a child in the picture, I would probably celebrate Mother’s Day but that, you know ...”