Barrymore gets a raw deal
TORONTO — Gnawing on body parts turned out to be therapeutic for Drew Barrymore.
The Golden Globe-winning actress says her role as a suburban mom who turns into a zestful zombie in Netflix’s new dark comedy came when she was in a really “hard place” in her life.
It was shot last summer, when she was in the throes of a divorce
Worried your Valentine is just not that into you?
Their eyes may hold a clue, but you’d be wise to look farther down. No, not there. Keep going. “Where we point our feet is actually a pretty profound indicator of whether we want to be with the person we’re with, or whether we’d rather be somewhere else,” says Geoff D’Eon, writer and director of one-hour documentary
airing Feb. 16 on CBC-TV’s
The significance of our lowest extremities came as a surprise to D’Eon during the making of the documentary, but experts including former FBI agent Joe Navarro told him feet are more accurate indicators of someone’s emotional state than their face. Anyone can put on a fake smile, but your feet don’t hold with social convention.
“It’s a function of the limbic brain, the part of the brain that keeps us safe, and so Joe Navarro says that he starts at the feet,” D’Eon says.
“When he goes to a social gathering, he says, ‘That’s where I look: I begin at the feet and then I work my way up.’ Most people look at the face because it’s the most obvious place to start and then look at other parts of the body for indicators of intent, but he starts at the feet.”
In the documentary, Navarro points to photos of Prince Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, as an example of an unhappy couple whose body language speaks volumes about the state of their union.
“They don’t face each other, they’re most often photographed with them shoulder to shoulder,” D’Eon says.
“And (Navarro) uses that aphorism, ‘Belly away, don’t want you to from her husband of four years, Will Kopelman.
“I read this and it cheered me up,” Barrymore, an executive producer on the show, said in a recent phone interview.
“I thought it was very empowering and about this woman’s awakening and a good marriage, and it was entertaining but it felt gritty and current. But it also takes place in the backyard and in suburbia — and I just can’t really relate, actingwise or viewer-wise, to things that are other-planet. stay,’ and he says it’s surprisingly accurate. And so when he’s watching people in a social situation, a couple for instance, he’s looking at where they position their feet, and ideally if it’s a functional couple and things are going well, their feet will be close together. Sometimes their legs will even be intertwined under the table.”
One couple whose body language is ripe for scrutiny these days is Donald and Melania Trump.
“Just watching his arrival at the White House on inauguration day — just watching him get out of the limousine while Melania got out of the left-hand passenger door and he got out of the right-hand passenger door and he walked straight up the steps. He didn’t wait for Melania, he didn’t go around to take her by the hand and walk up the steps with her. He went up on his own as if she wasn’t there.”
Contrast that with the arrival of Barack and Michelle Obama eight years ago. He not only waited for her at the bottom of the steps, she preceded him as they walked up to greet former U.S. president George W. Bush and Laura Bush.
“That’s a fascinating contrast in styles and it’s tremendously illustrative of Trump as an alpha male. He is the centre of attention, and she (Melania) is an accessory. She is ancillary to the main event, which is him, and he displays that over and over again.”
Los Angeles-based body language expert Dr. Lillian Glass says that, love him or loathe him, Trump “is a great communicator,” who comes off as genuine to his base. You many not appreciate what he does with his hands, but he doesn’t use any of the rehearsed gestures we’ve become so used to seeing politicians make.
D’Eon says Glass had predicted that Trump would not only win the Republican nomination, but that he would be elected president.
“At which point my head figuratively exploded and I went, ‘Wow,
“I liked that they were talking about problems that were very outlandish in a grocery list kind of way.”
Barrymore stars as Sheila, a realtor who dies and comes back to life as a zombie — or rather, mombie — while showing a house to clients. Sheila doesn’t look or act like a typical zombie (save for the flesh-eating bit), and even gets a renewed vigour from the condition.
Timothy Olyphant plays her realtor husband, who tries to help Sheila satisfy her ravenous cravings I’m just not buying this for a second.’ Well, she was right. Lillian Glass was the first person who pointed out to me that he is in fact a very effective communicator.”
Whether Trump is a truthful communicator is another matter, best judged by what he says and not how he says it. D’Eon says the Pinocchio effect — an involuntary action people make that gives away a lie — is a myth.
“People often think there are easy ways to tell if someone is lying or not, such as if they look up to the left, or if they look down to the right, or if they scratch their nose. In and of themselves these individual actions don’t mean anything. Most of us have about a 50/50 chance of determining whether someone is telling us the truth or whether someone is lying to us. We might as well flip a coin,” he says.
“Sowhilethere’snoonePinocchio effect, if you know what you’re for body parts in a way that doesn’t lead to senseless murder. Liv Hewson plays their teenage daughter.
“I wouldn’t know how to do the gurgly zombie. I just don’t relate to that,” said Barrymore.
“But a woman who’s like, ‘I don’t know if I would want to give this up, because my life is actually maybe the best it’s ever been. Sure, I have to eat people, but I feel good, I look good, I don’t have to sleep’ — it’s kind of an interesting dilemma: would you give up something so doing and you know what you’re looking for you, can put together these individual signs and you can make a much more educated guess as to whether someone’s trying to deceive you or not.
“We all recognize an angry face, but not all of us would be able to pick up the clues necessarily of somebody targeting us with their eyes. When people are happy to see us, when people aren’t a threat to us, they smile openly and their eyes widen. But if you’re in a situation where somebody’s head tilts down and they narrow their eyebrows with their head tilted down, that’s called targeting,” he says.
“In a conversation, if your potential mate is leaning in, leaning across the table, or if you’re standing, if they’re leaning in towards you, that’s a signal. And what you want to look out for in that situation is do they reciprocate, do they lean back towards you? Is their wrong because you feel so right?”
Overall, the show explores how people evolve in relationships and also “the instantaneous, gluttonous behavioural society we are and what consequences come with that,” added Barrymore.
“That’s about as current as we’re going to get. If people act however they want, what comes out of that? That’s literally the state of our world. Living in the id is so fun but can it be totally destructive as well. And how do you embrace the empowerment but pull back?”
How to read your mate (or potential mate) from head to toe:
If they smile openly and widen their eyes, they probably like you. If they tilt their head down and narrow their eyebrows, maybe not.
If someone scratches their nose, does that automatically mean they’re lying? Perhaps, but not necessarily.
If they’d rather be shoulder to shoulder than linked up, you might not have the bond you were hoping for.
If they’re leaning in that’s a good sign. Leaning back? Not so much. Also, if their belly is often facing away from you, chances are they’re not interested.
If they intertwine their legs with yours under the table, that’s a good sign.
If their feet are pointed toward you, and stay close to yours, that means they enjoy your company. If they point their feet toward the exit, that’s probably where they’d rather be.