Romcom, race and quarantine
‘The Lovebirds’ stars reveal the challenges
begins as a romantic comedy, then steers a hard left into comic murder mystery territory. The movie’s road to release has taken a turn or two as well.
First, it lost its world-premiere screening at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, when that festival was cancelled because of coronavirus concerns. Next, last month’s theatrical release was scuttled when movie theatres closed.
And then it changed distribution hands from Paramount to Netflix, where it is streaming.
What hasn’t changed is that the movie stars Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani and offers some comic relief at a time many could use it.
The two play a New Orleans couple whose on-the-rocks relationship becomes trickier once they inadvertently become embroiled in a killing.
My original plan to travel to Austin in March and chat to the actors in person eventually morphed into a Zoom conversation one May afternoon. They spoke about race and romcoms, and what they’ve been doing during quarantine.
What is your history with romantic comedies, and what are your favourites?
KUMAIL NANJIANI: Initially, I became a fan of romcoms back when I was in my teens and the idea of having a relationship with a girl seemed very unattainable but also very exciting. So, the big ’90s
romcom boom.
ISSA RAE: I think and, in the ’90s, anything Julia Roberts was in, or Sandra Bullock. Those were some of my hero leads. Queen Latifah, even.
NANJIANI: Most romcoms stop when the couple gets together. That’s generally how the movie ends. But for us in it was, what happens after that? That’s where the real challenges are.
How was it to work together for the first time and what did you appreciate about each other?
RAE: I’ve watched Kumail’s work and always thought that he was funny. Working with him, I was just drawn to how smart he is and how there’s such a worldly perspective he brings to the table. He’s a great listener and critical thinker. And he’s a master improv-er, constantly thinking about jokes but managing to maintain a wittiness. It forces you to keep up in a way that I took back on my other projects. You can’t work with him and not learn from him and want to be better.
NANJIANI: Everything Issa said is very true. (Laughs) I was a fan of Issa’s because she’s a great performer, but she also has such a great understanding of relationships. I don’t just mean romantic ones.
The friendly, platonic relationships on (her HBO series) are done so well. She brought so much of her understanding to this movie. And the actual shooting was really fun because it’s exciting working with someone where you know you can throw anything out there and the other person will go with it and give you back something that you could never expect.
I haven’t seen a lot of romcom-turned-murder-mysteries with an African American and a Pakistani American in the lead roles. Did that rarity affect your approach to this movie?
RAE: On my end, it was just acknowledging the fact that we were people of colour. In reading the original script, it was clear that it was either for two white people or, just, “anybody”. But given the circumstances, it was important to acknowledge who we were and our points of view in the world without beating anyone over the head with it. Because I do find myself hatewatching movies where it’s like, okay, we’re just going to ignore race entirely?
NANJIANI: I’m very aware of my race and how I’m coming across at all times. So, we wanted this movie to reflect that it’s very different when it’s two white people being accused of murder and running from the cops as opposed to two people who are not white.
Issa, what’s it like having a new season of “Insecure” running during this time?
RAE: It’s the best, but it’s the worst. I forgot how much people like to talk about the show, which is great. But they talk too much about it, and because it’s a weekto-week thing, I’m inundated with conversations, lots of nitpicking. I’ll read stuff but I also tune out.
Are you working on any projects now?
RAE: A couple of shows and a movie. And we just started the writers room for Season 5.
NANJIANI: Issa, has it been more or less efficient, working with writers on Zoom?
RAE: It’s been way more efficient, unfortunately, it’s so sad. We just dive right into it now, everybody’s on time.
NANJIANI: Emily and I had an idea for a movie last year that we didn’t have time to write, so we just wrote it in this period. And then we’re working on the next season of our Apple show, There are some days where I feel like I get too worried and I can’t write, but generally it’s not too bad.
The Lovebirds