Judd Apatow talks about secret eating and drug vacations in 'This Is 40'
The writer/director takes a frank look at the dynamics of his new movie
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On the eve of the recent TV press day for "This Is 40," Judd Apatow sent out a plea to any journalists that happened to check his Twitter feed.
"Tomorrow is the This Is 40 press junket. Hey journalists - be the one who asks unique, thought provoking questions no one else asks. Please."
As it happened, I was the last person into the room on the day of the interviews. That was the same day Paramount held their "Star Trek" press day, so there was a whole lot of running around and scrambling to make my times for everything. When I sat down across from Judd, I asked him if everyone had taken up his challenge, and he sighed. "Nope. Same four questions all day. 'What's it like to see Paul Rudd make out with your wife?' 'How fun is it directing your kids?' Pressure's on, Drew. Let's see what you've got."
This weekend, I'll run a longer conversation between the two of us, and I think it's a great loose back and forth. When you're doing an on-camera interview, things tend to be more sound-bite oriented. We talked about secret eating (something I know absolutely nothing about, hence my willowy build), how people in his films approach recreational drug use, and why "This Is 40" may not speak to everyone.
It's interesting to see what happens around those moments when someone has a film coming out, because they become omnipresent for a brief time. I think the coolest part of Judd's sudden presence everywhere has been the comedy issue he guest edited for "Vanity Fair." The piece on "The Blues Brothers" alone justifies the entire making of "This Is 40" in my opinion, as does the oral history of "Freaks and Geeks." The whole issue is great, though, and really highlights just how much Judd loves comedy as a whole. He takes the craft of making people laugh very seriously, and that's one of the reasons I have enjoyed the ongoing conversation we've been having since I met him on the set of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." Here's hoping you guys also enjoy that conversation each time we share some new piece of it.
"This Is 40" opens in theaters everywhere today.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupJoshua
December 21, 2012 at 5:04PM EST Reply to Comment"...and why "This Is 40" may not speak to everyone."
This suggests something troubling to me, which is this growing conceitedness of people who have children being depicted in the media.
A very disturbing example of this is the reactions of most everyone who was interviewed during the recent school shooting in America: They began most of their conversations with "...as a parent..."
To me, it was as if the suggestion that only people who had children could fully appreciate the sincerity or sheer terror of what happened to the child victims was being made.
I've been encountering the same reactions while reading and hearing other people's thoughts about THIS IS 40; That, even though the leads are considerably more well-off than a majority of Americans, their story is still valid just because they are the same age and have children.
This is genuinely upsetting to me: I understand how good it feels to believe that you're part of something, a collective group. Especially today in America where everything feels like the equivalent of a team sport. Where having your supposed team winning or at least being represented matters more than the outcome. But, to even hint that just because you happen to follow certain social routines (like getting married, having children, etc.) makes you more of a profound human being than someone who doesn't, is scary.
People seem to be giving THIS IS 40 a free pass based on this belief, which might seem harmless considering its just a movie. But I think reactions like this for things like films that go unquestioned, evolve into truly disturbing reactions to real-life incidents like the tragedy in Connecticut.
Its also upsetting how a person's wealth is being almost desperately concealed when discussing issues. Particularly ones obtaining to everyday working people.
In a Military Industrial Complex, how you look and how much you make DOES make you different than everyone else. Its the very foundation that American Capitalism is built on.
If what "Pete" and "Debbie" go through is so universal to other parents and doesn't have to do with their money and looks, then why do they have to live in such posh surroundings? Why couldn't they live in a typical suburb? Their kids go to a public school?
In the documentary A DECADE UNDER THE INFLUENCE, Polly Platt talked about how she would watch the Doris Day/Rock Hudson movies of the sixties and think to herself how different her life was compared to them. How her parents and some of the people she knew would discuss how accurate and edgy those movies were, and how she completely disagreed with them. That the great-looking Day and Hudson living in expensive apartments had no relation to her or her own generation's lives.
The new wave of American film making that happened in the late sixties and first part of the seventies derived from those same feelings Platt had, imo.
Today, it feels the consensus is the complete opposite.
Where Platt's generation mocked and ridiculed the supposed "mirrors" movies and television shows were holding up to the public, we embrace and confirm.
Where Platt's generation recoiled from the depictions of "everyday life" in the media, we desperately cling to.
Comedy used to be the bullhorn for the working class. Even Woody Allen's work doesn't insist that the characters are just like the audience.
Are we witnessing, with the reactions of some critics and movie bloggers to THIS IS 40, a shameless proclamation that this movie and others (like SPANGLISH) are made for them and everyone else is just not allowed? An acknowledgement that if you're not married, have kids, and make a certain amount of money, then you don't know the secret handshake? Millions spent to make congratulatory entertainment for the privileged - or, at least people who think of themselves or aspiring to be as such?
I know I haven't seen Drew's bigger interview with Apatow, but some reactions I'm encountering from this movie and the recent events in the U.S. have become very troubling to me.
Roy Munson Wow -- That was kind of interesting but you went on too long and you might be making a mountain out of a molehill
December 22, 2012 at 1:15AM ESTJeff I would go to a mental health specialist.
December 22, 2012 at 4:53PM ESTThisguy I just crapped all over your conveluded opinion. I think you need to get a hobby if you really delve this far into a movie analysis. Btw, Pete and Debbie are rich because they were in knocked up. I don't know if it's obvious or not that it is a movie.
December 25, 2012 at 3:52PM ESTRoy Munson The original poster is off his rocker but "ThisGuy" please tell me what "Pete and Debbie are rich becuase they were in Knocked Up" means!!
December 25, 2012 at 11:07PM ESTjeves23
December 21, 2012 at 5:08PM EST Reply to CommentI want to see this, but will probably wait for it to go to the cheap theatre or VOD.... I am a fan of Apatow, but after Funny People I am a bit more reserved in my enthusiasm for his work. I wanted to like that movie, but it was too self-indulgent to enjoy, and I worry that this may fall into the same trap.