Doesn’t have to be. Clea has got the audiences hooked now.
Riley on a cruise would kill me. So many great hijinx possibilities. You can get away with a LOT that gives the experience you’re describing without showing anything that turns it into a totally different movie for the rest of the audience.
Father of the Bride homage could be where the parents are secretly about to split up. But they rediscover true love and hold a new ceremony next to Abby and Harper 
DuVall — a prolific actor, turned writer-director — also addressed the internet’s ardent love for Aubrey Plaza’s Riley, having compassion for Harper’s coming out journey, and the possibility of a sequel.
Getting into some of the things that people have been talking about — obviously, you wrote the movie so that Abby ends up with Harper, but there are so many people who want Abby to be with Riley! Do you —
Do they want Abby to be with Riley, or do they want to be with Riley? I mean, it also can be both.
People are going to be happy about that, especially if there’s a Riley spinoff sequel! Clea, this is the first feature centered on lesbians that has gone viral like this. How does that feel?
I don’t really even understand what viral means. I actually make that joke a lot in our house. Like, I’ll get two text messages, and I’ll be like, “I’ve gone viral.” I’m really just so thrilled that people are watching the movie and are affected by it, and having conversations about it. There’s been so little visibility that for something like this to come out and be so visible and so seen and wanted to be seen by so many people — it’s very humbling. It’s really wild.
@Bigoldnit thought you’d appreciate this part in particular:
Can you talk about creating Riley in general? What did you want from her character?
I think there’s something so specific about when you are the only queer person in a situation, and another queer person shows up. It is such a relief. There’s a shorthand; there’s a comfort there — it’s just a very specific experience. So much of the time, I’m the only queer person on a set, you know? And then when there’s another queer person there, or queer woman specifically, I immediately am drawn to that person. And we are immediately drawn to each other, and a shorthand develops.
So the Riley character was that; I wanted to give Abby that. I wanted to give her a comfort there in a situation that was challenging. I am friends with so many queer women. And we have like a very special connection, a very special relationship. But that doesn’t mean that when I’m, like, hitting a rough patch in my romantic relationship that I’m gonna go run off with them. Even if it is Aubrey Plaza!
Oh, wow, do I feel that so much. Especially the part about the shorthand. There’s just so much comfort that comes from not having to verbalize certain things, but just UNDERSTANDING them.
This whole thread had me rolling.
https://twitter.com/kianangu/status/1334677287489294337
https://twitter.com/kianangu/status/1334678551086288897
https://twitter.com/kianangu/status/1334679163253374978
https://twitter.com/kianangu/status/1334681702979944455
https://twitter.com/kianangu/status/1334682863573245953
https://twitter.com/kianangu/status/1334685798847811587
https://twitter.com/kianangu/status/1334691192206807046
https://twitter.com/kianangu/status/1334699235967549443
This looks really good. Is it available on any platforms other than Hulu?
Tis not.
Well worth it for a free trial or $5 for a month.
We have watched this twice already. Love it.
I want to read Jane’s book.
Anyone down to write it, please?
The actress who played Jane co-wrote the script, so maybe she will!
I do wish the movie strayed from the time honored romance movie trope of the main object of affection not seeming worth it. I think Harper probably speaks more to LGBT people who have wrestled with coming out to her parents and people who get what it feels like to be in her position excuse the fact that she’s just kinda shitty to her gf the entire movie, but yeah, she just kinda sucked in the context of what we see.
So what I hear you saying is this SHOULD have been the Under Your Nose trope where Abby realizes she should have been with Riley all along…
Or are you saying it’s Harper who should have realized she had to lose Abby to understand how much she loves Riley?
Obviously any ending where a character realizes Riley is their true love is going to be a winner.
Bigoldnit, back me up here.
I think my impulse while watching was “Harper kinda sucks, just go out with Riley” for the back half of the movie.
I think it’s a tough thing where it’s a given that they love each other as evidenced by buying a ring and such, but just in the scope of the movie, what you’re supposed to be rooting for is for Abby and Harper to stay together at the end, but it’s hard to root for that when you see nothing but shitty behavior from Harper for an hour and a half.
Also, everybody should just get to date Aubrey Plaza.
Well said!
Thoughts:
Harper is shitty. There are understandable reasons for the shittyness, but she’s still shitty. Breaking Riley’s heart was cruel, but I’m willing to chalk it up to being young and unclear about her own sexuality and going pretty easy on that one.
The way she treats Abby is much less excusable, imo.
First, she lied to her about being out. Dating a closeted person has a lot of potential pitfalls, and if you are dating someone seriously, I think they have the right to know that so that they can decide if they really want to go for the ride on your coming out roller coaster.
Second, she sprung the reveal on her in a way that didn’t really give Abby the option of backing out of the trip, and I think that was pretty manipulative.
Third, in order to maintain her own cover, Harper wanted Abby to play straight which adds another layer of discomfort and manipulation to the charade.
Fourth, she constantly ditched Abby, who literally knew noone there, so that she could hang out with old friends (including her ex). If Harper truly wants to spend the rest of her life with Abby, she should start incorporating her into it.
Finally, and I think most problematically, it’s pretty clear that without the Deus Ex Allison Brie that Harper would have kept this pattern going for a long time. She was always going to like the attention from the ex, was never going to want to disappoint her parents, was always going to want to wait just a little bit longer, and I think that is a recipe for a bad relationship.
I don’t necessarily think Abby should have run off with Riley (but I wouldn’t blame her if she did), but I just kinda think that Harper needs to get some of her own stuff together before she can be in the space to be a full life partner to someone else.
Doesn’t the Abby should be with Riley angle just assume all LGBTQ people are attracted to each other? The movie gives no hint of attraction. The Riley character is there as a friend.
It’s not a romance troupe it’s a LGBTQ people tend to congregate troupe.
I enjoyed this. I’d give it a solid “B.” Some funny parts, some annoying and cheesy parts. In the end, well worth watching once. I don’t think it will be a classic that people watch every Christmas.
It’s tough to portray this when you pick an actor that has chemistry with anyone and everyone. Aubrey Plaza is one of those people.
That is such an excellent point. The whole movie might have played very differently if not for the chemistry Aubrey Plaza instantly brings with the other actors, characters, and the audience.
That happens a lot in filming, too, where a guest character is suddenly recurring and then a regular and they rewrite whole arcs because no one knew the character would be so compelling until they had an actor that transcended the script.
Aaron Paul in Breaking Bad is a good example of that. IIRC Jessie was originally going to die in season one.
Wife and I just finished this. We both really enjoyed it. Also, halfway through we guessed they wouldn’t end up together, so when they did, we were a little disappointed. But my wife pointed out that it’s a holiday movie, so expecting anything other than a happy ending was wishful thinking on our part.
Also, I’m absolutely in love with Jane (Mary Holland). It’s cool, my wife knows.
