The Thread hosts a screening for "The Five-Year Engagement"
This week The Thread treated viewers and Facebook fans to an exclusive screening of “The Five-Year Engagement” where they met Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Alison Brie, Kevin Hart, producer Rodney Rothman and co-writer/director Nick Stoller. Now, Judd “Knocked Up” Apatow is a producer on the film which opens April 27, so a fair amount of gross-out hilarity is guaranteed. But the story of Tom and Violet’s relationship plunges pretty deep into adult territory and chronicles what can happen to even the most in-love couple when life simply happens around them. See what the cast had to say about their favorite moments onscreen and off and why Nick's willingness to let his actors take risks brought out the best in everyone.
I know it’s not “real.” Emily’s married to John Krasinski, and Jason is dating the lovely Michelle Williams. But one of the reasons “The Five-Year Engagement” works so well is because the chemistry between Jason and Emily seems so genuine. The two were friends before filming, it turns out —“best friends” according to Jason, to Emily's surprise — and they came to the project with an easy rapport in place.
For all the lightheartedness that passes onscreen, and there is plenty -- Tom and Violet meet at a costume party where she is dressed like Princess Diana and he is wearing a Pepto-Bismol-pink bunny suit -- the movie is an adult look into how relationships evolve over time when life happens and people change.
The cast is chock-full of familiar faces. Alison Brie (“Community,” “Mad Men”) plays Violet’s more impulsive younger sister. (I must point out she showed up in a gorgeous emerald green halter-neck jumpsuit by Max Mara.) Comedian Kevin Hart (“Think Like a Man”) lived with Jason for a few months, we learned, while he played the role of Violet’s fellow psychology grad student with a penchant for bizarre behavioral experiments. Chris Pratt from “Parks and Recreation” plays Tom’s buffoonish best friend, and “The Office’s” Mindy Kaling is Violet’s competitive co-worker.
Jason co-wrote the script with Nick, his long time collaborator on “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and “The Muppets.” And he meant it to explore the fluidity of relationships over time-- the good parts and the ugly all-night fights. Some of their favorite scenes, including a particularly memorable sparring match, were actually made up on the spot as Nick loved to let his actors take risks. “That’s the thing about working with creative people,” said Kevin, “The one thing we all thrive off of is improvisation. It motivates other people do more. Nick did a great job to make sure no one went too far off so you forgot what movie you were in.”
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