THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT CHAT: The Lovely Alison Brie

10th November 2012

The Five Year Engagement is out on DVD, and to celebrate, we spoke to the lovely Alison Brie (Suzie)

Q: I’m here for the DVD and I’m thinking that there was quite a lot of improv so there must be some outtakes.

AB: Oh boy! There are plenty of outtakes, I am sure. We shot so much footage. It’s just so fun. They gather, it’s just the way these guys work, Nick (Stoller – director) likes to just get as much as possible and then sift through it later and find the funny bits, so I can only imagine what other options they have out there, so I think the DVD will be pretty cool.

Q: Working opposite Chris Pratt – he’s so crazy.

AB: He’s divine. He’s so funny, he’s so sweet. We just had a blast. Our characters are so wacky in the film, so we just got to have a lot of fun, you know, and got to really cut loose. Then we had kids, so there was a lot to work off of.

Q: Did you do any scenes that are not in the movie that you think might be ‘deleted scenes’?

AB: There were some great scenes between Chris and I in the hospital after we have our first child and then maybe another one after we have our second child, where we are fighting and yelling at each other, we’re crying, and then we make up and we’re kissing – you just see our full circle and it so defines these two characters, and just how passionate they are. They just get everything out and then resolve their issues quickly, as opposed to the couple like Jason (Segel) and Emily (Blunt), who just are trying so hard to be polite and have everything be perfect, that they are putting off talking about their issues until it’s too late.

Q: Do you think that’s maybe the message of the film, that if you meet a guy who’s maybe not right but nearly right, you should just get on with it?

AB: Just go with it! Yeah, I think so. Embrace things that come your way and just make a move. I think that no good can come of waiting too long for anything.

Q: Your wedding speech was amazing but it looked very real – it felt like maybe you have done that, have you?

AB: I have! I have made wedding speeches before, but I have not broken down and cried that much during them. Yes, I am very well-versed in the wedding toast.

Q: So how was it working with Jason and Emily?

AB: So fun. They’re great, and they’re so great together in the movie and Emily was so great with me, helping with the accent and working with me on set, and Jason is just such a pro – I learned so much from him about improvisation and this type of comedy, so it was a big learning experience for me, between the improv and the accent – it was like a workshop!

Q: The accent was amazing by the way.

AB: Oh thank you. Phew!

Q: How was working with Nick Stoller, because I think he just lets you run with stuff?

AB: He does. Nick is so laid back and fun and great, and he’s got an amazing laugh, and when it rings out on set, you know that you are doing a good job, and he really creates a comfortable environment in which we can all just comfortably do this improv, which could be a very daunting thing, but he just creates a comfortable atmosphere – it’s silly, it’s fun, and he likes to laugh, so everybody is just laughing, all day.

Q: Is that what drew you to it, because you get the chance to be wackier than your usual characters?

AB: Yes, I loved the fact that the character was so different from the characters that I have usually played, and also I love these guys: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) is one of my favourite movies, ever, and they are so funny in it, and they wrote and directed that one, so I was just excited to be included with this amazing cast.

Thanks to Sophie.

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