CelebHomes: At the same time, the movie is a buddy movie. How did you decide to put the emphasis on friendship and not romances?
Surina JindalThis is our rom-com. It was our goal to flip it around as much as we could. There are so many buddy comedy films, so few rom-coms. So many “chick flicks.” How can we make it more than a trope? How do we envision these characters evolving? What if Mel was just looking for a man? This was something we didn’t want. It was important to us that it be about Serena, Mel, and our shared journey. It should be bold and true to the spirit of strong female friendships.
CelebHomes: What percentage of this film is based on truth? Were you two inspired by anything that’s happened in your lives?
MC: The friendship and the characters are very much us but heightened. This all stems back from Surina and I—our real-life friendship dating back since 2011. Surina’s free-spiritedness and willingness to share her thoughts without reservation is a testament to my Type A personality. Our strengths complement one another very well, and we wanted to take advantage of that. This is very transparent to us.
SJ: The one part that’s super-real is the dry-humping. It is how Melanie greets me at high-end social events.
MC: Even at my wedding. She was my bridesmaid…Everyone’s posing so sweetly and nicely, and she comes up to me and my photo with Surina is of her dry-humping me, and me trying to look composed.