Andy Samberg and Kate McKinnon are almost too powerful in their new movie, The Roses. The duo’s off-the-charts chemistry is palpable even over Zoom. When asked about reuniting with McKinnon, Samberg gave a glowing review: “Fantastic. A dream come true. A culmination of all of my life’s work. Am I overstating it now?” Without missing a beat, McKinnon quipped, “Not quite enough.”
The comedy legends star as the delightfully eccentric Amy and Barry in a remake of the 1989 dark comedy The War of the Roses, which itself was based on the 1981 novel of the same name. And if you haven’t seen the original, don’t worry: McKinnon hadn’t either before signing on to the remake. (“I know it’s a cultural touchstone, but there are a lot of cultural touchstones I have not seen because, I don’t know, I was busy,” she explained. Period.)
During an exclusive interview with Betches, Samberg and McKinnon opened up about building their characters, working with the Academy Award-winning Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch, and what it was like teaming up again for this film (apparently, it was a lot like going fishing with a long-lost cousin).
BETCHES: You guys have worked together before a bit on SNL. What was it like reuniting for this project?
Andy Samberg: Everything from this point forward will be a disappointment.
Kate McKinnon: No, it’s wonderful. Andy and I only overlapped for one year at SNL, but we shared this experience and know this same world intimately, just from different years. It was sort of getting to know my cousin, who I only met a few times at a reunion seven years ago or something, and finding out that the cousin you hear so much about is even better in real life, and you’re fishing together, and you’re really good at fishing. It’s fun to watch him fish. You know that thing that happens?
AS: Hell yeah. When you meet up with a cousin that you’ve heard about your whole life, and then you end up fishing together? That’s like standard family fare.
KM: It’s that thing of when sometimes a majestic opportunity, an opportunity that is just so crazy good, falls in your lap and you say, “I am going to go fish with my long-lost cousin.”
Universal experience for sure. Do you have a favorite memory from filming?
KM: For me, it was like when we were shooting the big dinner scene at the end. We were all staying in the same hotel and I am such an introvert and I really, when I’m done with work at the end of the day I got to go be by myself, but everyone had dinner and I couldn’t wait to go to dinner and keep being with everyone, that’s how much I loved everyone. And it was really exciting. The group just really coalesced in a very organic and special way.
AS: Yeah, I was going to say the same. It was probably one of a bunch of times where we all just went out and hung out more than any shooting of any one scene. It was a fun group.
Were there characters or people in real life that you were channeling for Amy and Barry?
KM: I think for me, I was channeling not a specific person, but a type of person I’ve met and maybe been where you think you’re funny and cool, and with it, but you’re actually just kind of annoying. I’ve met some of those people, and I’ve caught myself being that in real life as well, and so I was kind of drawing on that.
AS: Yeah, similar, an amalgam of people. I mean, the film is set a lot in Northern California, which is where I’m from. And we kind of talked about this archetype of a guy who has a lot of money and has bought a ton of really fancy cycling equipment, but has never used it. That was kind of our jumping off point. We talked about Barry’s backstory of like, “Oh no, yeah, I’m going to do that. I’m going to get to it,” but it’s all really just to convince himself that that’s who he is, when in fact he’s a completely other person.
What did you guys decide about Amy and Barry’s relationship? Are they soulmates going through a rough patch, or should they really be divorced?
KM: It kept evolving as initially I arrived in England thinking that there was a thin veneer of friendship over a sea of hatred, but then we started shooting and I just loved him so much and it was much more interesting than that. There was a real friendship in real life that made its way into that, which I think added dimension to it. And so I don’t know.
AS: Yeah, it became difficult to separate my love for Kate from the dynamic. She’s so fun to watch, perform, and spend time with. But I think that really helped it because what the intention of their relationship started to turn into was they’re not doomed, they shouldn’t break up, but they’re also not meant to be. To answer directly, it’s neither. They shouldn’t break up. They should be together because it works for them, but it’s not because they have some magical love connection. It’s because it works for them, and they’ve decided that it’s going to be. We really liked that idea as them being a counterbalance to Benedict and Olivia’s characters, who had this perfect connection, but were squandering it because of outside forces, so we were almost like the shadow of them.
It’s such an insane cast. What was it like working with Olivia Coleman and Benedict Cumberbatch. Did their process inspire you?
AS: I was super excited to work with both of them. I’m a huge fan of both of theirs. Knowing that they were leading it, the level of quality their names mean on a project, it just immediately puts you at ease, where you’re like, “No matter what, it’s Olivia and Benedict, and they’re going to be incredible.” So I was excited coming in, and then my expectations were exceeded.
Watching them work was really, really amazing. Benedict is so precise. Olivia is such an anomaly as a performer, you think she’s not in control, and then you realize she’s more in control than anyone has ever been. And so the two of them together, it’s like watching two expert dancers dancing with each other, where every single move is perfect, and intuitively they’re bouncing off each other in ways I never would’ve thought to do. And it elevates it and it makes it sad, but it makes it funny, and all the things mixed together, which is my favorite type of art always. It was really inspiring to watch.
KM: Just to watch two people say the same lines take after take and it’s completely different and they’re finding new layers and levels… There are such good people in real life, and that just permeates on screen. There’s a level of heartbreak even as they’re savaging each other in this really fun way. It’s so grounded in real pathos, and it’s just masterful. I learned so much watching them at close range.
Where do you think your characters go after that shocking ending? How do you think they process and recover?
KM: I think they go to a resort, and they are sitting in the hot tub, and whoever comes into that hot tub is going to be a part of things moving forward.
AS: Exact same answer, except replace the hot tub with Burning Man.