By: debbie lynn elias
At first blush, the sensorally exciting and dazzling I MELT WITH YOU, appears to be the poster child for boys behaving badly. With debauchery descending into new depths of hell, Glenn Porterfs script details the 25th annual gathering of four best friends from college. Now in their 40’s, Richard, Ron, Jonathan and Tim appear to have it all. But as the film unfolds, lives begin to openly unravel as secrets, unspoken truths and horrors of each manfs emotional life rise to the surface. Fueled by the escapist primordial consumption of drugs and alcohol set to pulsating, heart pounding music, we delve into the male psyche as each man faces not only his own mortality but the age old question of “Where did my life go?”
During the recent Press Day for I MELT WITH YOU, I had a chance to ask some pointed questions of Rob Lowe and Jeremy Piven who play Jonathan and Ron in the film. Watching the two of them, it’s easy to see why Mark Pellington cast them. They have a casual ease that begets a history and amidst some very thought-provoking and insightful reflection on some very brave performances and the subject matter of this film, there was also more than a fair amount of laughter – especially when it came around to Thomas Jane aka Shoeless Joe Jackson.
This was a really courageous film for you guys to take. These are not average run of the mill characters.
RL: Thank you.
They can be interpreted in so many different ways by an audience. What attracted the two of you to this film and to the roles?
RL: For me, we all read so many scripts and have read so many over our lives. And to read something where you truly go, “Whoa! I’ve never read anything like this before” is pretty extraordinary. I was actually surprised that anyone was going to make it. I wanted to be a part of a movie that was going to be as provocative as this movie was. But it’s not provocative in the way that movies are today when they’re trying to be provocative which is [in a maniacal whisper] sexually provocative. This is through dealing with the themes of what it is really like to be a man. That was really really interesting to me. That and the fact that I thought it would interesting on a Thursday night. That people could watch Parks and Recreation, hit VOD and watch this on the same night…
And then watch Entourage.
RL: That would be cool. To see Jeremy go from from that character to this character is a cool thing.
Thomas was saying that we are youth obsessed and that we donft think past 40.
RL: Well, these guys in the movie don’t. I think that’s why the movie resonates so much. You’re not gonna get to where I am in my 40’s and feeling okay about it without a huge amount of work on who you are and what you’re about. If you don’t do that and you wake up and you’re 40 or 45, you’re in for an awakening. That’s for sure.
JP: That’s basically what’s happened in this movie. Guys who have been reliving their youth and dummy down all their senses and whatnot so they can’t feel. And then suddenly these turn of events happen and they have to face themselves and each other. And it’s kind of shocking to all of them. My character in particular is so distracted with being the provider and the man and he is defined by numbers, as we are in this culture right now. Everyone is gathering their statistics right now and figuring out everything. It just seems to be a huge waste of time. Like focusing on this number 40. People are looking for the golden boy and the young one and all that stuff. That’s a slippery slope. Definitely. With my character he is so sidetracked with being the breadwinner that it drives him into doing all the wrong things and being immoral. Then he has to face himself. And in this particular weekend he has to face all his friends and all these feelings that they have towards each other that have been laying dormant for years and they are just kind of unleashed on each other. That’s what you look for as an actor, is to play those type scenarios and stakes.
Rob, this is one of the finest performances of your career. Just watching your character reflect with shame, disintegrating, is really provocative.
Thank you. Thank you so much.
How is it for the two of you as actors shooting a film as organically as this one was done. 18 days. Shooting in sequence. Hand held, on the fly and going. Do you like that or do you like a more scripted, thought out blocked plan type of performance?
RL: It depends what you’ve bought in for. If you’re doing an Aaron Sorkin script, it’s highly intricate. It’s about executing a very specific set of circumstances. This, with Mark Pellington, you knew going in it was going to be this mad passionate sort of “what’s the method to the madness” type of guerilla intense filmmaking. And I think the movie is really well represented. That’s what it really feels like. I had no surprise. When I saw the movie it was exactly what I thought it would be. Exhilarating, maddening, depravity. All of these different thins where it just kind of blows you over. I don’t think I really prefer one to the other really. It just depends on what kind of war youfre fighting.
JP: There’s something else though [that’s] kind of exhilarating about seeing a movie that’s true to itself, knowing that you donft have to live that life, knowing that you didn’t. Seriously. And that if something is done with passion and clarity and hopefully, of a high level, it’s inspiring. I’ve seen incredibly depressing movies that I was just inspired by. It sounds pretentious, but that’s art. And it’s inspiring. Sure it is really really dark. You don’t have to live in that darkness because you were witness to it. We don’t have to watch reality television and watch people acting out to feel better about ourselves. There are other ways to do it.
RL: You can watch this movie. You’re gonna feel a lot better!
RL: [The] diagnosis that they are all really immature is really indicative of the modern man because, I think, what culturally is accepted of mature men is now reviled. So, in the place of what men were for hundreds of men, all of a sudden fashion turned and it wasnft fashionable to be that guy any more. So what you’re left with are overgrown kids. You see that in this movie. And kids make, and I know because I have two teenagers, they often only see one way out. “There’s just this way out! And that’s it!” I’m like, “Nah, nah, nah. Let’s just take a breath.” So in many ways they take the undisciplined selfish, as kids are, way out , and there’s nothing more selfish than what these guys do. It’s not designed to be the kind of movie where you go, “Yea, I would done the same thing.” The fact that you go, “Huh?”, that’s what it’s meant to provoke. It’s meant to provoke going to dinner afterwards and going, “I never would have” or “I would have” or “I see it”, to get you to talk, to get you to feel, to get you to dig into the themes in a culture today where all they want to do is opiate the masses. They just want to take your money; buy your popcorn; and go see the second version we’re gonna give you in a year and a half. That’s all anybody cares about . So to do a movie like this, I thought was fine.
JP: There’s still that duality of yes, [Ron] does decide to be loyal to his friends and loyal to his pact that they took back in the day. But he doesn’t have the courage to face his wife and look her in the face and not be the man who he presented himself to be. So, it’s just not that simple. The movie isn’t that simple. Also, it’s very interesting because these characters are at times very despicable. We rode this very fine line and it was kind of interesting. It would have been very easy to be very clear about [the characters] that they have all the potential in the world and then the tragedy of where they end up. But they’re not those guys. They’re incredibly flawed. My mother turned to me at one point – she’s been my acting since I was 8 years old – and she’s never used the word “brave” to any performance I’ve ever done, but she said that word and it’s maybe because these characters are, parts of them, pretty despicable. It would be easy at times to write them off. It’s our job to still try to mine for some sort of integrity or flesh it out in some other colors within it all. So, I think this is kind of a different movie than any you’ve seen in a way.
What do you guys think of the film?
I personally think it‘s an incredible character study. First and foremost.
JP: Yea.
Buttressing that is the technical aspect of the film. But these four guys, it takes all of you put together to really form one. Individually, youfre fractured, you‘re broken. But together you are one. You are stronger together. And it‘s easy to see how the four of you could not make it in life without that inner dependency. It‘s really well structured and well conceived and the performances really bring that to the surface. [And after seeing the first half of the film], that‘s where you understand the decline of each individual character.
RL: It’s funny. I always wanted to star in a great music video and I finally have. In the first half, I was like, “God damn! We look cool! Donft we?”
You guys look really cool in the first half.
On a happier note with the film, how does it feel to get to trash a house, wreck it and then you’re not the guys who had to clean it up? Not even your characters had to clean it up. Christian McKay‘s did!
RL: We did trash it. Believe it. [laughing]
Thatfs what Mark said. $15,000 of repair/clean-up.
RL: In fairness, the blame goes to an actor who shall remain nameless but letfs just say he doesn’t wear shoes. [laughing] We shared a room smaller than this.
JP: [to Lowe] You said something like, “We came out of the makeup trailer”. There was no make-up trailer.
RL: Did I say the word “make-up trailer”? It’s so in my vernacular. [laughter]
JP: There was no any trailer. We were all huddled on the floor together and brought our own wardrobe and you worked for $11.00 and thatfs why this movie got made.
RL: It’s all our own clothes. Sometimes each other’s clothes by mistake. There was like a pile on the floor. Looked like a bad frat house.
JP: It was bad. I’d be in a scene with Rob and Ifd be going, “That shirt looks good. Why is he wearing my shirt? I guess we’re gonna play through.” [laughing] Itfs definitely like, “My buddy’s got a barn. Let’s put on a show.”
RL: It was definitely like that.
JP [to me]: Did Mark give you any insight into what you just said about different aspects of the same person or you just came up with that by yourself?
No.
JP: Interesting. That’s cool. I like that.
RL: Yea.
I realized that the minute I walked about of the theater after screening. It‘s a very collaborative piece and if one of you weren‘t there, it wouldnft work.
RL: It’s really a tribute to Mark that he put the right players on the field. Any number of different actors could have done it and brought their particular thing to it. . .
JP: But at the same time, a lot of actors were really afraid of this.
RL: The script is sort of infamous. There are people that really wanted to be in it and didn’t get a chance. And other people were like, “Ew. There’s no way!”
I know definitely for the two of you, and for Thomas, you are secure enough in yourselves and in your careers at this point that you are able to reach out and venture into a project like this and youfre not going to have the adverse fallout that a younger actor may have, or stigma they may get.
RL: I think so. I hope so. You want to be able to dig like you have to. And Jeremy and I always talked about the places you have to go in this movie. There’s certain kinds of acting you can do. That you can do all on technique and you can do all on experience or you can do all with any different number of tricks. I don’t mean tricks in the pejorative. I mean it’s part of your craft. But in this type of a movie where you have to go, it has to be authentic. You have to live it. And there are people that don’t want to go there. People that can’t go there. And if you can’t go there and you try to “fake” go there, you’re dead. I went into this knowing that if I can’t get there, it would be one of the worst performances anybody had ever seen. And that will get your attention.
JP: So, it’s opposite of what you just said to be honest with you.
RL: In what way?
JP: You would be exposed doing this movie no matter where you’re at because it doesn’t matter what your track record is.
RL: Oh, I see.
JP: It just matters what this one is and did you rise to this particular occasion. That’s why we do what we do. So we got lucky that it came around.
Who got the rowdiest during the party scenes?
RL: Shoeless Joe Jackson! [laughing] (aka Thomas Jane) He literally at one point head butted a chandelier and was bleeding profusely all over the set and we were just continuing to shoot.
JP: If you look at the movie . . .there’s an old saying “continuity is for pussies”, excuse my language. . .
RL: He’s got a gigantic welt on his eye and then after a minute it’s gone. He’s the man. We can’t compete.
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