In case you grew up anytime near the ‘90s, you had been raised within the golden age of the nice American household sitcom: Family Matters, The Recent Prince of Bel-Air, and naturally, Full Home. And if there’s one factor everyone knows about these healthful classics, it’s that they every had a lovable loner or edgy outsider — few extra iconic than Full Home’s bad-girl greatest good friend with the resting b*tch face, Gia.
It’s been a long time since Stephanie’s frenemy first stirred up drama within the Tanner household, however the actor who performed her, Marla Sokoloff, has introduced us many extra memorable characters through the years: Jody in Social gathering of 5, Wilma in Dude, The place’s My Automobile, Lisa in Sugar & Spice, Lucy on The Follow. She even performed Joey’s little sister in an episode of Mates. And her newest function? Effectively, it could very effectively be ushering within the return of ~one other~ nostalgic period of tv: the rise of rom-coms.
Come Nov. 20, Sokoloff will probably be becoming a member of Britt Robertson and Chad Michael Murray in The Merry Gentleman on Netflix. However Sokoloff isn’t simply starring within the movie as Robinson’s sister, Marie; she additionally wrote the film. The gist? Robinson’s Ashley, a former big-city dancer, units out to save lots of her dad and mom’ small-town performing arts venue. Leaning into her strengths, she decides to stage an all-male, Christmas-themed revue.
Scary Mommy caught up with Sokoloff, who lives in LA along with her husband and their three daughters, Elliotte, Olive, and Harper, to speak by means of the film (together with Murray’s abs), all issues Christmas, and the piece of recommendation she always provides her women.
Scary Mommy: Thanks, good friend, for doing the lord’s work by scripting this film. How did this come about?
Marla Sokoloff: That is so humorous, the Lord’s work. I am dying. Effectively, so the producer of the film, Jeff Shank, is somebody that I’ve labored with earlier than, and I simply love collaborating with him. He known as me sooner or later and mentioned, ‘I’ve this concept for a film, and I am questioning in the event you’d be thinking about writing it,’ as a result of I’ve written different issues for him earlier than. So, I can not take credit score for the precise thought, nevertheless it was such a enjoyable idea. I feel he gave me one sentence to go off of, and I simply form of ran with it. It is attention-grabbing coming from the angle of a feminine as a result of, similar to you are saying, everyone knows what we need to see.
SM: The information obtained shared instantly in our work chat, and the thrill was palpable.
MS: Actually, with Chad Michael Murray, I simply assume it is so thrilling for individuals from my technology and even my 12-year-old’s technology. I did not assume she was going to know who he was as a result of One Tree Hill is not stylish anymore and Gilmore Women is older, however she was shedding her thoughts over Chad Michael Murray.
SM: In a really memorable second from the trailer, you’re taking some measurements for his character, Luke…
MS: Oh yeah, all up in his abs.
SM: What was it like working with Murray and the remainder of the solid? They actually took their dancing severely, I hear.
MS: They did, which was nice. The second it obtained greenlit, I mentioned to the director of this movie, Peter Sullivan, ‘I do know who you must rent because the choreographer — my good friend Christine Lakin.’ You would possibly know her from Step By Step; she’s been round for the reason that ’90s. She’s fabulous. And the fellows simply all did such a tremendous job actually committing to those dances. They rehearsed for hours on finish. I do not assume any of them ate any carbohydrates for months.
SM: We admire your service, sirs. You additionally star in it. What’s your character, Marie, like?
MS: So, Marie is Britt Robertson’s sister, and she or he’s a lady who by no means actually left her hometown. She’s obtained a husband who, by means of figuring out Marie, turned one of many dancers within the all-male revue. She’s the voice of cause. She actually simply needs one of the best for her sister, and that undoubtedly means discovering love.
SM: Talking of household, I perceive you’re a Christmas girly like myself. What are a few of your loved ones’s favourite motion pictures to look at throughout the holidays?
MS: I do not assume a Christmas has passed by the place we have not watched Elf and Dwelling Alone. I do know some individuals say, ‘Oh, Dwelling Alone is not essentially a Christmas film; it simply takes place at Christmas.’ However to me, it brings Christmas vibes, and it is at all times one thing that we watch together with the traditional Elf and Christmas Story. My youngsters have not actually gotten into that one but, however that is only one that I’ve to look at each December.
SM: It’s humorous what hits with youngsters and what doesn’t from our childhood.
MS: I confirmed my center daughter, who’s 9, Camp Nowhere. Do you keep in mind that film?
SM: Oh sure… a millennial traditional.
MS: She simply didn’t get it. I used to be so excited to indicate it to her, and she or he was like, ‘Yeah, I favored it,’ and I used to be simply so irritated. I am like, ‘How are you not loving this film? It is Andrew Keegan. Come on.’
SM: Youngsters!
MS: I do know. So disappointing.
SM: If there’s one factor you need your daughters to remove from the belongings you’re educating them, what wouldn’t it be?
MS: The very first thing I consider is ‘go the place the love is.’ Particularly having a young person, the friendship factor will get so difficult — I am 43 and typically nonetheless have issues with mates — so I am actually attempting to instill with them go the place the love is. In case you’re in a friendship that is not making you are feeling nice or a relationship or a job or something, you simply lead with the love.
That actually is one thing I feel I say eight million instances a day to my youngsters … I do not attempt to lecture them like, ‘Why are you hanging out along with her? She sounds terrible.’ As an alternative of doing that, I simply need them to at all times respect themselves and arise for themselves.
SM: Now that your two oldest are approaching Gia’s age, I used to be curious what recommendation you give them concerning the Gias of their lives. However ‘go the place the love is.’ I like that.
MS: Like I mentioned, I am in my 40s, and I nonetheless must remind myself that. In case you go to lunch with any person and also you get within the automotive and you are like, ‘I do not actually really feel nice. For some cause, that particular person did not raise me up in any method,’ I simply assume life’s too quick, and all of us haven’t got sufficient time to proceed to put money into these sorts of friendships.
SM: I just lately entered what my mates and I name our ‘F*ck It 40s.’ A lot readability comes with age and realizing you simply need to be across the individuals who convey you pleasure.
MS: Proper, all of the issues — going out and taking the time away from your loved ones to go to dinner or an occasion or no matter — it must be one thing I need to do and really feel nice doing; in any other case, I simply need to be at residence with my household.
But in addition to your level concerning the F*ck It 40s, which I like by the way in which, I really feel like I used to assume that I might by no means go away my home in sweats or wanting form of no matter … Now I am similar to, ‘I do not care.’ I’ll go to the market wanting like I must be institutionalized, and I do not care.
SM: Identical! Effectively, there’s a fairly large age distinction between your oldest and youngest. What have you ever discovered essentially the most difficult about that, and what have you ever actually loved about that hole?
MS: The difficult half is I form of realized that my littlest one, at a sure level, will probably be an solely youngster as a result of my oldest will probably be out of the home. Then, my center youngster will probably be in highschool at a sure level, and that age hole is typically difficult. I might say, for essentially the most half, the age hole is completely superb as a result of she’s obsessed along with her older sisters and worships them, but in addition, the older sisters are in a position to assist.
My first daughter was like 3 once I had my second, and … I used to be so overwhelmed on a regular basis, like, ‘How can I do all of this?’ I used to be simply at all times so harassed. Now that I am older and my youngsters are older, I can admit that I undoubtedly didn’t get pleasure from it in the way in which I ought to have. Each milestone was like, ‘Oh, thank God, you are potty-trained. Oh good, you are going to faculty.’ It felt like similar to crawling uphill. And now, with my youngest, I am like, ‘No, I do not need her to go to highschool,’ or ‘I would like her to remain little.’
SM: Exterior of mother life, you’ve been in so many iconic reveals and flicks. Is there anybody you’d like to work with that you simply haven’t but? Or a narrative you’d love to inform?
MS: That is a fantastic query. I am dying to collaborate with Jen Garner once more. We performed twin sisters in Dude, The place’s My Automobile, and I am at all times occupied with how enjoyable it could be for us to work on one thing collectively. I feel the world loves her, and all of us simply need extra of her.
And I need to inform extra rom-com tales. I really feel like No person Desires This is dipping our toe again into the flicks and TV reveals that all of us need to see, and I feel that is why it did so effectively. All of us simply need some lighter fare and comedy and actors with chemistry.
SM: Sugar & Spice is one in all your traditional early aughts motion pictures. May you ever see that getting a sequel, and the place do you assume Lisa could be at this time?
MS: Oh my gosh, that might be a very enjoyable sequel. I’ve truly by no means even thought-about that one. However God, the place is Lisa at this time? She’s most likely divorced with 4 youngsters and only a mess of an individual. I do not know if she has many mates. Her youngsters most likely hate her, too.
We had a lot enjoyable taking pictures that film. Mena Suvari and I had been mates for years earlier than that, and so it was so nice to work along with her. And Marley Shelton, our children go to highschool collectively now, so I see her fairly often at college. I feel in the event you would’ve informed me once we filmed that film that we might have youngsters at school collectively sooner or later, I do not know if that might even have been any type of a actuality to me.
SM: Haha, effectively, put somewhat bug in her ear the subsequent time you see her…
MS: Yeah, I’ll! I feel The Child-Sitters Membership, too. I do know they’ve performed lots of reboots of that, however not with the OG solid members. I feel that might even be very enjoyable as a result of we’re nonetheless actually shut.
SM: Undoubtedly! Individuals are nonetheless so nostalgic for it.
MS: Which I feel is another excuse why No person Desires This is doing so effectively, as a result of Adam Brody’s again and all of us love Kristen Bell. Hopefully the identical will probably be true with The Merry Gents. It is, like, you get Chad Michael Murray with out his shirt on. Come on. What extra might you need?
This interview has been edited for size and readability.
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