It’s about time teen movies were spoofed.
From the John Hughes Brat Pack flicks, to gross out American Pie fare to the sickly sweet She’s All That, Hollywood has made enough movies about teenage angst to last a lifetime–and in the new spoof Not Another Teen Movie, they all get mutilated beautifully.
The story revolves around those wacky kids at John Hughes High, where every student is categorized and stereotyped: The popular jock (Chris Evans) tries to turn the pretty/ugly girl (Chyler Leigh) into a hottie, but he falls in love with her in the process.
Of course, there are many bumps in the road to true love. There’s the bitchy cheerleader girlfriend (Jaime Pressly), the sister who’s the cruelest girl in school (Mia Kirshner), the obsessed best friend (Eric Jungmann), the geeky, virginal little brother (Cody McMains) and the token black guy (Deon Richmond)–oh yeah, there are all in there.
In talking with cast members Leigh and Jungmann, we got some real insight into how a cast of mostly unknowns working with first-time director Joel Gallen were able to give a fresh and sometimes hysterical perspective on the tried-and-true teen formula.
The movie had just about every “teen movie” moment there ever was, plus a few extra scenes, thrown in for good measure…
Chyler Leigh: Yep. There’s the poop scene, the naked scene, the kiss scene, the [ripping-apart-of-human-bodies] scene. It’s all there.
Eric Jungmann: It’s all got to be in there–to round out the movie.
Leigh:</B >Exactly, it just would not be complete without it all. So, bring the kids, folks!
Can we actually count how many teen films were actually spoofed?
Jungmann: We’ve tried and it was rough. There were a lot, nearly 20 in all, I think.
What is your favorite teen movie? I’ll tell you mine…
Jungmann: Which is?
It’s definitely a guilty pleasure…I love Hughes’ Some Kind of Wonderful, the one that came after Pretty in Pink and now plays on TBS every other Sunday. It’s where the quirky best friend actually gets the guy.
Jungmann: Well, mine was definitely Pretty in Pink.
Leigh: I’m going to have to go with Bring It On because my fiancé, Nathan West, was in it. He played Jan, the thumb man [on the cheerleading squad]. I thought it was one of the more energetic teen films and not so competitive with the gross humor of the others. Not that [our film] didn’t top it all.
Tell me about your characters. Janey is the Laney character from She’s All That…
Leigh: Sort of, yes. Being Janey was so much fun. I got to release, I guess. I was able to make a complete ass of myself and be laughed at and have it be funny for the first time in my life.
How did you get the role?
Leigh: When my manager sent me the script, she told me not to get my hopes up for the Janey part because she said it could quite possibly go to a name [actor]. At that point, I really would have done anything to be in the film; I would have cleaned the toilets; I mean, I didn’t really care. I just loved the script. So, after I found out I got the part of Janey, the initial moment was one of those mouth-dropping excited moments, but a few hours later, I started crying, because I was terrified by the huge responsibility I was about to take on.
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And Eric, you played Ricky, basically the character Duckie from Pretty in Pink, with a twist, I would say.
Jungmann: Yeah, I play the obsessed best friend of Janey, who gets just a little too crazy in love for his own good. The role was really cool and gave me the opportunity to play around and just get crazy. In a spoof especially, you get to just be nuts and have a good time. I think, for the both of us, coming from television, jumping up to leads in a big movie…
Leigh: A major motion picture!
Jungmann: Yeah, I mean, that’s just weird to say. It was pretty amazing.
Interestingly, most of the cast are newcomers to the movies. The director, Joel Gallen, is even a first timer. Was that a little scary?
Leigh: Not even in the least. When we all met, we all clicked. I met [Eric] and it was like thank god, there is someone like him on the set! There is someone just as ridiculous as I am. And it was basically like that with everyone. The chemistry was awesome on the set. It made it fun to go to work and do night shoots and deal with ridiculously long hours.
Chyler, I heard you did most of your own stunts, like falling through the stairs?
Leigh: I fell many, many times down the stairs, but the last shot, where Janey falls through the floor and the furniture falls in on her, wasn’t me. But everything else I did and I’m shocked that I did it…and didn’t get paid extra for it. Next time I know: Stunt work required? More money in the contract.
What was high school like for the both of you?
Leigh: High school was fun. I was never part of any of the cliques and didn’t belong to any of those categories. I was basically a dork. And I didn’t paint [like her character Janey]. I suck at stick figures.
Jungmann: I went to a performing arts high school but I left early, around 16, to come to L.A. I was ready to do it and my parents were supportive. It’s rare to have parents that allow their kids to go after something especially in the middle of high school. It was incredible that they let me do it, so I took advantage of it.
Now that you’ve had your first taste of stardom, who would you like to work with in your burgeoning careers?
Jungmann: God, there are so many…Sean Penn, Edward Norton and Brad Pitt; I think he’s awesome.
Leigh: You aren’t allowed to take that one! I want to work with Brad Pitt.
Jungmann: Copycat…
Leigh: Yeah, well, it’s a little different being a guy than being a girl, working with Brad. I also think Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan are incredible. I like the more natural acting style and they are incredibly talented and natural actors. And I’m going to go for a movie with all of them.
Not Another Teen Movie opens Dec. 14.
