Written Interview: Gabrielle Allan and Jennifer Crittenden (“What’s Your Number”)
From the LAT:
In “What’s Your Number?,” which opens today [Friday, September 30], Ally Darling (Anna Faris) embarks on a quest for her best ex after reading a magazine article warning that women who have had 20 or more lovers have lost their chance at finding a husband. Screenwriters Gabrielle Allan and Jennifer Crittenden, who adapted their screenplay from the book “20 Times a Lady” by Karyn Bosnak, come from the world of TV, where Allan has been a writer on “Scrubs” and Crittenden on “Seinfeld,” “The Simpsons” and “Arrested Development.” Allan and Crittenden talked with 24 Frames writer Rebecca Keegan about their slacker heroine, the gender politics of humor and the best country in which to be a slut.
Some excerpts:
This movie raises the question of whether there is an acceptable number of people to have sex with. Why did you use that question as a vehicle to tell a story?
Allan: It’s a great conversation starter. I personally don’t think there’s an acceptable number. In some of the research we did, in certain parts of the world, it’s ridiculous that you even discuss it. In the case of Ally, who is a character, you can pause and take stock of how many people and what that means and why you’re sleeping with certain people. You might come to the conclusion that you’re having a good time and there’s nothing wrong… or you might come to the conclusion that maybe I should slow down, and I’m jumping into bed with these people for the wrong reason.
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Ally takes the opposite path of the traditional romantic comedy heroine — she loses her job, she gets less together as the movie progresses. Why did your heroine become less ambitious as she evolved?
Allan:Before we meet her, she went to the gym and got the great job she was supposed to get. She’s deconstructing her life in a way because she’s not living an authentic life. She was trying to make other people happy for so long, she sort of lost touch with who she really was. In a way, she’s doing the opposite of what we normally see, she’ll maybe work out less and be perfect less, and eat what she wants and date who she wants and be who she wants.
Crittenden: That relates to her number. The reason Ally in the beginning of the movie is concerned her number is high is cause it’s a sign she’s trying to please other people. If she’d gone through life up to now completely satisfied with all of her actions and decisions then the number wouldn’t be a concern, but I think for her the number 20 is 20 people she’s tried to please.
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Do you think men and women find different things funny?
Allan: “Bridesmaids” felt like a really good movie, and the hoopla around it — “It’s a female comedy. Is that gonna set a trend?” — it’s just a funny movie and men thought it was funny too. Those characters are very engaging and likable. Obviously, there are certain things women go through -– birth and menstruation — things that are inherently and biologically different. But, for the most part, I do think there is a happy medium.
Crittenden: Sometimes men won’t find something funny that a few women are laughing at but that goes across other lines too. People who grow up in California aren’t always gonna get all the same jokes as people who grew up in New York do. There are differences in humans.
A quick interview with the writers at the movie’s premiere:
For more of the LAT article, go here.
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