Trauma and mental health are themes in the unconventional rom-com.
Meet Cute, which recently premiered on Peacock, isn’t your typical rom-com.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Where did the idea ofMeet Cutecome from?
MKI Distribution Services
ALEX LEHMANN:I’m not a fan of classic rom-coms.
To me, that’s really romantic.
Mental health and trauma are major themes in the film, not the usual rom-com topics.
MKI Distribution Services
I wanted to make a film that showed that these characters' brokenness is ok.
I find the idea of two people meeting and having their neuroses line up really attractive.
It feels so honest to me.
I also think it helps make the characters more deep and real.
The character of Sheila is a control freak in the film because she’s so afraid of the future.
And the worse it gets, the harder she squeezes.
But is she a bad person?
No, she’s just trying to protect herself.
Both Pete and Kaley are pretty open about their mental health in real life.
What conversations did you have beforehand and how did they relate to their characters?
We didn’t have a ton of time to rehearse… so we actually didn’t rehearse at all.
Instead, we spent that extra time getting to know each other and getting comfortable with each other.
I was really fortunate to be able to see so much of their authenticity come through.
That isn’t something that always happens in a film.
It requires trust, both me trusting them and them trusting me.
What were some of your favorite moments while shooting?
We did a lot of laughing.
It was like working in a comedy club for a month.
Kaley and Pete texted me constantly asking for clips and outtakes because they were so funny.
Like, one time Pete went into this giant rant aboutJawswhile we were filming the Indian restaurant scene.
He just started riffing onJawsand went on for five minutes straight.
During another shoot, he went off on the finale ofTitanic.
It was great to see him having a good time.
Is this you hinting at a sequel?
I’ll say this, there are definitely some characters I would love to explore further in a sequel.
I mean, c’mon.
We have a tanning bed that’s actually a time machine!
Want more movie news?
