The question that inevitably gets asked for every comedy is: “How much is improv in the movie? And how much is scripted?†And it’s really hard not to mess with people. I’ll just say, “On this movie, 14 percent is improvised.†And they’ll go, “Oh! How do you know?†and I’ll say, “We have a logarithm†or “We run it through a computer that analyzes it.†[laughs]
What appealed to you about playing a nice guy who transforms into a thuggish casino boss?
One thing I thought was great was getting to play a couple who are both equally committed to the premise. Usually in a movie, one of them â€" the wife, the husband â€" is in on the plan and the other is, like, “What’s going on?†But here, for better or for worse, they’re both like, “O.K., let’s just do it.†They get to be funny together. I liked that.
You and Amy Poehler will both do whatever it takes for a laugh.
Shooting the scene where we’re walking home drunk and she urinates in the front yard? There was all this talk about [in a sincere, worried voice] “How do we shoot this?†and being very professional. And Amy goes, “I’ll just pull my pants down!†and I thought: Oh, my god. This is great!
One of your first successes on “Saturday Night Live†was playing a dad who toggles between grilling hamburgers and shouting at his kids to get off the shed.
The “Get Off the Shed†sketch, I did that at the Groundlings, and it worked right away. Just the combination of regular backyard barbecue conversation â€" “How’s your golf game?†â€" juxtaposed with flying off the handle, screaming at your kids for a benign reason. That was such a delicious combination to me. It was also always inherently funny to me to play a dad who thought he had a high-stakes position, but it’s really very low stakes. Sort of like the comedy version of Willy Loman. Playing the befuddled father who’s just earnestly trying his best has always struck me as funny. I don’t know why. I can’t say that’s who my dad was.
Was gambling a part of your parents’ lives?
My dad’s a musician. He had his own lounge acts, then played with the Righteous Brothers on and off for 20, 25 years. He played a lot in Vegas. I have a nostalgic view of Vegas because as kids we’d go stay with him for a week at the Riviera and see the Strip with all the lights. Then combined with that were the cautionary tales we’d hear of people losing all their money and thinking, That’s not for me.
Is it true that Michelle Obama is a fan of your and Adam McKay’s “Funny or Die†sketch “The Landlord�
Yes. We were invited to come to the White House for a Christmas party that is only for the cabinet, the executive branch, their spouses and family. The invite was first for me to come dressed as Buddy the Elf. And I was like, “Um, yeah, I don’t have that costume.†So then they said, “Come and read ‘The Grinch.’†Which was interesting because there were no kids. I’m reading it to, like, Defense Secretary Robert Gates. [laughs] But afterward, we got to sit at the first lady’s table. Michelle Obama, one of the nicest people, said, “I’ve got to tell you, my staff and I watched ‘The Landlord’ all the time.†Then she just started doing lines, like, “Give me my money, bitch!†“The Landlord†helped launch our site and shut down all our servers. So the fact that she was a fan? That was high praise.
Speaking of viral videos, the recent speech you gave at U.S.C., your alma mater, has more than two million YouTube views. Did that surprise you?
I didn’t realize that it’d get that much reaction. I’m used to writing things that are sarcastic, not things that are supposed to be funny, but also insightful and earnest. So it was an interesting challenge to find that middle ground. But also my family was there, my parents were there, and I got to sing a Whitney Houston song.
Did you ever get a reaction from our 43rd president to your eerily spot-on impression of him?
I happened to call Jimmy Kimmel on the day when [President George W. Bush] was going to be on promoting his book. And Jimmy said: “It’s so funny you’re calling. I’m having ‘W’ on, and I’m going to ask him about how he felt about your impersonation.â€
How did he respond?
He said: “I loved it. That’s part of the gig. You’re going to get made fun of. That’s freedom of speech.†And at that moment, he really looked like the adult in the room compared to the current guy [in office]. I get the narcissism because I feel like every president has an element of that, whether they hide it or not. But the thin skin part? That’s amazing. You’re kind of like: “Really? Can’t you just go with it?†When [President Trump] wasn’t going to have any part of the correspondents’ dinner you wanted to go: “Do you realize that at that dinner you get to make fun of people too? They’ll make fun of you, but you get to punch back.†I think it hurts so much so even the allure of getting to punch back isn’t enough.
If you were back on “S.N.L.,†who in the current administration would you want to send up?
I would have loved to have done Jared Kushner. Or Reince Priebus. No one really knows what that guy does. This is more of a sketch, but Amy and I were talking about the bizarre cabinet meeting where they had to compliment [President Trump]. It would be fun to do a sketch where you have a bunch of empty chairs, but Trump doesn’t notice, and I’m the one guy who pops from chair to chair, maybe with different wigs, and keeps complimenting him.
Hollywood makes few dramatic movies about middle-class worries now. So can comedies fill that gap?
I love comedies where we get to either make very direct satirical comments about what’s going on or indirect. I think it’s great when we can slide that stuff in. But is that the only way we’re going to get people to listen? It seems to be more and more that way. When you feel like you get more real news by watching “The Daily Show†or Samantha Bee, that’s saying something.
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