UCB Theater Goes Film

Cast of A Better You
Cast of A Better You – All Photos: Jack Burke

Brian Huskey star/co-writer "A Better You" - Photo - Jack Burke

Brian Huskey star/co-writer “A Better You”

Sunday night at the new UCB Sunset theater in Los Angeles, the comedy wasn’t on stage, as it usually is – it was on screen. And in the red carpet line and at the after-party. The occasion: the premiere of “A Better You,” directed by UCB co-founder Matt Walsh, co-written by Walsh and star Brian Huskey. A full review is also up on this blog: bottom line, yes, it was  hilarious. How could it not be, with a cast that included Andy Daly (Review), Joe Lo Truglio (Brooklyn Nine Nine), Erin Hayes (Children’s Hospital), Morgan Walsh (Hotwives of Orlando) — plus the improv-sketch-comedy scripting UCB has long championed. Co-producer Anthony D’Alessandro kept the press line and interviews moving, aptly describing the film as “A comedy about alternative therapy, Matt Walsh’s second directorial effort. He’s like Altman, he puts a cast together fast, no waiting around, says everyone let’s show up, and shoots it in a week.” The film may well have viewers laughing longer than it took to film the project.

The stars weigh in on the film, film-making and life in LA.

Director, co-writer, and co-star - and UCB co-founder, Matt Walsh
Director, co-writer, and co-star – and UCB co-founder, Matt Walsh

Matt Walsh

“I hope people laugh and enjoy it,” Walsh said simply of the film, which opens Friday on VOD and in Los Angeles at the Laemmle Music Hall.

Inspiration? “I live in Los Angeles, but I grew up in Chicago, where if there’s something troubling you, you see the psychiatrist or the doctor. Here you might see your trainer or your acupuncturist. There’s a whole list of choices,” he notes. “I was a psych major in college which was also a factor. Brian and I created the character of Dr. Ron – a hypnotherapist with a self-published book and a mom and pop business. We spent a lot of time researching alternative therapy in Los Angeles.”

Casting? “Pretty much everyone from Brian to Horatio Sanz, we’ve all been friends for years. Seth Morris, Mo Gaffney – she’s the godmother to two of my children. I was kind of like The Godfather. I told people to do this movie or else, and they complied. So that’s how we got our cast together. Brian and I wrote the project with him in most of the scenes, so he could make a lot of the improv choices, and really keep the film together. Once we got on set, we’d rehearse the instructions and improvised story, and then we’d film.”

Sum up the story? “It’s a simple story of a man whose life has collapsed, trying to save himself.”

A new project in the works? “Maybe my third movie will be about that guy in Colorado whose cattle were grazing on federal land.” Walsh is also working on Veep, and the new Ghostbusters film, but is planning to get to work on another script next year.

Andy Daly - Dr. Ron's nemesis neighbor
Andy Daly – Dr. Ron’s nemesis neighbor

Andy Daly

Daly plays the role of hilariously obnoxious neighbor Joel in the film, and is the star and creator of Comedy Central’s Review.

How was making A Better You? “Matt Walsh honestly creates an incredible environment to improvise.  I think the movie reflects that comfort level and spirit.”

What’s new for Review? “All of Season Two has aired on Comedy Central now, and we’re waiting to hear if we get to make a third season. I couldn’t be more proud of it, whatever happens.”

Brian Huskey, star and co-writer
Brian Huskey, star and co-writer

Brian Huskey

The co-writer/star of A Better You carries the film, it’s tough to take your eyes off of him as he pushes the limits of comedy to the edge of tragedy and back, giving us loneliness, heartbreak, and inept, self-involved wannabe-guru all at once.

How did the project get started? “Well, Matt had an idea about a guru, who thinks he can heal others but can’t heal himself. The film grew out of that idea, with my character, Dr. Ron completely in denial.”

Shoot length? “12 days. Which was long enough in the wig.” Huskey’s character wears an obvious toupee through most of the film. “Wearing the wig was hot and it was sweaty. It more or less gave me a different dimension for the character though; costuming is really about changing yourself.”

Personal epiphany? “I was going through a divorce myself when we shot the film, so it was a pretty meta experience. As I was doing it, seeing this guy not dealing with himself, it was intense. But it was good for me to have that personal access to the character, even if it wasn’t entirely easy. During the time we were shooting,  my daughter would stay with my ex while I was working. I really got into a frame of mind where it was all about the work. You focus on that. ”

Working with Matt Walsh? “Matt did an amazing job, editor Jay Daniels did, too. He did a great job of restructuring and balancing the film, giving it the right rhythm.”

What do you think happened to Dr. Ron after the movie ended? “After the film ended, he went out with his (former patient) Lindsey for awhile, then she got more confident, and the relationship changed, and Dr. Ron had to change himself again. His changing on screen – that’s not the last time he has to go through that kind of alteration.”

Morgan Walsh, Dr. Ron's wife, Margo
Morgan Walsh, Dr. Ron’s wife, Margo

Morgan Walsh

Walsh plays Dr. Ron’s restless and ready-to-move-on wife, Margo. She’s essentially the straight-man here, leading Dr. Ron, their marriage counselor, and their children, onto more serious and stable territory.

How was it working with your husband as director? “We’re all friends, we’re all team players. It was a small budget film, with a big, fun, creative environment. I’ve been acting a long time, and I don’t always feel super comfortable in a role. Matt has such a gift, he’s a great director and great at improv. I knew Matt and the cast would take care of me in the more difficult scenes.”

What happened to Margo after the film ended? “I think she was very happy moving on with her life and her career. I think she was very happy as a single mom, sharing co-parenting with Dr. Ron but living her own life. Maybe she writes her own self-help book and goes on a book tour.”

Also at the premiere:

Kirk Roos

Kirk Roos, Producer (High Road, The Brass Teapot)

Tony Hale

Tony Hale (Veep)

Gary Cole

Gary Cole (Veep) “I had to come see this venture. I haven’t been to a crazy therapist. I can only imagine.”

David Wain

David Wain (Wanderlust)

Mo Gaffney - the verbost patient, and Walsh family friend
Mo Gaffney – the verbose patient, and Walsh family friend

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Mo Gaffney (Dr. Ron’s unstoppable-talker patient, Veep) goofing around with Morgan Walsh

Kevin Weisman
Kevin Weisman (Scorpion)

Nate Corddry

Nate Corddry (Ghostbusters)

Owen Burke

Owen Burke (Handyman Hugo’s friend)

Riki Lindholme

Riki Lindhome  (Obnoxious neighbor Joel’s wife, Another Period)

Therapist to the therapist
Therapist to the therapist

Joe Lo Truglio  (Dr. Ron and wife’s marriage counselor/psych, Brooklyn Nine Nine)

Seth Morris
Seth Morris (Children’s Hospital, Kroll Show)

Nick Kroll

Nick Kroll (Stuttering patient, Kroll Show, The League)

Paul Scheer

Paul Scheer (The League)

Jason Mantzoukas

Jason Mantzoukas (The League)

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After Party - Photos: Jack Burke
After Party – Photos: Jack Burke

You won’t get to try the delicious macaroni and cheese on hand at the after-party, but you should see the film anyway. And laugh.

  • Genie Davis; ALL PHOTOS copyright Jack Burke

Film Review: Matt Walsh and Brian Huskey Craft “A Better You”

 

Brian Huskey, star of "A Better You" - Photo - Jack Burke
Brian Huskey, star and co-writer of A Better You – Photo – Jack Burke

Releasing Friday, October 9th, this hilarious, low-budget indie relies on the talents of many Upright Citizen Brigade comedy theater alums and their friends. With a stellar cast that includes star and co-writer Huskey, co-writer and director Walsh, and Walsh’s wife, Morgan Walsh, the film is a fresh look at the often-crazy reliance on self-help gurus that is part of the Los Angeles scene. Supporting cast includes Review‘s Andy Daly and Brooklyn Nine Nine’s Joe Lo Truglio, and SNL‘s Horatio Sands, but it’s Huskey’s movie and he runs with it.

Matt Walsh - director/co-writer of A Better You and wife/co-star Morgan Walsh - Photo - Jack Burke
Matt Walsh – director/co-writer of A Better You and wife/co-star Morgan Walsh – Photo – Jack Burke

 

Dr. Ron Knight (Huskey, Veep, Neighbors, Another Period) portrays a Los Angeles hypnotherapist with an self-published self-help book, a bevy of suggestible clients, and even more ads on bus stop benches. Maybe he’s onto something with his fast-track hypnosis and his call to patients that they should “wake up, wake up, wake up,” but maybe he’s not. He’s definitely clueless when it comes to his own marriage and relationships.

In the throes of a divorce from wife Margo (Morgan Walsh, Hot Wives of Orlando), Huskey reaches out to his handyman (Sanz), his patients – including pretty young Lindsay (Erinn Hayes, Children’s Hospital), and even his hilariously anal, pompous, and generally obnoxious neighbor (Daly).

Along with Dr. Ron’s misguided, sometimes poignant misadventures, the film pokes genial fun at the uniquely Los Angeles alternative help craze – it’s not just the M.D. or the shrink you can turn to when you have gurus and personal trainers peddling their quick fixes as well.

A Better You is director/co-writer Walsh’s second feature, and along with Huskey, the pair created the frame work for the fully improvised script, following the precepts of sketch comedy that UCB has made famous in LA and NYC. Funded on Indiegogo, this low budget fun-fest among talented friends will keep you laughing in the theater or on VOD; theatrical release in Los Angeles will be at Laemmle’s Music Hall in Beverly Hills.

  • Genie Davis; All photos copyright Jack Burke