Committing a crime separates true friends from fake ones. Just ask Jillian Bell and Ilana Glazer. In the comedy Rough Night, their characters — along with pals played by Scarlett Johansson, Zoë Kravitz and Kate McKinnon — accidentally murder an exotic dancer while at a Miami bachelorette party.
“You really see what people are made of when you’re going through something that’s difficult, like killing a stripper,” Bell says. “The people you call during your darkest days are the ones where you’re like, ‘I’m glad I kept you around!’”
The actresses take Us along for the ride.
Us Weekly: Best part about working on this film?
Jillian Bell: I laughed the entire time! Even when I first read the script, I was like, “This is so funny!” I wanted to play each character. And, I’ve always had legit girl crushes on these women. Now, our friendships are for real. I call Ilana up if there’s ever a problem or I’ll just send Kate a text asking about her mom.
Ilana Glazer: Thinking about these dope women that I was going to be working with, I was, at first, comparing myself to them and thinking about what I lacked. Over time, we all recognized our strengths. The real ride blew any fantasy out of the water. You can fully tell we had so much fun making this.
Us: Why is it necessary for audiences to see strong female bonds on screen?
IG: Representation is really important. People need to see themselves, whether that means the color of their skin, the texture of their hair or the way they talk. Also in light of the political landscape, women need to remember how strong we are and how strong our friends are.
JB: And look, I love men. But when women are around each other, the energy changes. It’s just different. These are the people you can lean on.
Us: What’s your ideal bachelorette party?
IG: I think people want to hear about tequila. But I would do a three-day weekend with a nice dinner and really good wine. Scarlett was just saying it’s really hard to get your friends together. So I would probably be like, “There is no excuse. You have to do this.” Just genuine hanging out and good conversation.
JB: I could see myself doing, like what you said, a three-day weekend in Palm Springs or something. I’d get an Airbnb and go swimming with all my lady friends. Just really let go. That’s my favorite part about getting girls together.
Us: Which costar would you call if, say, you accidentally killed a stripper?
IG: We’ve been thinking about this, and we have chosen Zoë to be the fixer. We would call her. She would ask zero questions and have three options lined up by the time you got to her house. She’d never talk about it again.
JB: It would just be handled. She’d just like, “I got it.” And you’d turn back around and the body would be gone.
Rough Night, the first female-directed R-rated studio comedy in nearly 20 years, is now in theaters.
