When we caught up with Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day stars Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner on the set last year, they gave us some priceless insight into why they thought this Disney live action family film could be the start of something truly special.
Now, it’s merely days away from the release of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and we are in front of Carell and Garner once again talking about their flick. Now that it’s in the can and the entire filming experience is a wrap and we know what to expect from the film after seeing this new Disney live action family classic -- we can ask some even more pointed questions!
The thing that struck us, even from the Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day trailer is that despite the sky falling on this family, they managed to keep their heads up. Is there a danger in being too positive, like the Coopers are?
“Oh, for sure! Your kids need to be allowed to have a bad day, and you need to show them that it’s okay to have a whole range of emotions,” Garner said. “You should have them all. You should have rage and anger and sadness, so there’s a lot of room for joy and happiness, as well.”
Carell agreed that the Coopers managed to get through this horrible day together with humor and aplomb, but in real life, he tends to make room for the occasional bad day because, well frankly, that IS life.
“My wife and I go through this, from time to time. Part of the challenge for us is not being overly sensitive to our kids having good or bad days. You could drive your kids crazy by saying, ‘Are you okay? Is everything all right? Please tell me what’s going on,’” Carell said.
“Sometimes you might just be having a quietly and privately bad day, and you just want to work through it yourself. You don’t want to have your parents trying to make it better because, ultimately, we’re not going to be there to make it better. The toughest part for us is holding back from always trying to make it perfect or ideal because life will give you twists and turns.”
One of the greatest scenes in the entire movie is when Garner gets to work with the legend that is Dick Van Dyke. We felt it was a sort of passing of the torch because Van Dyke was in so many of those fantastic live action Disney movies and we think that Carell fits that mold perfectly now as Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is ready to re-start that effort.
“He can do whatever he wants. He’s Dick Van Dyke,” Garner said and laughed of the crazy scene they share. “It was such a total thrill to try to conceive, for my kids, that I was with Chim Chim Cher-ee at work! That was so exciting. It was a great day.”
Another thrill for Garner is to be a part of a movie that everyone in the entire clan from eight to 80 can see. “I do feel so excited that we get to be a part of a real family movie that’s going out into the world. This is a movie that teenagers should like. And I brought my five-year-old along when I saw it, and she loved it, too,” Garner said.
“This is a film that families can see, and I hope, at the end of it, it will make you feel more like a family and remind you that, whatever happens, you’re all going through it together.”
Carell hopes that, in fact, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day kick starts something old and makes it new again.
“I hope this does set a trend. I don’t want to say it’s a throwback because there’s a derogatory implication there. But these kinds of live-action family movies aren’t done as often as they used to be. I was excited because it’s a new take on that genre of movie,” Carell said.
“I know my kids can’t wait, and all of their friends care. I took my son aside the other day and said, ‘Do you think your classmates really want to see this?’ And he said, ‘Yeah! Apart from you being in it, they’re really excited about it.’ It looks like something they want to see, and that’s exciting to hear.”
Well, our review arrives on release day, October 10, but we can say this much... Carell's latest is one of our Top 13 Steve Carell movies!