TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL: For over three decades, Molly Ringwald has made an undeniable impact on film and pop culture. The former teen superstar is best known for her roles in “The Breakfast Club,” “Pretty in Pink” and “Sixteen Candles,” but in the intervening years, the actress/writer/musician has expanded and radiated in exciting, engaging, versatile and culturally significant ways.
That tradition continues with her stunning, dynamic work in “All These Small Moments,” the intimate, emotion-driven coming-of-age story and family dramedy with shades of Noah Baumbach‘s “The Squid and the Whale,” among others. The indie film made its premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival (read our review here), where it was well-received.
In an exclusive phone interview, Molly Ringwald discussed her latest film, working with first-time writer/director Melissa B. Miller, what drew her to this small-scale project and the indie movie’s close-knit production. We also talked about The New Yorker piece, which instantly (and justifiably) went viral (If you haven’t read it yet, you should definitely change that; we’ll wait here), working with Keanu Reeves for the upcoming film “Siberia,” switching between TV and film at a fairly regular clip, and her upcoming plans to jump into directing. You can read the transcript of our discussion below.
With this new movie, “All These Small Moments,” I first wanted to ask you, what drew you to this project, and how did you get acquainted with writer/director Melissa B. Miller?
Well, they reached out to me for the part of Carla. I read it, and I loved it. I liked that it felt like a real family, and she felt like a real person. A lot of times, mothers — I think in particular — can be very one-dimensional. They’re either extremely nurturing, and they pat you on the head, or they are villains. And there’s just not a lot of in-between. I felt this character was clearly more multi-layered. She clearly loves her kids, but she’s incredibly flawed as a human being. As human beings are.
Definitely. Similar to “Lady Bird” last year, it’s one of those movies where it made me want to immediately call my mom and apologize profusely for everything I could’ve done wrong.
That’s really nice. I mean, somebody said that to me yesterday too, and one of the aspects of Melissa that I really liked was that she really didn’t push me at all to make her nicer. Because her mom isn’t super nice, but she’s human and true. Because we all have moms, and we’ve all seen our moms have good moments and bad moments, and that’s all curled up in a ball. [Laughs] And it’s not always easy. So, it touches people, and I love when I hear people want to call their moms when they see it, because I didn’t necessarily anticipate that reaction.
What was it like working on the set of this movie? It seems very close-knit as a production. Was that the vibe on-set as well?
Yeah. Definitely. I feel like, when you do something that’s lower budget, I feel like everyone kinda has to work together to make it happen. And everyone has to want to make it happen, and I really, definitely felt that was the case on this [project]. Everyone was really working hard, and everyone was pulling their own weight. So, that added to that realistic family feeling.
And I notice you have a couple other projects in the works, all of which looking exciting. Can you tell me a little bit about “Siberia” and “Kingfish?”
“Siberia” is a movie I shot with Keanu Reeves where I play his wife. I have a supporting role in that. I haven’t seen it yet, but I had a great time working with him. He’s a really nice guy. And, of course, I’ve been a big fan of his for a long time.
“Kingfish” was similar, in a certain way, to working on “All These Small Moments,” in that it was a smaller budget, everyone working together, but the character I play in that… she’s a real character. She is, like, completely crazy. [laughs] She’s sorta certifiably… And so, I think it was really fun to play someone who is really, really eccentric, and strange, and sorta scary. I mean, she sorta ends up being the villain, but I don’t know if you necessarily know at first, because she’s sort of a likable villain. But she’s completely off her rocker.
You’ve been splitting your time fairly equally between film and TV projects. Do you have a preference between the two, or do they both have their individual strengths and weaknesses?
Well, I’ve been lucky in that I’ve been able to go back-and-forth between film, TV, and theater. And now, I’m also writing as well. So, I sorta go back-and-forth between each thing. But no, I don’t really have a preference. I mean, I think I would say that I’m used to doing film because that’s what I started with, but the work being done on television is every bit as good — if not better, in a lot of cases. Television really seems to be really focused on character stuff, more so than most of the movies that are playing in movie theaters. So, I would probably be more drawn to that, because I’m driven to character-driven material. But, you know, there’s nothing like seeing a movie on a big screen. So, I think they all have their advantages.