102 InSTYLE FEBRUARY 2019
tempting to want to retreat. How do you manage that?
MM: I do miss when I could just wander around and de-
stress. It’s a little different when someone’s watching you
do it where you’re li ke, “ No, I’m just here to be u nseen.”
LB: When did it first start for you? Bridesmaids [t he fema le -
led hit comedy of 2011] was a genie in a bottle, wasn’t it?
MM: I remember th in k ing , “ I don’t k now i f th is wi l l work at
all, but it seems like the funniest thing I’ve ever been a part
of.” My husband [actor and producer Ben Falcone] and I
were over at [Bridesmaids director] Paul Feig’s house the
night it opened, and everyone kept telling us that it was not
going to open well. And then we were watching the num-
bers come in, and we jumped up, got in the car, and ran in
and out of two different movie theaters. They were both
packed, and the audiences were enjoying it. I felt like that
was a whole change, like, maybe our sen-
sibility works and we’re not alone. Maybe
I can write stuff.
LB: How have you adjusted to your power
in Hol ly wood a s it ha s g rown?
MM: It’s still just me. I’ve fully embraced
it in terms of it can all go away as fast
as it came. I know that, and I’ve seen it
happen. I do feel like I work 500 percent
on everything. I’m a complete obsessive.
I’m in on every department. I want to
talk about wigs, costumes, makeup, and
construction because I love every part
of it. If this all goes away and I didn’t try,
I’d be, like, the dumbest idiot on earth.
LB: It ’s OK to show people you’re tr y ing.
What’s your opinion of the opposite,
playing it cool?
MM: If you’re too cool to do the job, it
pisses me off. Even i f it ’s a du mb joke, you r
job as an actor is to make it better. So [if you don’t], you suck
more than the person who wrote it. I spent 20 years trying
to get a job, so when someone doesn’t really put in the effort,
it just ma kes me mad. “ How ea sy d id it come for you that
you don’t feel like you’re grateful, or that you don’t have to
try?” Nothing is more unflattering than someone who
doesn’t try. Lack of effort is such a douchey, poseur thing to
do. I’d rather watch someone try hard and fail.
LB: How sensitive are you to negative reviews?
MM: It k ind of brea k s my hea r t. I a lways feel li ke those
characters become so real and personal. I really get pro-
tective. Years ago I was at a press conference for either The
Heat or Tammy, and somebody from a very big organiza-
tion kept a sk ing me, “ Why do you a lways feel the need to be
so grotesque?” It was a huge interview with maybe 100
people in the room, and he was sneering. I said, “What are
we talking about? I can’t answer your question because I
don’t understand it.” He goes, “You look sloppy, you’re not
wearing any makeup, your hair is not done, you’re yelling
at people.” I was like, “OK, so have you ever asked this of a
guy? I’m playing a character. You need to get out more if you
don’t think there are real women like that.” He goes, “Oh,
fine, I’m aggressive, call it whatever you want. If you don’t
want to answer the questions, you shouldn’t come to the
panel.” I was like, “I really want to answer your questions.
I’m sorry I didn’t wear makeup in a part. I’m sorry I didn’t
look pleasant for you. But I also don’t think you should be
here writing about movies.”
LB: When did you feel like you developed that backbone?
MM: I thought if I tell him to eff off, he will win on every possi-
ble level. I do remember another interview I did for Brides-
maids with somebody who later lost his job for a conversation
he had on a bus with someone else. I won’t mention names,
but just think about it. He kept asking, “Are you shocked that
you act ua l ly work in th is business at you r tremendous size? ”
LB: What?!
MM: He was like, “Oh, your tremendous
size, you can actually work?” I just remem-
ber all the blood drained out of me. I
thought, “With my tremendous size, I
could tackle you so quickly.” There were
two cameras on him, and one was on me,
a nd he went back to that question th ree or
four times, and I just kept talking about
the script or how fun Paul Feig was. He was
looking around like, “She’s crazy.” When we
left, their producer was horrified and said,
“We’ll never play what he said. I’m so sorry.”
But it happens all the time, to the point
where it’s fascinating because they don’t do
it to men. Not to be a jerk or sing le h im out ,
but when John Goodman was heavier, did
anybody ever talk about his girth?
LB: Men get a pass.
MM: Having two daughters [Vivian, 11,
and Georgette, 8], I think there is a weird layer in the
world [for women] where it’s not just about looks but it’s
also, “Are you pleasant? Do you not make trouble?” I don’t
want to be around someone who’s a pain in the ass and
confrontational, but I also don’t think that you always
have to be Stepford Wi fe–y a nd ca n’t have opin ions.
LB: How have you been able to impact women, or people’s
careers in general, with the success you’ve had?
MM: I think once you’re a producer, you can’t take that hat
off. But whatever it is, you want to show the world that you
want to live it. It can’t be an all-white world. That’s not the
world we live in. It’s not realistic. It’s the same thing with
the guy who works in advertising and the woman is at home
making a martini. I don’t know that person, but I would like
to meet her. [ laug hs] I’d love to come home to that lady. I
think Ben would too.
LB: In terms of women you have met in the business, who
have you been the most impressed by?
MM: I love that Jen n i fer A n iston, that lit tle nug get. That ’s a
person to the soles of her feet. Just
We a l wa y s
joke that
I’m a shark.
I’m better
in motion. I
want to make.
I want to do.”
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