Shooting a film can be a massively arduous and difficult process, even if you have a script telling you exactly what to say and when.
So that makes it all the more impressive any time it comes out that certain scenes and moments that stick with you are improvised by the actors in the moment.
Even more impressive than that? How about when an entire film is improvised, like this 2013 one starring Olivia Wilde and Anna Kendrick on Netflix is.
Advert
Whilst the actors were given major beats they had to hit and events that had to happen, everything in between was entirely improvised by the actors in the moment.
This includes a nude scene from Wilde, which she has stressed was improvised by her in a past interview.
The film joins those such as This is Spinal Tap, and the James McAvoy thriller My Son in films entirely improvised by the actors.
Advert
Check out the trailer and think, would you be able to know it was all improvised?
The film in question is called Drinking Buddies, and it involves a pair of couples played by Wilde, Jake Johnson, Kendrick, and Ron Livingston.
It focuses on Wilde and Johnson’s characters as work drinking buddies who are each other’s work husband and wife to lend a horrible term.
Advert
Things get awkward, however, when they meet outside of work with each of their partners – and go away on a trip as a four.
Each of the actors picked the names of their characters, and played a large role in shaping each of them.
One scene in particular sees Wilde’s character, Kate, run into the ocean naked and skinny dip in front of Johnson’s character, Luke.
Advert
In an interview with Uproxx, Wilde hit back at criticism of the director Joe Swanberg for this.
Many of his films have nudity from actors of all genders, and she said skinny dipping was ‘her idea’ as ‘it felt so incredibly organic to that moment’.
She said: “I didn’t feel conflicted. That is the magic moment [Kate’s] been waiting for, where she is offering herself, quite literally, to [Luke]. She’s being so inappropriate, and she knows it.
“And if Joe had said it’s too inappropriate, like ‘If you’re nude it’d be too jarring,’ I would have fought for it.”
Advert
The film was well received upon release, with an 84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Francesca Steele of The Independent said: “Drinking Buddies could suffer a little from its marketing, which may suggest to some audiences that it is just a regular rom com.
“But luckily, it is nothing like that. It is something much, much better.”
Meanwhile, Robbie Collin of the Daily Telegraph said: “This is thoughtful film-making with a keen sense of humour, and we can all drink to that.”
Drinking Buddies is on Netflix now.
Topics: Film, Netflix, TV and Film
Michael Slavin