SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
When we first meet Cliff, he is saved by the belt. You'll get that in a moment. Cliff seems to be in several different kinds of pain and has a lot of payment-past-due envelopes piled up. And he cracks a tooth and has to find a dentist who will see him on the day before Christmas. He does - Didi.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE BALTIMORONS")
LIZ LARSEN: (As Didi) All right, lean back. Open your mouth.
MICHAEL STRASSNER: (As Cliff) Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. What is that?
LARSEN: (As Didi) It's just a topical. It's going to numb you for the needle. Ow.
STRASSNER: (As Cliff) I'm sorry. Are you OK?
LARSEN: (As Didi) Yeah. You're hardly going to feel anything. You're a big, strong guy.
STRASSNER: (As Cliff) OK. I know it's stupid. Just do it.
SIMON: "The Baltimorons" is a new film directed by Jay Duplass and written by him and Michael Strassner, who also stars as Cliff, along with Liz Larsen as Dr. Didi. And just a warning, this interview contains references to suicide. Jay Duplass and Michael Strassner began by telling us the story of how they first connected.
JAY DUPLASS: Well, like any great love story...
STRASSNER: In Greece.
DUPLASS: Nah.
(LAUGHTER)
DUPLASS: Instagram.
STRASSNER: Instagram. I saw Jay followed me on Instagram, and I was like, oh, my God, this is the coolest thing in the world. And the reason why he was was because I was putting up dancing and funny videos. And I just figured one day, I'm going to reach out to him to help me with a short film. And he replied six months later, and we've been a couple ever since.
SIMON: Excuse me, I'm wiping away a tear.
DUPLASS: (Laughter).
SIMON: Let me ask you, Mr. Strassner. Cliff's a comedian - wants to be, at any rate - and bless him, an alcoholic who's given up drinking for six months before we meet him. I have to ask, is the story told here in any part your own?
STRASSNER: Yes, very much so. I mean, the opening scene of the movie is how I actually got sober. You know, you mentioned the belt breaking, and that is my story. That happened one night, and then the next day, I finally asked for help. And I've been sober ever since.
SIMON: Well, God bless.
STRASSNER: Thank you.
SIMON: And, Jay Duplass, what put the character of Dr. Didi, the personable dentist, in your creative mind?
DUPLASS: Well, first of all, I just want to back up and say, you know, obviously, inspired by Michael's life story and his humor around his life story because when he told me about the belt breaking, he told me it was because he was holding a little bit of holiday weight. And I thought that showed a remarkable sense of humor and courage and vigor for life. And we started developing a story based on his origin story. And I had always had the thought of an independent film being made around an emergency dentist appointment.
And we knew that this doctor needed to be very different from Cliff, very organized and very emotionally protected. And I had seen Liz Larsen in a stage play of "Transparent," which I was a part of that TV show, and...
SIMON: Yeah.
DUPLASS: ...She blew everyone out of the water. She had such an incredible singing voice, so much humor and strength and playfulness. But nothing really about that performance made me think that she would, for sure, be our Dr. Didi. It was only after meeting her and talking to her about what she's been through in her life. So this story very much evolved from a lot of potential energy that had been pent up inside of Michael and Liz and myself throughout our lives and most recently, throughout the pandemic and the strikes.
SIMON: And, of course, you're - if I may - best known for working with your brother Mark on films...
DUPLASS: Yes.
SIMON: ...And, of course, the acclaimed series, "Togetherness." What's it like to direct on your own, or do you ever really direct a film on your own?
DUPLASS: You definitely don't make a film on your own. It is a tremendously collaborative process, and I think the No. 1 skill that you have to have as a director is being able to collaborate. I never wanted to direct on my own. Ever since I saw "Raising Arizona" in 1987, I wanted to be the Coen brothers 2.0 with my brother, and like you said, Mark and I did that together as writer-director team. But a lot of life events got in the way, including my brother becoming a very famous actor and becoming who I think is maybe the best creative producer alive today. He did produce this movie for us.
But it took 14 years for me to get back to making movies and continuing to fulfill my dream of making original films. And it felt amazing to finally do it. It's very scary to break up a partnership. But the truth is that I was very moved to tell Michael's story, to tell Liz's story and for us to create something together. And I just, you know, focused on that. And as long as I stayed in the moment, it felt right.
SIMON: Look, it's easy to see Cliff as a figure of fun. But he's trying to do something very brave.
STRASSNER: Yeah. I mean, he's doing something brave. Just being in my own sobriety, you know, like, the first six months into the year is the hardest time that I had to go through because it's the first time you're doing everything, you know? It's the first Christmas you're having, the first time you're watching a Ravens game without this thing that was so much a part of my life and a part of Cliff's life. You don't think you can do these things without it. And I didn't think I was going to be funny. I thought the alcohol was the special sauce, and in reality, it actually just hampered me more. And I was absolutely wrong about what sobriety is. Like, I've had more moments of pure joy and laughter doing this movie and just experiencing life than any time I ever had on alcohol and drugs.
SIMON: Oh, my gosh, that's wonderful. Without giving too much away the penultimate scene is at a pop-up comedy club in an auto shop to which Cliff winds up bringing along his dentist because his car has been impounded. I'll just leave it at that. And she winds up helping him on stage.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE BALTIMORONS")
STRASSNER: (As Cliff) Hello? Is this a dentist's office?
LARSEN: (As Didi) Oh, yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
STRASSNER: (As Cliff) Is there a reason why the door's locked? Is it 'cause it's Christmas Eve or because we're in Dundalk?
(LAUGHTER)
LARSEN: (As Didi) I...
STRASSNER: (As Cliff) OK, just a heads-up. We are in a dentist office here - cool for everyone involved, OK?
LARSEN: (As Didi) OK.
STRASSNER: (As Cliff) Awesome. Let's start up again. Here we go, and...
LARSEN: (As Didi) OK.
SIMON: What do they begin to feel?
STRASSNER: Well, I think that scene is so important because, you know, in the scene prior, Cliff goes to help Didi in her kind of "Heart Of Darkness" moment where she's got to go back into her ex's house on Christmas Eve, where he just got married. And the improv scene is definitely Cliff's "Heart Of Darkness," going to a place where he doesn't really want to go anymore. And...
SIMON: And he hurts some people, too.
STRASSNER: Yeah. There's a mixed crowd in there, you know? Some people do not want to see him. Didi ends up being the hero in that moment, and - 'cause you need somebody to do improv with. You can't do it by yourself. And you can't do life by yourself, as well. You need people.
DUPLASS: Things happen on stage that even Cliff can't anticipate. Surprises happen that they say yes-and to, and it's because he's sober. It's because he's able to pivot in that moment and accept what's really happening that the sketch is able to become successful and truthful and honest. And what blossoms after that, continuing on stage, is they are able to use their stage characters to start to talk about their burgeoning attraction to each other. It's like a little low-rent Bill Shakespeare moment on stage up there, where (laughter) they can hide behind their characters and really start talking about the feelings that have been bubbling up between them over the course of the night.
SIMON: Michael Strassner, is life an improv?
STRASSNER: A hundred percent. Just continuing to say, as corny as it sounds, you know, yes-and to life, life gets bigger and bigger, the more you're open to it. You know, it couldn't have been more of a crazier journey than what's been happening in the last seven years. And it has all been an improvised set. And I'm just so grateful that the belt broke and I'm still here.
SIMON: Michael Strassner and Jay Duplass - their new film, "The Baltimorons." Thank you both so much for being with us.
DUPLASS: Thank you, Scott.
STRASSNER: Thank you, Scott.
SIMON: And if you or someone you know is considering suicide or in crisis, please call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988.
(SOUNDBITE OF BAEGEL'S "WATCH YOUR BACK") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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