ComingSoon Senior Editor Brandon Schreur spoke to Will Forte and Brianne Howey about the new Netflix comedy movie Kinda Pregnant. Forte and Howey discussed working with Amy Schumer, driving a Zamboni in the movie, and more.
“Lainy, a middle-school teacher (Schumer) who has always dreamed of being a mom, is jealous of her newly pregnant best friend and gets swept up in a web of lies when she wears a fake baby bump,” the synopsis for the movie reads. “Along the way, she accidentally falls in love with Josh (Forte) and discovers the power of sisterhood.”
Kinda Pregnant releases on Netflix on February 5, 2025.
Brandon Schreur: Will, I’ve been such a fan of your work for a long time. Immediately after watching Kinda Pregnant, I put on MacGruber, and that’s an incredible double feature. I’ve seen you do all kinds of things in the world of comedy before, but this is your first time making a movie with Amy Schumer. I’m just wondering if you can tell me a little bit about what it was like working with her and exploring the chemistry between your two characters.
Will Forte: I mean, it was so fun. First of all, thanks for the nice things you just said. But I’ve known Amy for years but have never worked with her. So it was really fun. I’m kind of used to being the frickin’ weirdo. So it was really fun to get to be more of the straight man and watch her do her thing. I read the script and was like, ‘This is awesome, it’s so funny.’ So just to be any part of it, anywhere.
I loved the challenge of a rom-com storyline; not that the movie is a rom-com, but my part of it is. The rest of it is just this really fun comedy. So it was a fun challenge — playing the straight man is harder than people think, and I don’t have a lot of experience with it. So it was fun to do it, and to get to have the best seat in the house as I was watching [Schumer] do her thing. That was a real fun thing.
Sure. And you both are so good in it, I loved your guys’ interactions, it’s so believable. I thought you guys nailed it. Brianne, I really liked your character in here, too, Megan. It’s really fun getting to watch you do comedy, but also, there’s a dramatic side to her and everything. That scene where you and Amy are talking in the bathroom, I thought that was great, and you are so good in it. I’m wondering what it was like filming that moment because it’s a really vulnerable moment for your character. Was it vulnerable for you at all to actually film that?
Brianne Howey: Yeah! Thank you so much, it was an incredible scene to get to be a part of. It was super, super vulnerable. That’s actually my real birth story, so it was a little bit extra scary and risky, but I’m super grateful to Amy because she was so insanely supportive and encouraging throughout the process. It was her idea to adjust the scene in this way and to bring these birth stories to light. I’m so grateful that she thought of it.
Oh, sure. And it’s such a powerful moment, too, that’s awesome. Will, I’m dying to ask you about the Zamboni that your character gets to drive in this movie. Was that ever actually you be behind the wheel, or was that stunt people?
Forte: I’m pretty sure that it was one hundred percent me the whole time — oh, you know what, if it ever hit something, I’m sure that there was a great stuntman. But, like, on the ice, that was me the whole time whipping it around. It was really fun. Wollman Rink, where we shot it, had closed down for the season the day before, so they basically didn’t care what we did. It was just a delight to get to go to town on that thing. I had obviously no Zamboni experience beforehand. Anybody could become an expert.
Howey: I don’t know, that didn’t look easy.
Forte: Well, not an expert, but to my level.
It looked really fun, I was jealous. It looked like you were having a blast on that thing.
Forte: Oh, it was a really fun time.
Thanks to Will Forte and Brianne Howey for discussing Kinda Pregnant.
