Chatting With Lizzy Caplan About Turning 30, Janis Ian and Her New Film Save the Date

When it comes to cool-girl roles, Lizzy Caplan seems to be on everyone’s speed dial. Her character in Save the Date, which opens today, is no exception–and you’ll probably see some of yourself in either her or Alison Brie’s characters. I talked with Lizzy by phone a few days ago about the film, Miss Brie and friends getting married.

Bachelorette, New Girl, Masters of Sex got picked up, and now Save the Date–this has been a big year for you.

Lizzy: It feels different mainly because I’ve spent the majority of this year promoting the films [not making them]. I do tend to want to be working, but when Masters of Sex got picked up and I knew I was going to have this steady gig waiting for me, I decided to take some time off. I turned 30 this year, so I’ve gotten more thoughtful.

How did you celebrate 3-0?

Lizzy: I throw big parties every year, obnoxiously fancy parties, with one of my best friends whose birthday is close to mine. This year, I did a weekend in Palm Springs, with sixty people. My birthday’s right at the beginning of the summer, so it was the first trip of summer for most of us.

You and Alison play sisters in the film, and the vibe is startlingly realistic. How’d you get there with each other?

Lizzy: We went out for drinks and dinner and had a very fun time. When I meet an actor I’m going to be opposite in an intimate relationship, I know right away if it’s going to require a lot of effort. Within five seconds with Alison, it was very clear that it would be easy. We both have sisters, too, so we know how that relationship feels in our real lives. You really are mean to your sister like you’re not mean to anyone else.

The main tension between your two characters is different attitudes towards marriage. Alison’s can’t wait to get hitched–your character has no intentions of doing so. Do you feel like at this age that starts to become a divisive thing among friends?

Lizzy: I feel lucky because most of my friends aren’t married. So I don’t feel that, ‘oh, step on it, you’re thirty.’ Thirty is not the same thirty it was ten years ago or twenty years ago.

I think your love interest, Mark Webber, might be our new biggest crush. He seems to be everywhere all of a sudden.

Lizzy: Which is a really great thing because he’s one of those guys everybody likes. He’s not phony. He has this instant soulful vibe.

You’ve become somewhat of a go-to for the smart, edgy roles–but with this movie, in particular, I felt like your character could have been our beloved Janis Ian of Mean Girls grown up. Like she’s grown into herself, but this is the girl who wore a purple tux to prom–she’s not buying the whole bride thing so easily.

Lizzy: I think that quite a few of the characters I’ve played as a grownup could have been Janis Ian as kids. I was kind of like that in high school. I’ve been very lucky to have so much practice in this type of role, in which the tough character is usually actually the most vulnerable.

Outside of Michael Mohan, who wrote and directed Save the Date, you’ve largely worked with female creators and strong actresses of late. How is it different than working with men?

Lizzy: I will say Michael Mohan writes women better than most women. But yeah–[New Girl creator] Liz Meriwether works her ass off and has an amazing, clear voice. Girls writing for girls is kind of a dream for me. It adds an element. Funny girls are the thing right now, and it wasn’t that way for me the vast majority of my career. If you were the funny one, they tried to make you look busted. You weren’t the star, you were the best friend.

What are some of the female-relationship movies that kept you inspired even when funny, smart, real women weren’t exactly “the thing?”

Lizzy: Postcards from the Edge. Death Becomes Her. And… Thelma and Louise.

There you have it–one of the talented ladies out there right now. What’s your favorite Lizzy film?

Photo: IMDB