No matter who you are, your early 20s are going to be messy. Figuring out what you want to do with the rest of your life while also trying to juggle things like bills, career prospects, friendships, and romance can lead to a lot of chaos, and that weird, transitional period is perfectly explored in Utopia's latest queer-inclusive comedy Shiva Baby.
Writer-director Emma Seligman's directorial debut, Shiva Baby tells the story of Danielle (played by rising comedian and actress Rachel Sennott), a college senior who is trying to find her place in the world (and a job) amid pressure from her caring but overbearing parents. One day after hooking up with her sugar daddy (Danny Deferrari), Danielle makes her way to a shiva ceremony to mourn the loss of one of her parents' family friends. Unbeknownst to her though, her longtime childhood friend and ex-girlfriend Maya (Booksmart's Molly Gordon) is also there, and to add more chaotic fuel to the fire, so is Max...and his wife Kim (Glee queen Dianna Agron). All sorts of messiness ensues, culminating in a funny, emotional, authentic, and delightfully heartfelt portrayal of what it means to be a young, queer person in today's world.
PRIDE got to chat with Shiva Baby writer-director Emma Seligman, as well as stars Rachel Sennott, Molly Gordon, and Dianna Agron about the film's authentic portrayal of queer twentysomethings, Jewish representation, what it was like working with each other, and so much more!
"I think Emma is a brilliant writer-director and created this character who is so messy and chaotic, and some of the things she does, you're like, 'Girl don't. Please stop,'" Sennott said about getting to portray the film's messy but loveable bi lead Danielle. "Emma really wrote that into the script, which is important for bisexual representation. Danielle's family is supposedly supportive and liberal, and her mom has the line, 'Oh, I lived in New York in the '80s. You don't have to explain anything to me.' But then at the same time, her family is kind of dismissing her bisexuality as a phase. I thought that all was in Emma's writing. It has all of those different parts."
She continued:
"I think that I felt connected to the messiness because I feel like I really related to that. At the age of 23, there was like a little monster in the back of my mind that would always be like, 'You're gonna Uber there, you're gonna go at the end to the house you shouldn't go to.' And that voice is going for Danielle. Yeah, I think I was really tapping into being 23."
Shiva Baby is available to stream on-demand!
