IT IS A heady combination of stand-up comedian Ali Wong’s deadpan humour and Randall Park’s catchy rap as the frontman of the band Hello Peril that gives Netflix’s Always Be My Maybe its edge. That, and perhaps the smouldering Keanu Reeves too! Directed by Nahnatchka Khan, the movie is about childhood friends Sasha and Marcus who fall out and don’t speak for 15 years only to later reconnect, while being cautious and reluctant. They soon find the old sparks — and maybe some new ones too.
Off screen, Wong and Park’s connect goes back to UCLA where Wong was a member of the LCC Theatre company, an Asian American theater group co-founded by Park. They stayed friends ever since and have both carved out a name for themselves. While Wong has done Netflix stand-up specials like Baby Cobra, Hard Knock Wife and her latest comedy tour The Milk and Money Tour, Randall has had several movies up his sleeve like Aquaman, Ant-man and The Interview (where he played Kim Jong-un). Throughout the trajectory of their careers, they had always entertained the notion of writing a script together. Wong and Park decided they needed to hunker down and start writing it. Always Be My Maybe is a culmination of two of their writing experiences, along with American screenwriter Michael Golamco.
How did Always Be My Maybe come about?
Randall Park: We’ve always entertained the notion of writing a script together, but we never really sat down and got to work on it. We just kind of had this idea of working together, and doing a rom-com.
How would you describe your dynamics onscreen and off screen with Ali?
RP: Ali and I have been friends for a long time, so we have a very easy rapport and a similar sensibility, especially when it comes to comedy. So, onscreen, this made for a very fun, comfortable dynamic. It was a joy being able to act with someone who I already felt so connected to. Our dynamic is pretty similar off screen as well, always trying to make each other laugh. But we also talk a lot about our families and our kids, and our mutual friends, of which we have many — old friends that also went to UCLA and are still very much in our lives. The great thing about working with your friends is that it doesn’t feel like work. It feels like hanging out, making something fun with someone you respect and admire.
How difficult is to write comedy, especially when there’s romance involved? How much is too much and how do you make it funny, without it being sappy?
RP: For us, it was all pretty instinctual. When we first started writing, we talked a lot about two movies:When Harry Met Sally and Boomerang. Those were kind of our main points of inspiration. I think tonally, Boomerang was something that we felt was a good model — a grounded story about real people, but with side characters that were really fun and even outrageous. What was most important for us, and for our director Nahnatchka Khan, was that our movie be funny. We wanted the comedy to hit hard. That way, we had something to balance the more dramatic and romantic stuff. I think a rom without enough com is when you start to feel like you’re veering into sappy town.
Tell us about rapping in the movie, since you’ve written all the songs for your band Hello Peril including I punched Keanu Reeves.
RP: I’ve always loved hip-hop music. Especially stuff from the ’90s and early 2000s. My favourite artistes are Tribe Called Quest, Jay Z, Biggie, Nas… All the classic artists. Also, I love The Roots, which was a big influence on my old band — I was in a hip hop band when I graduated college. We played a bunch of clubs in Los Angeles and even had a little following. Hello Peril, the band in the movie is based on that old band, just an older version of it. We wanted the audience to realise that the band was great, and Ali’s character is supposed to lean in when she hears it.
In conversation with Ali Wong:
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How did Always Be My Maybe come about?
Ali Wong: I remember when he (Park) called me and proposed that we do a rom-com together. I was sitting in this terrible trailer from the ’80s, and shooting a pilot. I thought he meant that he wanted me to write something for him to play the lead in with Anne Hathaway or something. And then Park said, “No we should write something together, for us to star in together.” And I was really surprised. I just wanted to make a movie that felt authentic to me — that’s why the film is set in the Bay Area, where I grew up.
How was it working with Randall Park?
AW: I adore him. He’s my dear old friend who I’ve known for the past 16 years. We’ve always found a way to collaborate together and this project was an absolute joy.
Have you had any real experiences like the one of Marcus and Sasha, where you reconnect with an estranged friend after years?
AW: I have, but none of it has been a romance that I’ve rekindled. I’ve just gotten in touch with past boyfriends or friends who I lost touch with. And reconnecting is delightful.
Was it intentional that you used Asian American actors for representation and inclusivity? And do you see an actual change happening on that front?
AW: We cast the people who just felt right for the part. For me, it was important that all of Sasha’s love interests be Asian-American men. I love Asian-American men and think they’re so sexy and it’s annoying that the rest of our society is still blind to what’s so obvious to me. And we also wanted Jenny (Marcus’ girlfriend) to be Asian-American because she represented someone we knew, but never got to see on camera. And do you see an actual change happening on that front? Yes of course. There’s so much to be excited about: Black Panther, Atlanta, Jane The Virgin, Pen15, Tuca and Bertie, The Big Sick — and it makes me never want to go back in time.
What is one of your favourite moments from the movie?
AW: For me, it was the scene in the beat up car when our characters are 18-years-old, had just finished losing their virginity to each other, and are feeling extremely awkward and uncomfortable. We improvised a lot of the dialogue and Randall, who rarely breaks, could not stop laughing. I
could’ve stayed in that car until the sun came up.
In the movie, your character Sasha has an unwavering belief in Marcus to do something with his musical career. Most of his fans know him only as an actor and stand-up comedian. How exciting was it for you to show them this side of Randall?
AW: Randall’s character Marcus, reminds me so much of a lot of guys I grew up with in San Francisco, who just can’t leave their parents house, and is too scared to get out of their comfort zone. This is someone I’ve wanted to put on camera for a long time. I’m actually more excited for the rest of the world to see the musical side of him. When I first met him, he was in this hip-hop band and I swear, every girl I knew was madly in love with him!
On Netflix.