The Estate has just landed in theaters, heralding the return of a fan-favorite trope in the form of relatives squabbling over a will reading. While recent films like Knives Out have mined that premise to set up a murder mystery, filmmaker Dean Craig has opted for a comedy in which the will is not yet finalized and the estate in question is still up for grabs. The Signature Entertainment and Capstone Studios production recalls Craig's previous film Death at a Funeral, and there are plenty of kooky family members to go around despite no funeral yet taking place.
Anna Faris (Mom) and Toni Collette star in The Estate as Savannah and Macey, sisters who are down on their luck and struggling to make ends meet with their father's rundown cafe. Winning over their terminally ill Aunt Hilda (Kathleen Turner) and thus becoming beneficiaries of her will seems like their only option, but it is rife with difficulties. One issue is that Aunt Hilda can't stand them, and the other is that Cousin Dick (played by David Duchovny, The X-Files) and Cousin Beatrice (Rosemarie DeWitt, who starred alongside Collette in The Staircase and United States of Tara) are running the exact same game with much better odds.
Screen Rant spoke to Duchovny and DeWitt about how they exploited their characters' flaws for comedy in The Estate, which tidbits were improved, and how real-life bonds helped their performances.
David Duchovny & Rosemarie DeWitt on The Estate
I loved The Estate. I was rolling on the floor laughing over Cousin Dick, David. What's with Dick's cousin obsession? Is Macey that special, or is Richard just into that?
David Duchovny: I'm not sure. I didn't question it that deeply. I think what was funniest to me in trying to play this guy was to play his weirdness and his anti-socialness completely sincerely, without any kind of shame. He wasn't the kind of guy that was like, "Why am I so into Macey?" or whatever. No, it was like, "That's a fact of my life, and I'm gonna own it." And it's gonna be funny if I just rationalize these feelings every chance I get.
Rosemarie, you've worked with Toni twice before. Do you guys have a shorthand onset, and does that help with creating this somewhat antagonistic family dynamic?
Rosemarie DeWitt: It helps. And then sometimes it hurts, because we were in a groove for three years. Sometimes I'm like, "Wait, are we doing those other characters? Are we these characters?" It's a recalibration, but it's definitely a shorthand.
And I was saying earlier, she's the one who pulled me into this because it's just joyful. She's one of my favorite scene partners of all time, especially when the power dynamics are usually her being mean to me. This is the first one where I was really able to be mean back.
David Duchovny: Rosie also got to work with her real-life husband, so there was a lot of payback going on here. A lot of good payback.
David, you mentioned playing it sincerely to bring out the comedy. How much improvisation was there on set? Did it all come from the script, or were you coming up with new things for Dick?
David Duchovny: I'd say it's 90% to 95% written, and then there was some stuff we'd throw in. I can't remember exactly, but that seems about right.
Rosemarie DeWitt: Did you improv your name? Like, was Dick in the script? Was it always Richard, and then you said Dick? That to me is one of the brilliant improvs; the sustaining. Because that became a joke that stayed throughout the whole [film].
David Duchovny: Like, "Are you hearing the way you're saying this?" And I never wanted to really answer that question, either in the affirmative or the negative. I don't think you ever know whether Richard hears how those sentences are coming out of his mouth.
Rosemarie, you know, your dynamic with James [played by real-life husband Ron Livingston] made me feel so bad for him. Was it hard for you on set?
Rosemarie DeWitt: No, that was all about lunches unpacked, you know what I mean? Birthdays forgotten. No, I'm kidding. It was really fun. It's the least like our life it ever could be, and it was so fun. It's fun to be such a bitch.
As women, you can't even get a little angry. People are so quick to say, "Ah, your tone! It was so fun. It's just fun to be wrong, and to be celebrated for being wrong.
About The Estate
Two sisters attempt to win over their terminally ill, difficult-to-please Aunt in hopes of becoming the beneficiaries of her wealthy estate, only to find the rest of their greedy family members have the same idea.
Check out our other interview with The Estate stars Anna Faris and Toni Collette as well.
The Estate arrives in theaters on November 4.