LOS ANGELES (AP) ā Three months after having her first baby and not long after she completed the Anna Konkle liked the sound of filming her next project in a remote Mexican jungle.
āYou had heard of casts going to these beautiful places and they had to be quarantined and so they would just stay in these amazing hotels and film there,ā she said.
In reality, Konkleās experience of making her new movie, āThe Drop,ā which premieres Friday on Hulu, was anything but blissful. The poor cell reception and limited access to food and water were the least of the breastfeeding momās worries. By the end of the shoot, she had to have fluids administered through an intravenous line.
āEveryone got horrific diarrhea and I stopped making milk so then I would have to get the IV while I pumped to make milk because I was so dehydrated,ā she recalled. In the end, she was glad she made the movie ā and not just because her daughter āadapted wonderfully and was very fat by the end of filming.ā
āI loved the idea of motherhood being not saccharine, but R-rated and funny. And that just felt exciting to be a part of that, I think, especially grappling with the stage that I was at,ā she said.
āThe Drop,ā which was executive produced follows Lex (Konkle) and Mani (Jermaine Fowler) as the happy couple tries to get pregnant. But their relationship is put to the test when Lex drops their friendsā baby in front of everyone during a destination wedding trip.
For Konkle, the filmās honest exploration of being a parent and the mistakes that come with it was a refreshing reminder as she was adjusting to life as a new mom.
āThe amount of criticism that I find myself having, scrutinizing myself, comparing myself to other people and, you know, theyāre vacationing with their child or theyāre teaching them science or whatever,ā she said. āI just loved in the film that it was kind of like, sā- happens, no oneās perfect and you grapple with that and you keep going.ā
Konkle, along with her best friend Maya Erskine, set in the early 2000s that the duo starred in and co-created. Although she and Erskine both studied experimental theater in college, where they met, Konkle sees comedy as a natural, albeit unexpected, step in her career.
āThere is something in comedy of laughing at the darkest moments and your own vulnerability that feels like you can go farther than drama,ā she said. āI didnāt think Iād end up in comedy. I was like so serious. But itās the perfect home. I feel so grateful that thatās where I kind of landed.ā
Krysta Fauria, The Associated Press
