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Amy Schumer & Jillian Bell Dish on New Netflix Movie ‘Kinda Pregnant,’ Telling Lies & (Of Course) ‘The Traitors’

'Kinda Pregnant' premieres on February 5

amy schumer jillian bell kinda pregnant netflix interview
Courtesy of Netflix

Kinda Pregnant is coming to Netflix on February 5, and it’s a must-watch for parents, grandparents and anyone who’s looking for a good laugh. 

The film stars Amy Schumer as a woman named Lainy, who’s desperate to settle down and start a family. When her best friend, Kate (Jillian Bell), announces her pregnancy, Lainy becomes extremely jealous—so much so that she pretends to be pregnant, so she can attend prenatal classes, receive mom-to-be privileges and experience the “magic” for herself. She’s forced to confront the lie when she meets her dream man, who has no idea she’s faking her pregnancy. 

In honor of the Kinda Pregnant premiere on February 5, I sat down with Schumer and Bell to discuss the brand-new Netflix film and, of course, The Traitors

Keep reading for the full interview. 

PW: A big theme in this movie is lying. Are you good liar in real life?

Amy Schumer: I don’t have a good poker face.

Jillian Bell: Amy, do I look good today?

AS: Yeah [makes silly face]. I’m best at lying to my son. You know when it’s like, ‘The TV is not working. I don’t know.’ If somebody I’m close with asks me something and they know me…

JB: You’re going to be honest.

AS: I’m going be honest or my face will show it. I don't think that Lainy is a particularly great liar, which was so fun to play. It was just heaven to get to be getting in this web of lies.

PW: Jillian, your character did not lie nearly as much, but would you say you’re a good liar in real life?

JB: I think I have a really bad lying face.

AS: Yeah, you’re a bad lair.

JB: The thing is I will tell white lies because I don’t think that anyone needs to feel bad about something.

AS: But your face is so expressive, you can really tell how you feel. I’m always like, ‘Yeah, if you're comfortable with this.’ And you’re like…

JB: My eyes just go dead when I’m lying.

PW: I assume you would not be good on a show like The Traitors.

JB: It’s all I want to be on though. I improvised something about The Traitors on our movie, and it didn’t make it. I was so sad, but I was happy with what replaced it, which was something about the older Bachelor.

AS: Yes, you improved about The Golden Bachelor.

JB: I did say that I was touching myself through The Traitors. The Traitors is one of my favorite shows.

AS: That’s hot right now. That would have been good. But Golden Bachelor gets it done.

PW: Would you be a Faithful or a Traitor?

JB: I don't know because I feel like the best use of me is a Faithful that becomes a Traitor by the end. And then I would go [impersonates host Alan Cumming] The Traitors.  I think I would be pretty good.

AS: Is that the show you'd want to be on most if you could be on any reality show?

JB: Yes.

AS: I would want to be on that show Alone. You know, where people get dropped off in the wilderness. I want to do Alone because I want to set a record for the quickest pull. It will be like the helicopter is landing, and I dip my toe down and I go, ‘Nope.’

JB: And the helicopter comes back?

AS: Then I go right back.

amy schumer jillian bell kinda pregnant netflix interview
Scott Yamano/Netflix

PW: In movies where a character tells a lie, they usually face the consequences at some point. Usually it’s some big climactic scene, kind of like the baby shower [in Kinda Pregnant]. Do you think it’s important in movies that the liar gets caught?

AS: In this kind of movie, I think it’s important that the liar gets caught in a big way. In a drama, maybe not. You can just, you know—life went on. But in this one, it felt like it needed [something]. It would have been pretty anticlimactic.

JB: Oh, the baby is missing.

AS: Oh, that would’ve been fun. The baby was stolen, and it becomes press.

JB: I think it helps [because] you have so much tension when you’re lying. So, the release of it has got to be sort of the payoff. I feel like I grew up watching movies like Tootsie. I love Tootsie. Just the reveal coming clean of who he was. He was just a struggling actor that had to come up with this character to even be seen. It’s just so fun and you have the love interest.

AS: I meant to tell you this, I forget who I was talking to, but they just said that this movie in some weird way reminded them of Tootsie. I couldn’t wait to tell you.

JB: Oh, my gosh! It’s meant to be.

PW: Amy, did you do your own stunts? I need to know about that Zamboni scene.

AS: Oh, my God. Meredith Richardson has been my stunt double and Jillian’s for a long time. She’s incredible and so talented. And Jillian just directed her first feature [Summer of 69].

JB: And had her as the stunt coordinator.

AS: I don’t like to do my own stunts. I just did the one where I fly when I’m trying to put my bed away. I did that once. I have a bad back and I’m old and my bones are frail. But in terms of the Zamboni, I am so all about safety first—for myself for sure, but everybody. I know what it’s like to be on a set when someone gets hurt, and it’s so awful. So, stunts do make me nervous, and I love Meredith and she’s like, ‘I’m fine. I’m fine.’ And she’s like on fire. And I’m like, ‘OK.’ But yeah, when it came to the Zamboni and all those stunts, I was like, ‘I would like to do this as few times as possible.’ And very happy to have someone else doing it.

JB: It worked though. It’s so good.

PW: Lastly, is there anything that you hope that moms, women and parents of all kinds take away from this movie?

JB: I just hope they have a good time and feel seen. I really do think there’s a character for every single type of person in this movie. It’s not just [for] if you've had a kid. I haven’t had a kid, and I relate to this movie so much. I think if you get to be at home and have a good time with either your girlfriends or your partner and get to watch something and laugh for a little bit because I think we all need that.

AS: However you’re doing it, you’re doing great. Mom guilt and all the mental warfare that comes with being a mom is so real and it is so difficult. [I want] to have moms just feel like, ‘I am doing a good job, and I’m doing the best I can.’ And feel good about themselves and put less pressure on themselves because, you know, we’re all just doing the best we can.

Kinda Pregnant hits Netflix February 5.

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