Trivia

> Filmed in 23 days (in Los Angeles in July 2009), because the creators had rushed post-production so it would be finished in time for Sundance.
> The film was greenlit for 2006, but Lisa Cholodenko postponed the project when she fell pregnant.
> Much of the film is based upon co-writer and director Lisa Cholodenko’s relationship with her partner Wendy, who both had a son by a sperm donor. Cholodenko dedicated the film to them.

Josh Says

Lisa and [co-writer] Stuart [Blumberg] did a great job of capturing these characters and the essence of who they were. They worked on it for almost five years. For me I just played the part that was on the page. Laser is a teen who’s trying to figure out who he is and how he fits into the world, and I know I identified with that. I’m pretty sure that most teenagers out there, and adults who have ever been teenagers, can identify with that as well.

The comedy was written, but it wasn’t obvious. It wasn’t jokes, anything like that. It was done a lot with the editing, the awkward pauses and cutting around to looks. It’s cool because it finds the humor in real life. Even in the most tragic situations, funny things happen. That’s something that makes it more realistic and something that everyone can relate with.

I haven’t heard any feedback from same sex families, but I’ve heard feedback from straight and gay people and also single parents families. And they all have been very gracious to see a film depicting a family that happens to be same sex marriage. So I’ve actually been really happy with the response we’ve been getting. It’s been very, very positive and supportive of it.

I was very excited when I first read the script, and it was nothing like anything I’d read before. It was so real. I thought the relationship between all the family members, the dialogue, just everything seemed so real to me, and that was a big draw.