A Coming Out Film For Thanksgiving: Interview With LEZ BOMB Director, Writer & Star Jenna Laurenzo

You think your holiday family gatherings are a challenge? Then you need to give Lez Bomb from writer and director Jenna Laurenzo a watch. This hilarious family comedy about a young woman trying to come out to her family during Thanksgiving is one of the funniest and endearing holiday films I have seen in a while.

While Lez Bomb is a story about coming out, at its core, it is a story about family – no matter how dysfunctional or unpredictable they can be. With holiday films, there is a tendency to lean towards the tacky, clichéd storylines of old. Yet, Lez Bomb avoids all these pitfalls, presenting a new perspective on the traditional, interlacing diversity and humor within a typically serious situation.

I had the chance to speak with writer, director and star of Lez Bomb Jenna Laurenzo about her new holiday comedy, the need for  continued conversation and the soundtrack of family.

Stephanie Archer for Film Inquiry: I want to thank you so much for speaking with me today and I’m so glad that Lisa [Tedesco, producer] connected us.

Jenna Laurenzo: I know, I love that. It was so gracious of her. I mean, I feel like every step of the way, people have been so wonderfully helpful. None of this would have come together if people weren’t really generous along the way. [laughter] So I’m really appreciative of it.

How did you meet Lisa, if you don’t mind my asking?

Jenna Laurenzo: Yeah. So I was connected to her through another writer. It was like somebody who really loved the film that was trying to connect me to people who she thought would write about it or pass it along. I’m pretty much, this entire process has been people seeing the film and like getting excited to try to like help get it out there. So it’s kind of been a very word of mouth effort.

Oh, that’s so awesome.

Jenna Laurenzo: Yeah, it’s kind of crazy, but it’s wonderful.

With regards to Lez Bomb. I want to say I loved the film. It was so funny.

Jenna Laurenzo: Thank you. I’m so happy to hear that.

The depth you were able to reach with regards to the humor and character development was amazing. Where did you get the idea for Lez Bomb?

Jenna Laurenzo: It was really largely a lot about being the film I was looking for and I just couldn’t find anything like it. Most of the coming out stories that I had seen were so dramatic and the film took me like eight years to make. I was really interested in that conversation I was having with people about coming out and with Girl Night Stand, when that was at festivals, the conversations and the dialogue that was sparked by a lot of those conversations really helped my approach with Lez Bomb because there just really seemed to be this disconnect with the people who go to film festivals and then the average consumer.

And I really wanted to keep the audience in mind and try to make it accessible to a wider audience than the typical indie films that are seen at festivals that tend to be a bit more dramatic or arthouse, which sometimes a broader audience don’t necessarily gravitate to. And a story like this, I really want it to be accessible to a wider audience because I think it’s an important conversation.

Is that why you chose Thanksgiving because it would reach a larger audience?

Jenna Laurenzo: Well, I just think that Thanksgiving in general is a thing that feels very all American and it’s one of the first holidays once the holiday season kicks off. So it seems to be the first time many people gather with their families, so in terms of like coming home with any news, it just feels more heightened because the year leading up to it, like things changed and families have expectations and you have expectations and coming together the first time, I think, feels like the time where you would come out about whatever it is, not even necessarily sexuality, and exploring sort of the collision of everybody’s personal narratives coming together at the same time would be fun.

I definitely agree. And I noticed that was one of the biggest things I think I got from the film, to take it back a little bit, there are a lot of films that are so dark about this coming out and I love that you brought humor to it and it was so much more relatable for people whether you are gay or not gay. The film primarily takes place at Lauren’s home in New Jersey. Did you grow up in New Jersey?

Jenna Laurenzo: Actually that’s my home.

Oh, okay. Oh! that’s your actual home. Oh my God that’s amazing.

Jenna Laurenzo: [laughter] We were on a very, very, very tight schedule. We shot the movie in 15 days.

Oh wow!

Jenna Laurenzo: And in like 15 days and like not a lot of money, so having access to some locations is really helpful. [laughter]

Well, what was it like filming at home, now that I know that’s your actual home, what was it like?

Jenna Laurenzo: I mean it’s super bizarre and what was craziest, the last night, I came from a very conservative town so it was crazy seeing Lez Bomb on the movie theater matinee and like in my hometown, which is like super conservative. [laughter] But yeah it was surreal watching these characters come to life that were inspired by people in my life by these actors who I’m enamored by and in awe of  – we grew up watching and inspired by. It was crazy.

There’s a scene within Lez Bomb where Lauren discusses how in her concern for everyone else, like what they would think, she never took the time to consider if she was okay being gay. I thought that was so introspective and the scene feels deeply vulnerable and personal. I was wondering, was there any personal influences in your life or the people that you’ve spoken to that went into writing and filming that scene?

Jenna Laurenzo: Yeah, so that, that emotion was really how I felt. There was this thing when I would come out looking like this, like I feel this relief, but then after that, because there’s like this build up where you have to tell everybody, and then all of a sudden I had to like sit with it myself. And the assumption is that those pressures about coming out are only the external pressures and even though we’ve made progress, and in some places it’s more acceptable, it’s still quite challenging in many places. And the assumption is that those pressures from the external world are what make it difficult. But in reality when people come out, some people, they’re okay with it, some people like really have to come to terms with the fact that their life doesn’t necessarily match what they had grown up dreaming or believing it would be.

And I think that that resolution just has to come on its own time where you sort of are like, oh, reality doesn’t match my expectations. And I think we find that in all aspects of life. Like when we lose a job or we didn’t get the job we wanted, or we got into the college that we wanted or we didn’t get into the college we wanted. Like with my good friends, they’re like, “oh my God, was it like at all hard coming out”, you know? And I’m like you get bent out of shape when Starbucks doesn’t have your soy milk, you know? I was like, let alone that like all of a sudden the way your future unfolds is totally different than you would imagine. [laughter]

And I felt like that conversation was very needed to be had because when I would have conversations with people who very much judged my lifestyle, there seemed to be a really big disconnect with that factor and once I can sort of bring them there, it seemed like they had a greater sense of empathy and compassion. So I wanted to bring that there into the movie so that hopefully it could help those people who might have an opinion maybe understand just a little bit better.

I noticed the main character’s name is Lauren, which is similar to Laurenzo. Was that intentional?

Jenna Laurenzo: Well, yeah. Everybody always calls me Lauren. So I was like, oh, okay I’m going to perpetuate this problem. [laughter]

This is your first full length feature directorial debut. Having previously become a YouTube viral sensation with your short film Girl Night Stand, how has it been different for you this time around?

Jenna Laurenzo: It’s nerve-wracking as all hell. [laughter] You have people writing their opinions and like, I mean you have opinions before, but this is kind of in a larger sense in terms of the feature coming together. It came together in a much bigger way than I had anticipated because I wouldn’t have imagined like Bobby Farrelly coming on as EP [Executive Producer] and I wouldn’t imagine the cast that we had got to attach to the project. So in a lot of ways, I felt like I was really thrown into the deep end, but I wouldn’t have done it differently and because it was just such a tremendous learning experience across the board. The original plan wasn’t to direct or star, but after six years of not being able to attach a writer, a director, because I had no money …

Wow, six years.

Jenna Laurenzo: Yeah, six years. That’s why I made Girl Night Stand as a proof of concept because I just sort of hit that wall and I was like, I guess I’m going to have to do both if this is ever going to happen. And so Girl Night Stand was born. And then when that went viral, when the movie came together, it was sort of within that framework that I was going to be executing it. And so the stakes are much higher and you know, you want to live up to your investor’s expectations and you want to live up to the producer’s expectations and the cast who trusted you. And so there’s a lot of pressure, but I’ve always, I always felt like I had a tremendous amount of collaboration and support and a lot of miracles around this project. So it’s been great. It’s been great.

Miracles, that fits with the holiday theme.

Jenna Laurenzo: Yeah. I’m like, I tend to be overly nostalgic in general, you know, even like down to like the shooting of it, you know, you want it to feel like, I wanted to feel something nostalgic about it that felt like a throwback to those films that we see and that sensibility that we used to see and hopefully that older generation sort of subconsciously sort of tunes into that automatically. They might be a bit more receptive to the content.

You spoke about your cast and your cast is just star-studded with Steve Guttenberg, Kevin Pollak, Elaine Hendrix, the award winning Cloris Leachman. What was it like culminating such a talented cast?

Jenna Laurenzo: Oh my God. It was crazy. It was a whole big, I just don’t like, How is this happening?! [laughter] All of them, I felt like, brought so much to the project and so much enthusiasm and support and it was impossible not to learn from each and every one of them every step of the way. Every moment I felt like I was just a sponge, and like even though I was directing, it was impossible not to be just overwhelmed with inspiration. And you realize why people like Cloris and Bruce [Dern] are legends, the choices that they make and the freedom and the spontaneity that they have. They have this confidence that really only comes with experience and it was, it was fascinating to watch it come to life.

Bruce Dern and Cloris Leachman are two of my favorite performances in your film. They are hilarious. The way they work off each other is amazing.

Jenna Laurenzo: [laughter] They are impossible not to fall in love with.

Speaking of characters, there’s an eclectic array of characters within Lauren’s family, which creates an amazing dynamic. Their inhibitions I noticed present a beautiful contrast to Lauren’s inability to come out. How did you craft such diverse characters and was that contrast always the intention?

Jenna Laurenzo: That’s so funny, you’re first person to ask me that. I’m really happy that you noticed that, thank you so much. [laughter] Yes, I spent so much time trying to develop those characters and have that be such a heightened contrast so that we felt like, I wanted it to feel like a soda bottle that had been shaken up so that when it finally popped in that like that emotional break, we’re sort of in it. I wanted there to be just a little permission to step into this dramatic states for this message that is often a little bit heavy-handed, you know, which makes it sometimes more challenging to digest. But yes, I wanted that contrast of the Lauren character with the whole family to jump off the page because I felt like it was important for the movie to sort of have that frenetic energy and to sort of get the message across that I was trying to get.

Well, that definitely came across for me, I loved that dynamic and that contrast and how much Lauren was so different from her family only because she needed to say something.

Jenna Laurenzo: Right. Oh my God, I’m so excited.

I did want to take a moment to acknowledge the score within Lez Bomb. It was so light and gentle, like almost whispering to Lauren that everything was going be okay. It did take me a while to notice, but it does seem that this score is kind of absent several times, allowing the overlapping conversations by the family to become the score, creating an even deeper credibility and relatability. Was this yours and composer P.T. Walkley’s  intention?

Jenna Laurenzo: Yeah, Oh Gosh. Again, you asking the questions, I haven’t gotten any of these that I’m so happy we’re having this conversation. Yes. We spent so much time on this because I feel like in these group scenes and family movies so often, we miss that soundtrack of the family conversation that really feels like a family coming together and everyone really loves each other, but sometimes everybody’s so consumed with their own personal story that they miss everybody else’s narrative. And I wanted those moments to breathe and become the soundtrack. And then we really spent time where the music would serve and would not distract and where it would amplify and help with the emotional narrative and P.T. is an insanely collaborative partner to work with. There’s not enough good words I can say, for both him and the editor were incredible in this whole process.

Another little detail I noticed was that Austin and Haley, played by Brandon Michael Hall and Caitlin Mehner, both wear almost the identical same flannel shirt. What was the intention that you had behind that decision?

Jenna Laurenzo: Well, it was sort of like a wink at the fact that I feel in a lot of times when we see these lesbian characters on screen, they’re like always in flannel and I’m just like, I just think that’s really funny and I think it would be impactful. And in a movie that I’m trying to, you know, touch on in the nostalgia of these tropes, there had to be a flannel in there. And then I think I really wanted to play with this idea of the confusion between two of them and it’s sort of on the nose, but sometimes I like to do that. And I like that the grandparents are like the only ones to start putting the pieces together.

Yeah, that was hilarious. That was amazing.

Jenna Lorenzo: But I think it’s just like this visual comedic bit which I just really appreciated. And Austin is based on a real character, I remember that person and my wife, like both wearing flannels and I was like, this would happen and this is funny. [laughter]

I also hear you have another feature in development. Is there anything you can say about that?

Jenna Laurenzo: Yeah, it does have a LGBTQ narrative and it’s a comedy and it’s a big female ensemble. I don’t want to give too much away, but I’m very excited to be back.

Film Inquiry would like to thank Jenna Laurenzo for speaking with us. 

Lez Bomb is now on limited release in theaters (check here for screening details) and is available on Amazon, iTunes and Google Play.