Family drama is always a little chaotic, and the new film Maybe I Do makes no secret of the fact. Monica (Susan Sarandon), Grace (Diane Keaton), Howard (Richard Gere) and Sam (William H. Macy) are brought together by their children Michelle (Emma Roberts) and Allen (Luke Bracey), who are having relationship troubles. Things take a turn for the awkward when the four of them realize they’ve actually met before, but under wildly different circumstances.

In this interview with Collider, Gere and Sarandon sat down to talk about how it felt to work together again, feeling safe with your scene partner, and about their favorite lines and scenes from the film. Sarandon also shared what she is most excited for Blue Beetle fans to see when the film comes out next year. You can watch the interview in the video above, or read the full transcript below.
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COLLIDER: This is your second romantic movie together, but your characters are obviously in a very different place than they were in Shall We Dance. So I was wondering what it was like to do this sort of story together again.

SUSAN SARANDON: Well, it was… Go ahead.

RICHARD GERE: No, after you, Gaston.

SARANDON: Well, it was a different story. So we felt differently.

GERE: Actually, it’s the third one we’ve done. We’ve discovered it’s the third one. I think what’s great about Susan, from my point of view, is that she can do anything, and she’s still a human being. Still, that vulnerable human being comes through. And she loves playing, as most actors do, playing extreme characters. But there’s still always that human being, and I can trust that that reality is always there to play with. And that’s great fun because you always have a connection. It’s not someone just off doing their own thing, and being flamboyant and chewing the scenery, but there’s still that vulnerable human being that you can play with. And from an actor’s point of view, that’s where the fun is. It’s like you are with a living, breathing human being with all the flaws, and all the problems, and anything else, but it’s still a living, human being situation.

SARANDON: I feel the same way about Richard, but also, I feel safe working with him, which makes me braver because I know that he’s present, and he listens.

GERE: Yeah, that’s a good point because it’s the same with me. Everyone here wanted everyone to be good, their best selves, and to bring out the best in each other. We were very nurturing with each other, and taking care of each other.

Image via Vertical Entertainment

As you mentioned, this is very different from the other films that you’ve done together. And I felt like this leaned more into the comedy side of things versus the romantic. I was wondering how it felt to play that side up a little bit.

SARANDON: Well, play is a very good word to say. I mean, it felt playful. It felt, again, safe in a way.

GERE: Yeah, safe. It comes from safe.

SARANDON: And that’s when you can be playful because I knew he had his thing down, and I could, therefore, have my thing, and that he would support me. I mean, there wasn’t a lot of improvisation, but there was some give to how things came down and how we expressed it, and how we danced.

I mean, that’s why you do it, really, is because we all want connection. Not so much to be seen by an audience, but the feeling … I do anyway. The collaboration of having a tribe of people that are putting this together, and the connection that you have when you have a moment with somebody, for me, that’s extraordinary. So if you can find other actors that are prepared, so they’re not thrown if you do something a little bit different, that’s when it’s the most fun.

So you did speak a lot about playing off of each other, and there are a lot of great duo scenes, trio scenes, early on in the movie, but the back half is this kind of madcap Comedy of Errors sort of ensemble piece. So, what were some of the highlights of filming that kind of chaotic energy?

GERE: Michael was good at that, actually. I think Michael, the writer-director, Michael Jacobs, was good at working with the four of us. And that could have taken forever doing those scenes with someone who wasn’t right for it. And I’ve seen that before. If you get three characters, they don’t know where to put the camera. And this was four characters, and everyone was learning something in the process of those scenes, especially the one where finally all the information comes out and everyone finally knows everything, or almost everything. And that was, I think, great fun for all of us is that we were all off balance at the same time.

Light bulbs were going off all around the room as people were keying into the reality of our situation. That was great fun. As an ensemble, that’s what you kind of live for, is that and the ability to play that, find the humor in it. [Finding] the crazy physical humor in that scene was great fun.

SARANDON: I couldn’t wait to say, “I am the company.” I couldn’t wait for that moment to happen. It delighted me. And his reaction was so much fun.

Image via Vertical Entertainment

Well, I hope that this does entice them, because that whole beat was just so funny and such a beautiful delivery. So with Howard and Monica, they’re kind of at extremes where Howard is chasing that bloom of first love again, and Monica is possibly the most cynical person I’ve ever seen when it comes to romance. I was wondering if it was these extremes that drew you to the part, or what it was that appealed to you?

SARANDON: I think she’s authentic, and she’s realistic about a lot of things that she’s learned in the deterioration of her relationship, which is pretty tragic. I mean, she is cynical, but I mean, there’s a point where she says, “And when did you first learn that this wasn’t true? That love didn’t conquer everything?” And then explains her philosophy. And I think she was a believer at some point.

I think she was a believer and it slowly slipped away for [a myriad] of reasons that are her fault, and his fault, and kids, and whatever. But it’s fun to be disruptive. It’s really fun to be that character who says, “What are you saying?” When someone’s kind of babbling on. So I knew I would have a good time. I thought I would have a good time if the cast was right. And I did.

So Susan, I have to ask, you are going to be appearing in Blue Beetle very shortly, and I wanted to know what you were excited for fans to see there.

SARANDON: My God, to be in a comic book and to be the bad guy, that was great. And I had great outfits, and I wanted to be a little bit more androgynous, but that scared them. So I’m a little bit more gentle, but that was really a fun thing too. That young director, Angel [Manuel Soto], was fabulous. And I mean, we’re gushing a lot. It sounds phony, but really, I love the enormity of it. His whole family is Mexican and they’re all Mexican actors, and my henchman is Native American. So it was pretty unusual. It’s the first superhero movie that stars a Latino, so that’s pretty special, and he’s great. The kid’s great.

Image via Vertical Entertainment

Bringing it back to Maybe I Do, you mentioned that great moment of, “I am the company,” but I was wondering, apart from that, what highlight what was your favorite moment of the movie, your favorite scene, favorite conversation? Do you have one?

SARANDON: I mean, I like the scene where everything explodes, but I also like when I’m threatening him and he just takes a beat and says, “That’s fair.” Was that what you say? “That’s fair. That’s fair.” I mean, it’s hard to deliver those lines in a way that really are funny. And that moment was, I thought, great. But of course, the explosion of all the information was a fun scene because we were all together. Richard, what was your fun scene?

GERE: I think I like that the most. I think I like that the most. And then when everyone left, I like the scene a lot that [William H. Macy] and I played where he wants to fight me, and we’re circling each other, and it’s–

SARANDON: Ridiculous.

GERE: It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous. And I calm him down, and I give him a hug and then eventually–

SARANDON: Don’t give the whole movie away. Come on.

GERE: It’s in the trailer! Anyhow.

Maybe I Do hits theaters on January 27. For more on the movie, check out Collider’s interview with Diane Keaton below: