At three is not your typical run-of-the-mill buddy film. Lead actors Val and Kevin both want to take their own lives within 24 hours and resolve old conflicts that led to their fatal decision. But what sounds like serious drama is also one of the best comedies of the year, thanks in large part to the amazing script by Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch.
In a chat with Digital Trends, both writers discuss working with star Jerrod Carmichael, how they approached the mix of comedy and drama, and what they expect viewers to get out of the film.
Digital trends: How did At three occurrence?
Ari Katcher: I worked on The Carmichael Show with Jerrod. Ryan and I were writing some stuff on the side and had an idea in mind for a movie with Jerrod. We directed it from him, he liked it, and we just wrote it. We started showing it to people and seeing who liked it.
How long did it take to write the screenplay?
Ryan Welch: It was quite a long process of writing it, putting it down, rewriting it, putting it down again. We worked on the script while we were shooting the film. I don’t know if you even had it, how much we actually worked on it, but.
Hangover: I’m trying to imagine how long it took to write the first draft. I actually have no recollection of how long it took. That time span was kind of a blur.
Can you describe your collaboration process with Jerrod? How has it differed from the way you continue to work with him? The Carmichael Show?
Hangover: For the film, the process was quite different than working on the show. The Carmichael Show was based on real conversations he would have with his parents. When we were writing screenplays, we would often call his parents way late at night and just say, “Hey mom, I had a gun in high school. What do you think about that?” And then we got her reaction so we could put it into the show. A lot of times the things she said in response to him saying some crazy shit were exactly what the dialogue on the show was should be.
Jerrod was involved in every step of writing for The Carmichael Showbut for them At three, we talked about the idea, and then Ryan and I went and wrote something and then presented it to him. He would then give great thought to what we would write. Yes, I think it’s quite a different process.
Was there a lot of improvisation on his part for this film?
Hangover: Not really. It’s not really a riff movie. I think a lot of the comedy comes from situations that they find themselves in. There are a few lines here and there that are kind of improvised.
Walch: I would say that probably most of the work happened before we shot and made sure the actors were comfortable with it. But in terms of when the cameras rolled, it was pretty much true to the script.
Hangover: We were in too much of a time constraint to deviate completely from the script.
At three has some dark themes, but it’s also pretty fun. As a writer, how do you draw the line between drama and comedy? Because if you overdo it with the comedy, you can take some serious things lightly.
Walch: I think part of that is being honest about how you’re feeling. When you try to be funny and that’s your only goal, it fails because you aren’t honest about how you feel. You’re just trying to make people laugh. Are you really communicating what you feel in your heart? And I think if you stay true to that, if you’re honest, I think you can be funny and dramatic and hopefully find that balance.
Hangover: You almost don’t want to think about it. If you’re approaching it like, “Oh, I really want this drama to work, so I can only crack three jokes in this scene,” you have to ask yourself if it feels right. Does this joke make this person feel like not saying at that moment? And if so, then you have it. No matter how much you like that joke, you have to realize that it’s not worth it. It’s not worth stepping on the belief that this character is real and wouldn’t say so.
There’s a kind of subtle running commentary on gun control in the film. What was the intention there? Was it just to poke fun at the absurdity of the situation and Kevin who appears to be very liberal but also wields a gun and feels empowered by it?
Hangover: I think it’s kind of all of those things. Jerrod, Ryan and I, this is something we all deal with a lot. Ryan and I both grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, I lived in New York for a while and now live in LA, so I’ve seen a lot of pretty mixed opinions on this [gun control]. I feel like I kind of understand where they’re all coming from.
Walch: It was a little less like making a statement about guns as a writer and more like trying to find the fun in the character about what he believes in and then what he’s confronted with in the film. You never try to convey a message with the film. That always feels pretty gross. So it’s more about staying within the character than making an overt statement.
At one point in the film, Kevin says it hurts to be ignored. The film is very empathetic to people like him who have been marginalized. What do you want viewers to take away from this film after seeing it?
Hangover: Whatever they get out of it, they get out of it, and I think that’s okay. However, one thing I felt watching yesterday is that when you’re in a dark place, the thing that sometimes snaps you out of that memory of freedom is that feeling of, ‘Oh, yeah, I can go everything in the moment.” And that’s usually what upsets me.
I think that’s something the characters find in this story, that they’re both in this pretty hopeless place, but then you walk up to them and they just happened to decide to ride dirt bikes. When you see that, you think, “I can go out and do something that makes me feel alive.” You know, I can move to LA and try to make it. I can confront my father. I can ride right on a dirt bike. There are little things you can do to make yourself feel alive.
At three is currently available in theaters and on digital platforms.
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