Based on a mostly true story written by star and comedian Iliza Shlesinger, Good on Paper is a romantic drama that Kimmy Gatewood directs in her feature debut. The cast is rounded out by Ryan Hansen, Margaret Cho, and Rebecca Rittenhouse. Netflix will release the film on Wednesday, June 23.
“Andrea Singer always put her stand-up career first, and while dating came easy, love wasn’t a priority… that is until she meets Dennis, a quirky nerd with disarming charm who coaxes her into letting her guard down,” reads the official synopsis. “Her best friend Margot isn’t convinced he’s all he seems, and she urges Andrea to embark on a wild goose chase to uncover who Dennis really is.”
ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief spoke with stars Ryan Hansen and Margaret Cho about their roles in the comedy, Hansen’s fake teeth, and Cho playing detective. Check out the video interview or read the full transcript below.
Tyler Treese: Ryan, you play a very, a different character from your usual role. When you have to play this non-hip guy, who has all these good attributes, but Andrea is not physically attracted to him. How did you manage to pull that off?
Ryan Hansen: Ah, what a guy. It was a blast. I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially because it’s based on this really a true guy that she was seeing and went through all this stuff with, so it was fun to put on the teeth. I got the teeth right here if you want to see them. And I had a little padded suit and all that stuff. It was a blast. I loved it.
Margaret, you get to go on such a fun detective chase in this film. How fun was it playing detective and making fun out of this really crazy scenario that happened?
Margaret Cho: Loved it. I had such a great time with Iliza. She did such a great job with the script, and it’s so awesome to be able to act with the screenwriter. That’s a very rare opportunity. So we had the best time, and I really enjoyed all of it.
Ryan, you and Iliza have really good chemistry on screen. Depending on what the scene is, if you’re getting along or if it’s a kind of creepy part. How was it working with her?
Hansen: She’s incredible. I mean, what a boss, she’s so talented as a standup, as a writer-actress. She’s beautiful. It was. Yeah, we really clicked. I mean, cause we had never met each other before this project, so you never know how those things go, and we totally clicked and had a blast working together.
Margaret, since it is Pride Month, I wanted to ask. I love how your character, she’s going after girls, and it’s not a big focus. It’s so great that representation has gone so far to where a character can be a lesbian, and it’s not a huge deal. Can you speak to that progress?
Cho: I love that. I think that we’re moving past identity and getting into the story, which I think is really important. So we’re a generation after like coming out, and that being the primary reason why you would include an LGBTQIA character. And now it’s just we’re part of the world, which I think is really important.
Ryan, so much about the film is about the personas we put on and the insecurity that people face, especially with the kind of like a social media landscape where you’re kind of trying to play to the camera and being an idealized self. How did you relate to that role?
Hansen: Yeah. I mean, everybody wants to put on their best front and all the things that they’ve accomplished to make them feel better about themselves. Sometimes I struggle with that too. So I totally get where this guy is coming from in the beginning. Unfortunately, it’s it just morphs into this really creepy story. So you kind of feel for him at first you’re like, “Oh, this guy’s just kind of a nerd trying to, trying to get with this beautiful girl,” but then it turns, and that’s where I lose my sympathy.
Margaret, since you both have comedian backgrounds, you and Iliza, can you talk about how much improv went on with the scenes?
Cho: There really wasn’t any improv because Iliza had written such a great script, and I really wanted to be true to it. So there wasn’t really also time or space to do that. Cause we had a really short shoot. We didn’t have a lot of time to make the movie, so we just wanted to make it in the way that she saw it. We laughed a lot, though off-camera as well. So, we had a really good time making it.