Academy
Award Winner Marisa Tomei stars alongside comedy legends Billy Crystal and
Bette Midler in the heartwarming family comedy “Parental Guidance.”
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| Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox |
Tomei plays Alice, daughter of Artie (Crystal) and Diane (Midler) who calls her
parents for help to babysit their three children when she and husband Phil (Tom
Everett Scott) had to go away for work. Alice and Phil’s parenting
methods are miles apart from her parents which is Alice’s significant concern.
Once left with the grandkids, unknown to the couple, Artie and Diane’s old
school methods of tough rules, lots of love and old fashioned games soon
becomes a welcome part of their children’s daily lives.
Alice is a formidable taskmaster and is nothing less than the motor in her and
husband Phil’s household. She’s the consummate multi-tasker, lives to
nurture, and will do whatever it takes – including wheedle, charm, joke – to
keep everything running smoothly and stay connected to her kids. “Like many
moms, Alice keeps the calendar and cookies,” Tomei says, in a bit of
understatement.
Alice’s 21st century methods of raising her children are facilitated by the
“smart house” technological marvels designed by Phil. Everything in their
home is fully automated and interactive, thanks to an artificial intelligence
that programs everything from the kids’ schedules to what they eat, and it’s
compatible with the DVR and coffee maker. But for the
technologically-challenged Artie, it’s more like the menacing HAL 9000 computer
of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey…or worse.
Bringing
aboard Marisa Tomei to portray Alice was another big coup for the
production. The Oscar-winning actress is known for both her rich dramatic
performances and sharp comedic turns, and she employs both aspects in her
portrayal of a well-meaning, über-disciplined, New Age mom at odds with her
dad’s more relaxed and traditional parenting methods. “Working with
Marisa was like having a great dance partner,” says Tom Everett Scott, who
portrays Alice’s husband, Phil. Scott says that Phil has a more easygoing
perspective on Artie and Diane babysitting his kids. “Phil doesn’t have
that history with them that Alice has, of course,” says the actor. “He’s
able to take Artie and Diane’s different approach to things, in stride.”
“Marisa
Tomei plays our daughter and she is fantastic. Marisa is a great actress. She
actually auditioned for me 21 years ago as a young actress for a movie I was
directing called MR. SATURDAY NIGHT. She was going to play my wife. She was so
cute and so talented, but she was too young for that character. Then when I
called her in about this film, she came in to see me, sat down and laughed and
said: ‘great, now I'm too old to play your daughter right?’ But we cast
her and she’s terrific as Alice. She has a funny side and a sad side. She
made sense as our daughter and I loved working with her,” says Crystal.
Marisa Tomei
continues to bridge the gap between rich, dramatic performances and
smart, comedic turns. Working with large studios or independent houses,
Marisa consistently brings her independent spirit to every project with which
she is involved. Marisa won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in “My
Cousin Vinny,” and earned her second and third Academy nominations for “In the
Bedroom” and “The Wrestler.” Some of her movie credits include “Crazy,
Stupid, Love,” “Ides of March,” “Lincoln Lawyer,” “What Women Want,”
“Happy Accidents,” “Anger Management,” “The Guru,” “Untamed Heart” and “Unhook
the Stars.”
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