Juliette Lewis gives one of her best performances to date in the comedy/drama Kelly & Cal. In the film she plays the titular Kelly, a punk rocker turned suburban mom who feels out of place in the new town that she and her husband have just moved to. The truth is that she has become deeply nostalgic for a past she can no longer have, and she is very uncertain about the future she is expected to become a part of.
One day she meets Cal (played by Jonny Weston), a 17-year old who is now more or less confined to a wheelchair due to a recent spinal injury, and the two quickly strike up an unusual friendship that helps each of them feel alive again in a way they haven’t in some time.
Kelly & Cal marks the feature film directorial debut of Jen McGowan, a graduate of USC Film School and New York University. Her previous credits include the acclaimed short films She Never and Confessions of a Late Bloomer, as well as the award winning commercial Couch Therapy.
It was a lot of fun talking with McGowan while she was in Los Angeles, California to promote her movie, as she discussed how she went about directing Juliette Lewis, what drove her to use classic 80’s songs by Cyndi Lauper and Bryan Adams, and of what it was about Amy Lowe Starbin’s screenplay that really made her want to turn it into a movie.
Check out our exclusive interview in the video above and be sure to catch Kelly & Cal as it’s now playing in theatres.