Adrianne Palicki co-stars with comedy troupe Broken Lizard in Quasi. The raunchy and hilarious plot offers a decidedly different take on The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Set in a 13th century French castle, the titular protagonist (Steve Lemme), bullied and ridiculed for his deformity, finds himself in a sticky situation. The sexist and cruel King Guy (Jay Chandrasekhar) wants the hapless hunchback to publicly assassinate the visiting Pope (Paul Soter), who also threatens Quasi if he doesn't kill the King in the same fashion.
Queen Catherine (Palicki) takes pity on Quasi after learning of his dire predicament. King Guy ignores his latest wife's intelligence and continually berates her as a woman. The disgusted Catherine finds a kindred spirit in Quasi. The lovable loser wins her heart, but their secret romance adds another dangerous complication.
Palicki was "shocked" and "flattered" to be offered the role. She thought the script was great. The Princess Bride is one of her favorite movies. She relished the opportunity to play a character like Buttercup. Broken Lizard made her feel "like one of the guys." Palicki was able to seamlessly fit into their improv dynamics. This was especially needed when filming some of the crazy scenes. A torture rack hook up will have audiences rolling.
Our interview didn't have good news for fans of The Orville. The brilliant sci-fi series has not been renewed for a fourth season. Palicki, who's superb as Commander Kelly Grayson, confirmed "there have been talks" but the cast is no longer under contract.
Broken Lizard Calling
MW: Talk about the process of being cast in a Broken Lizard film?
Adrianne Palicki: I honestly was so shocked. I randomly got a phone call from my manager in Egypt. You got an offer for this movie. That's awesome. I was so flattered. I read the script. I was probably about 30 pages in, and I was like, there's no way I'm not doing this movie. This is amazing. Then I got on the horn with [Steve] Lemme and [Kevin] Heffernan. We did a Zoom call. I live in Austin. They were in LA. We just kind of wanted to see how we all felt. They immediately insulted me, and I gave it right back (laughs). It's my favorite century. The Princess Bride is my favorite movie and is genuinely the reason I became an actor. Playing the Buttercup role has always been a dream of mine.
MW: Broken Lizard are a tight, cohesive unit. They've been together for decades. What's it like as an actor when they're all clicking at the same time?
Adrianne Palicki: I thought it was going to be hard. I was really nervous. I was kind of terrified. As much as I love doing comedy, improv comedy isn't necessarily my comfort zone. I haven't done it many years. Am I going to be able to fit in? Am I going to be that wet blanket? They just made me feel so comfortable and confident. I immediately felt like I was part of the family. The entire crew has been working with them for years. Some of them are family members. It was just fun. I felt like I was a kid again playing dress-up.
MW: How do you know when to jump in when they're riffing? Describe that process?
Adrianne Palicki: I think you just feel it as an actor. The key to comedy is listening. The key to good acting is listening. You're anticipating, so it doesn't become old. What would he do? What would I do? How would I say this? When would I jump in? This feels normal. It feels comfortable. It just kind of vibed very early on. I felt very comfortable and confident. I immediately felt like I was one of the guys.
Stretched on the Rack
MW: One scene in particular had me laughing hysterically. They've got you stretched out on the rack. You're hooking up with Steve and that grotesque hunchback. That had to be uncomfortable?
Adrianne Palicki: Actually, there's another scene that we shot the same day that was going to be at the end of the movie. But there were so many different endings. They had to condense. I'm sure it'll be on the DVD outtakes. Steve and I were like, let's have a drink. Let's just relax because today's going to be weird. We were like the weirder the situation, better for the comedy. You know what I mean? It's not necessarily romantic. This is like hardcore odd.
MW: The movie has a lot of sharp humor. Broken Lizard makes fun of religion and patriarchy. We don't need you women. Leave the room because we're doing men's stuff here. I thought those were cleverly snuck in. Was that already scripted or improvised?
Adrianne Palicki: Oh, that was definitely there. It was kind of funny too, because his [Jay Chandrasekhar] parents were on set a couple of days. There were definitely some tough moments. But that was already part of the script. That was kind of the thing that I loved about it, too.
Steve Lemme's Bad Day
MW: What's the best day and worst day filming Quasi for you?
Adrianne Palicki: If there was a bad day, I can't say. The best day was that scene we were talking about. We had so much fun. It was so funny. Everybody was rolling. It's so great working with those guys. It's hard to pinpoint one specific moment. I would say [Steve] Lemme's bad day was probably when he was tarred and feathered. He was miserable. I don't envy you, but you wrote this, so it's your fault (laughs).
MW: I absolutely love The Orville. It took a huge leap between season two and three. Do you have any news about a renewal? Fans have been clamoring for a fourth season.
Adrianne Palicki: There have been rumblings, but I know nothing official. That's just the truth. I genuinely don't know what is happening. There have been talks. We'll see, because we don't have contracts anymore.
Quasi premieres April 20th exclusively on Hulu from Searchlight Pictures.