'Poms' star Patti French lists 10 reasons why she wanted to be part of the cheerleader comedy: 'Diane Keaton is my hero!'
Patti French has had made some interesting choices over the years when it comes to choosing her roles. This is why she's played a cheerleader, a mean grandmother and a breast cancer survivor over the past few years.
In this exclusive interview with MEA WorldWide (MEAWW), French spoke about why she wanted to be a part of 'Poms' and portray the role of Phyllis and how working with Kumail Nanjiani on 'Stuber' helped her realize it was best to choose "Lyft over Uber."
What about 'Poms' attracted her to take up the role of Phyllis? French listed 10 reasons why she wanted to be a part of the film and said the number one reason was cause "Diane Keaton is my hero!" Keaton plays the role of Martha in the film.
She then continued, "I was able to work with the amazing Jacki Weaver" and following that was the fact that she loved to dance. She also added, "I enjoy working with and embracing the power of kick-a** ladies. I could pretend to be retired. I got to show off my Fleur de Lis tattoo. I hoped to lose weight, I wanted to hang in Sun City," and finally she said, "I always wanted to be a cheerleader."
She said working with actors Keaton, Rhea Perlman and Jacki Weaver was "Heaven. Diane greeted us all in the parking lot when we showed up for cheerleader boot camp and she called us all after she first saw the movie to tell us how much she loved us! Jacki is my new favorite person in the world — she is so funny and sweet and talented. She calls me Patticakes. Rhea made me actually have fun working on a puzzle with her on set (I hate puzzles). I loved working with them and all the 'Poms' gals. We all worked hard together, had dinner and drinks, and it was just an awesome bonding experience."
Speaking of how varied her role in the films 'Poms' and 'Stuber' was to her role in the TV show 'Army Wives', she said, "I play Phyllis in 'Poms', and she is a very comedic and feisty team player, who liked to hang with the gals and dance and cheer. My role on 'Army Wives', Betty, had a longer arc over 3 seasons of the show, and she’s a breast cancer survivor. She owned a bar that all the army guys and gals hung out at, and even though she took no s*** from anyone, she had a heart of gold."
French added, "She becomes a surrogate mother and mentor to Roxie, one of the lead army wives, and lives with Roxie when her bar is destroyed and she needs treatment. She then rebuilds the bar with help, goes to California to seek additional cancer treatment, and then dies, but not without giving Roxie valuable advice and her bar."
In 'Stuber' on the other hand, she plays a grandma. Speaking of this role she said, "I am the lady in the Uber with Kumail when he runs into Dave. He has an accident, and I give him a 0-star rating. Her name is Grandma Doris and she is not a sweet grandma."
About working with Dave Bautista she says, "I did not have scenes with Dave but I did meet him and he was a big sweetheart. I was mostly with Kumail and we did the car accident scene over and over and over. It’s very funny and deadpan." And when asked what her takeaway from the film was, she said, "Use Lyft, not Uber."
French was also a supporting character in Hulu's 'The Act' starring Joey King and Patricia Arquette. Speaking about working on this, she said, "It was a great experience! My scenes were with Joey King and Calum Worthy, who play Gypsy Rose, the daughter, and her boyfriend (Nick Goodejohn), who ultimately plan the murder of her mother who abused her for years. I was so impressed with both of these young actors, and the only thing that could have been better was if I had scenes with Patricia Arquette, who I so admire. Joey King deserves major kudos for her role in this series. She is amazing."