511: A Conversation With Writer/Director Mary Bronstein ('If I Had Legs I'd Kick You')

·23 min·2 clips

Mary Bronstein wrote her film on a motel bathroom floor while her daughter was undergoing treatment across the country.

This episode of Pop Culture Confidential features an interview with writer/director Mary Bronstein about her film 'If I Had Legs I'd Kick You'. Host Christina Jeurling Birro introduces the film as a raw, funny look at motherhood following a psychotherapist named Linda whose life is unraveling. Bronstein explains the film is emotionally true, though not autobiographical, stemming from when her daughter became ill at age seven. She details moving from New York to California for treatment, living in a motel for eight months, and writing on the bathroom floor at night. Bronstein describes her visual writing process, aiming to make the script feel like watching the film. She discusses the character development with actress Rose, including giving the character tattoos based on Rose's suggestion. The conversation covers audience reactions, noting men's engagement with the film and their identification with the husband character. Bronstein recounts working with Conan O'Brien, who was terrified of dramatic acting but committed after a week-long boot camp. She analyzes the taboo around mothers expressing difficulty, linking it to fear of betraying children. The host raises a theory about generational shifts in parenting portrayals, comparing current films to earlier auteur works. Bronstein reflects on how her generation overcorrected from hands-off parenting to constant presence, leading to exhaustion. The episode concludes with thanks and promotional details.

As heard by us

Mary Bronstein unpacks the frenzy, surrealism, and intimate preparation behind If I Had Legs I'd Kick You.

Mary Bronstein's conversation about If I Had Legs I'd Kick You catches the film at full tilt. Linda is already buried under her daughter's mysterious illness, a collapsed ceiling, motel life, an absent husband, and a charged therapist dynamic with Conan O'Brien.

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Why you'd press play

You get dropped into Linda's unraveling, where maternal crisis becomes frenzy, surreal visions, hamsters, and a performance Mary Bronstein and Rose built through unusually intimate preparation.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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