‘Office Romance’ Brings the Rom-Com to New Jersey and the Cast and Director Talk About the New Netflix Film [EXCLUSIVE]

Office Romance finds a way to make New Jersey truly romantic and the cast is reflecting on filming.

Betty Gilpin and Tony Hale talked to The Mary Sue’s Rachel Leishman about the Netflix film. During the interview, the stars joked about some strange moments filming the movie in New Jersey. 

Don’t worry, they were still having a ball with all the hijinks on the set of Office Romance.

“I mean it was really fun,” Gilpin told us. “We filmed it in a real office building in New Jersey that had been some pharmaceutical company that they shut down for the pandemic and then never came back.”

“So, some of the desks had people’s stuff in it from 2020. That was kind of eerie,” they laughed. Hale joked he stole some stuff. The actor joked, “It’s fine, it’s fine!” Gilpin admitted, “Yeah, that part was weird. But, I remember Ol [Parker] saying ‘Betty, just improv some stuff, some business jargon so we can get out of this scene.’”

“And, as someone who majored in crying about my childhood in college, I froze,” the actress smiled. “My improv was like, ‘We’re not doing Secret Santa this year because it was too vulnerable last year.’ They yelled cut.” Hale quipped, “you went to a dark place!” 

From the sounds of all this, they were having the best time on set filming Office Romance. And, the director knew how important the chemistry between this cast was going to be for the film’s success.

Office Romance & What Makes A Successful Romantic Comedy?

Ol Parker also stopped by to talk with The Mary Sue. The director was in a great mood about love and its prospects on the screen right now. But, it’s no secret that romantic comedies still spark a lot of conversation on social media.

We asked about the classic “big gesture” in movies like Office Romance. Well, the filmmaker had some thoughts about the essential building blocks for a successful love story in any medium. It’s clear he’s put in a lot of work to figure out what makes the genre tick.

“However big it is, you’re just looking for the truth, you’re just looking for honesty. Or, people just won’t care. They’ll find it absurd.”

“These movies stand on two things. One, you can have the best script in the world and the funniest supporting actors. And, you can shoot it nicely. But, if you don’t want to see the two characters kiss at the end, they will fail.”

“Two, the chemistry of the two leads is crucial. But, in the end, you just have to buy it! You have to believe it. So, I’m always trying. Even if it’s Mamma Mia! And there are 14 boats of people dancing to the same song.” 

“You’re still trying to find something truthful and something real about it. You’re trying to find something in the context of it. It may look like it’s about to careen off and go completely insane. But, hopefully it stays just on the right side of honest.” 

(featured image: Netflix)

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