Can Menopause Be Funny?
The havoc that menopause wreaks on bodies and minds can feel nothing short of absurd. But, while it has provided an abundance of great material, can it actually be the basis for an entertaining TV sitcom?
The veteran comedy writers and actors Meredith MacNeill, 50, and Jennifer Whalen, 55, are the creators, executive-producers and stars of 'Small Achievable Goals,' a boldly candid half-hour workplace sitcom on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) that depicts two Gen X women going through menopause, much as they are experiencing it themselves. The premise alone is a large achievable goal: selling what Ms. Whalen described as 'a joyful comedy about menopause' to Canada's premiere network, especially amid a culture that is squeamish discussing anything related to the menstrual cycle. Then again, the comedians have a proven track record at CBC, with multiple writing and acting awards to their names.
They're considered 'Canadian comedy royalty,' according to, among others, their castmate Alexander Nunez. Though Canada has exported the comic actors Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy, as a Toronto resident Lisa Levy (no relation to Mr. Levy) explained it, our neighbors to the north do not have an obsessive celebrity culture like Americans do, unless they're 'athletes or Drake,' so there is not, say, a Tina-and-Amy equivalent in Canada (referencing Tina Fey and Amy Poehler). But if there were, these two would qualify.
'Small Achievable Goals' — or 'SAG,' as the women appropriately call it — deftly strikes the balance between raucous comedy and heart-rending poignancy as an unlikely work partnership unfolds between polar opposites whose hormones have gone haywire, amid an office full of bewildered young millennials and zoomers. 'This is a crazy time of life, but we wanted to make a laugh-out-loud comedy about [menopause] and talk about these things openly,' Ms. Whalen said.
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I was reading an interview you did about this movie. You said that Happy brings people together, and that's clearly a direct result of Adam. You've directed him in two movies. What makes Adam so undeniable as an actor? He cares about people. He puts everybody else around him first. He cares about how they feel. He is a selfless individual. He knows how to make people laugh. He just knows. It just comes out of him. You're not going to sit next to Sandler for longer than three minutes before something is going to make you just laugh your ass off. That's him. I do think he is connected with the culture in a way … he just cares about it. When was the first time you met him [Sandler]? Take me through that interaction. What was it like? Oh my gosh. The first time I met Sandler must have been at the office when I was prepping Murder Mystery. I remember. He comes in, and he's like, 'Hey, how you doing?' I'm like, 'What's up?' He's like, 'You're Kyle? You're big. You've got wide shoulders. 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How you feeling? OK, let me hear that. Yeah, good. OK. Cool.' Just moving around and trying to keep the vibe right. Who surprised you the most out of the golfers? Was someone coming up to you like, 'I need notes for this line. I need a lot of direction.' You know who had a natural delivering ability? Jack Nicklaus. Like, he did good. [Laughs] Every time he would give a little shrug, almost like he was on stage. And I'm like, I could see this guy in a sitcom. He was really surprising. I also think I was surprised how much I fell in love with John Daly. Like on a real level. How can you not? I know. I know. I just knew I was gonna really like him. I could just tell when he showed up; his whole being is a beautiful man. Beautiful. Happy Gilmore 2 premieres on Netflix on July 25.
