Lisa Edelstein, Erik Griffin, and Director Sherise Dorf Talk The Power Of Communication In Relationships In The Everything Pot

Sherise Dorf’s directorial debut The Everything Pot stars Lisa Edelstein and Erik Griffin as a married couple coping with their daughter leaving for college. Everything turns to chaos when Edelstein’s character Rachel receives a wedding invitation from an old friend. She eagerly RSVPs and sends a gift way too soon that creates a domino effect of mishaps that threaten all of their marriages. Pop Culture Planet’s Paola Cardenas sat down with the cast to discuss the chaos that is The Everything Pot after their premiere at Tribeca Festival. 

One of director Sherise Dorf’s goals was to highlight the themes and complexities of older relationships and women in their 50s. “I am a woman in my 50s and I saw a void in the marketplace,” she told me. “There are films, very few and far between, telling our stories. Sometimes not authentically and sometimes not by women. I thought, if not now, when? I wrote the script and I had a lot of support around it. I felt empowered and I moved forward to tell the story and I found a great cast and the rest is history.” 

Dorf drew inspiration for the film’s plot from her own experience. “I was invited to a wedding. I RSVP'd immediately. I was so excited. I sent a gift right away. I annoyed my husband. I mean, the first probably 10 minutes of the movie is exactly what happened in my real life,” she said. “I wrote it and was going to shoot it as a short film and then that was gonna be that. Then I had some more time because of the pandemic so I decided to follow the story. I didn't know if I could do it, to be honest. I thought, ‘How am I going to make four characters and weave a plot line revolving around this pot?’ But it felt like a challenge and it felt like something I would only do if I had spare time. So I sat down and I did it and it worked. It kind of wrote itself. So it was one of the easiest scripts that I've ever slaved over.” 

There are plenty of hilarious moments in the film, but a specific moment caught Griffin off guard. “It was the pancake mix for me. That was a funny moment to try to get that. The thing that got me was I didn’t know,” he laughed about getting mix poured over his head. “They didn't tell me that it was going to happen so that was a funny moment for me on set.” Edelstein added they only had one chance to get it right due to working really fast with only two or three takes per shot. 

The messages of the film are integral to everyday life and the cast found it to be a “rewarding” experience to be a part of. “I do a lot of silly comedy stuff, so I think the rewarding part was just to be grounded in a real relationship. Working across from people that were really professional and had a story to tell,” said Griffin. “We were telling a story of real people that this happens to. I think that was important and artsy.”

“[Dorf is] a first time feature filmmaker. That's a big deal. I really valued the experience of being valued in that way. Of really being able to help her see this through,” said Edelstein about premiering at Tribeca. “Being in the audience and hearing people laugh is all you really want. When you’re in the vacuum, when you’re shooting it, you don't really know what's gonna land, so when people are with the story it just feels so good.”

The cast and director hope that audiences will understand the deeper issues presented between each couple in the film and to look inside their own lives. “I think that people should look at their relationships and continue to water them. Continue to cultivate your relationship no matter what’s going on,” Griffin said. “Whether you have kids, if your kids are eventually gonna leave, and you still have this person that you have to look out for and take care of, emotionally and physically. Be there. Be present. I think it's a great message about being present in your life and in your relationships, especially your marriage. It is a great message for people of all ages.”

Dorf added: “And the power of the ability to communicate with your partner. That you shouldn't take that for granted. You shouldn’t be lazy about it. You should pursue the relationship that you want and not when it's too late.”