The idea of family is really one of the only things we can all say we have and we can't run away from. Whether you like your family or not. Whether it's complicated or not, there's something - call it spiritual, call it existential, whatever - that's in you.

We live in a very modern age and the dynamic of raising kids and being a professional are intersecting a lot more - especially for women.

It's definitely particular to each situation, but whether it is a long history, or someone that you're intimidated by, or someone that you didn't think you ever had a shot at, at the end of the day, I think we're all living through high school, every day.

I don't think I've ever signed onto anything as quickly as I did The Hollars, because I come from a really loving, well-connected family, where we see each other all the time. And when I was done with this script, I was like, "Oh my god, that's my family!" This is obviously a very dysfunctional family, but there was something about it that was sort of universal. And I think that in this day and age in today's world - there's a lot of drama out there. It's nice to tell stories about things as simple and powerful as family.

If you did go to high school and then college, there's definitely a solidarity with someone that is from your hometown and knows your mom, and all that stuff. There's this weird politeness that we have, as a society. You don't want to make it hard for anybody.

As far as Ken Kwapis saying all those things, I think he just really wanted me in the movie so he probably told Warner Brothers, 'Don't worry, Jimmy Stewart? Gary Cooper? Who else do you like?' If they'd said they were huge Chris Farley fans, he's like, 'He can do that, too. He's a huge physical comedian.' But no, that's really nice to hear.

That was okay [ working with George Clooney]. One of these days I'll work with a good director.