Amy Heckerling's Bad Dream
"I had a dream last night about the movie," said Amy Heckerling. She was talking about "A Night at the Roxbury," the big-screen adventures of Saturday Night Live's perennial club guys Steve and Doug (Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan). Heckerling earned her comedy stripes as director of "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" and "Clueless," and she's Roxbury's co-producer.
In a Bronx-inflected monotone, Heckerling related a dream loaded with show-biz anxiety: "Someone calls me and says 'It looks like we miscalculated. We got some numbers in and 'Antz' is killing us.' I'm thinking "Oh, I stink, its going be a big failure. People are going to have no careers and it's my fault."
Considering the fate of some other recent SNL-inspired flicks, the scenario isn't entirely far-fetched. Heckerling will find out this weekend whether her nightmare comes true. Will Roxbury suffer the dismal box-office fate of "It's Pat," "Stuart Saves His Family" and "Coneheads?" Or will it turn into another "Wayne's World" ($181 million worldwide gross)? If so, maybe the poor woman can get some sleep.
-- Sean Doorly
(Written for Premiere Magazine Online)