Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist - Amy Poehler

Episode Date: March 7, 2021

Amy Poehler spent 7 seasons as one of the biggest stars on Saturday Night Live, followed by 7 more on the beloved NBC series Parks and Recreation. In this week’s “Sunday Sitdown,” Willie Geist gets together with Poehler to discuss her journey to comedy stardom, hosting the Golden Globes with her friend, Tina Fey, and her buzzed-about new Netflix movie Moxie, which she directs and stars in.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey guys, Willie Geist here with another episode of the Sunday Sit Down podcast. My thanks, as always, for clicking and listening along. I am very excited today to bring you my conversation with the great Amy Poehler. A recent study from the Census Bureau revealed that there's not a man, woman, or child living in America today who doesn't love Amy Polar. Maybe it's SNL for you. Maybe it's Parks and Rec. Maybe it's her movie work and Mean Girls, where she played the cool mom. Maybe it's Baby Mama, where she teamed up.

with her old buddy Tina Faye. The two of them, by the way, met back in the Chicago Improv days of the early to mid-90s, and then found each other again on SNL, where they became the first female anchor team in the history of weekend update. So much to talk to Amy about. We should, I point out, that we got together just before the Golden Globe Awards. So she was preparing, as you'll hear us discuss at the beginning of the interview, to go do those bi-coastal pandemic-era awards where she was in L.A. and Tina Faye was in New York hosting the show that aired a week ago on Sunday. But mostly, we wanted to get together to talk to her about her new film, Moxie on Netflix. It's a teen drama.

She appears as a different kind of cool mom in this one, but also directs the film. And it's a cast of young people, teenagers, some of them in their 20s, playing high school students. So we talked about Amy and I did what it was like for us to be in high school. We're around the same age back in the day. and how different that experience is now and what she brought to this film set as both star and director. So please sit back now and enjoy the great Amy Polar on the Sunday Sit Down podcast. Hi, Amy. Thanks for doing this.

Hi, Willie. I'm happy to be here. We have so much to talk about. You're a very busy woman. And in fact, you've taken a break from Golden Globes prep, I assume, this week, to sit and talk about Moxie, which, I want to do. How's the Globes prep going, though? You know what? It's really fun. It's very strange. We haven't done it in a few years, and a lot has changed since we were there last time. So we're trying to figure out, just like you, how to work this medium, how to make it feel fun and

entertaining and pay tribute to the good work that's been done while also realizing the kind of year we're coming out of. It's working different muscles for sure. Yeah, I was going to say there's the technical challenge, which is not great for comedy, that kind of stuff, because you and Tina on opposite coast, but also just tonally, I mean, coming out of this year, as you say, what are we laughing about? What are we not ready to laugh about yet?

So did you and Tina sort of have a conversation before you started about what this needs to feel like? Yeah, I mean, we're trying to figure it out as we go. A little bit. And, you know, if there's a technical difficulty, just whoever is your favorite, just assuming that they want. But it is, you know, I think what's been really interesting about this experience is that people have consistently turned to comedy as a way to self-soothe.

So I don't take that lightly. I mean, I think it feels nice to have the, I don't know, the. responsibility, if you will, to try to provide that relief because it's been brutal. It's been a brutal year. Even though it's 2021, it still feels like we're stuck back in last year. But you also want to make sure that, you know, you're connected to the times and it's really complicated times right now. It's interesting to hear you say that because there are so many shows I've watched that I probably

wouldn't have watched in normal times. So on the one hand, it's been strange, but on the other hand, we've all consumed so much. It's going to be fun to see up on the screen all of these different shows that I've dabbled in, whether it's comedy or something my daughter is watching or whatever. So there is an incredible wealth of material at the very least. It's true. I mean, a lot of people turned to things during this year that felt comfortable and safe for them, especially in a very unsafe world.

And a lot of that was TV. And it's been really fun to talk to people about what they went back and watched or rewatched. I mean, it doesn't take a professional to understand that when you rewatch something that you know how it's going to end, it can feel good in uncertain times. So I know a lot of people, myself included, went back and watched stuff that they had watched before. I was listening to you and Seth talk. Boy, you went deep on ER, didn't you, huh? Wow. Went.

I'm still in it, baby. Come on. Come on over, Willie. I mean, what do you want to know? I mean, and I know ER would seem like a strange kind of comfort. show because there's a lot of blood and trauma, but I know how it's going to end and I know what's going to happen. And I can't explain it. I just, I'm in so deep. I feel like I'm in the ER matrix. Like I feel like I'm in. I feel like I see everything through, you know,

Dr. Carter's eyes. Nurse Hathaway. I'm in Nurse Hathaway's head. It sounds like you've also developed a real contempt for Clooney at this point, his character. Let me be very clear. There's no one who loves Clooney more than me. I love Clooney. I mean, Clooney, and he doesn't mind when I call him that. You know, he was speaking of the Golden Globes, he was so fun when we asked him one year if I could sit on his lap. And he was so great about it.

He's so funny. And, no, I was, I'm such a really respect his work. And I think he's incredible. I was just saying on second look, the doctor that he plays on ER is a maverick. And he can't follow the rules. And now that I'm 20 years older, I'm like, just let them sign out your charts, dude. Like, you're just, you're sabotaging yourself. why are you, you know, you're your own worst enemy.

And, you know, you don't have the right temperament to be a pediatrician. Go into heart surgery. I think it's a sign of our age that we watch shows like that. And we're like, stick to the rules. Don't be a maverick. Yeah. And also, I just think that, you know, he is, again, I could talk about this forever. But, you know, I think it was, I think there was, he's written kind of like,

what a male lead is supposed to be, which is like kind of tipping over the apple card all the time. And it's like, what's going to happen to him? And now I think that the idea of that has changed. I think that that's what is so interesting about art in general, is how it takes a moment in time, comments on it, contributes to it, is part of it?

And then when you look at it later, you're like, hmm, does that still hold true? I still believe that works. Is that something I can relate to? I feel like you should have a podcast. Like Amy Poehler rewatches a show and you have guests on and you talk through ER and for your third view. And I think this could be, I think we should market this a little bit. It's already working for me.

Yeah. Great. Let's do it. What could we do next? It would have to be a show that I'd already had an opinion. Well, I would, I've watched the wire three times all the way through. Yeah. That's incredible.

Maybe I'll try to watch that again in 10 years. I'm trying to think of what else I've watched that I've re-what. What about you? What have you re-watched in your life? I've been, we've been re-watching Arrested Development with my kids, which is great. Yes, great show for pre-teens. Yes. Parks and Rec, and I'm not just saying that because you're here.

I'm in that zone where my kids are 13 and 11, and they've crossed into humor that we can share. And Parks and Rec and 30 Rock and Arrested and Development, all those shows are right in that zone of it's smart and it's good, it's not childish, but it's safe for them to watch. So thank you for that. That's a really nice zone to be in. I get it where you can watch something with your kids. You both think it's funny. The Simpsons were like that.

Yeah, Simpsons. Yeah. And, you know, my kids are just at that age where they're like, oh, what are they going to do on Saturday Night Live about that? Yeah, yeah, yeah. That exciting thing where they start to connect real life and comedy and who's going to take a, you know, have a take on it. Yeah, yeah, like my kids, I knew they were pretty immersed when they were wondering about how S&L was going to do

Ted Cruz in Cancun. I was like, wow, you guys are dialed in. And they guessed it. The great 80 Bryant was going to take the swing. Crushed it with the braids and the daquery, the whole thing. So let's talk about Moxie. It's an extraordinary film that you act in, that you also direct based on a young adult novel.

For people who aren't familiar with the story, just set the stage a little bit. And how did you come to this book? Sure. So Moxie is a book written by Jennifer Mattoe, who's a real high school teacher in Texas. And she's an author and has written a lot of books. And she wanted, I think, or succeeded in writing a story about a young girl who is trying to figure out what she cares about.

She has a mom who is a very active, you know, kind of out there person. She's the extrovert, her mom, and she's finding herself to be more introverted, caring about different things and trying to figure out how to find her voice. So it's a coming of age movie or coming of rage movie, as we like to say,

because she's trying to figure out what's bothering her about her small school. And what I really liked about it is high school films can create this insular world where we can talk about big things. So Y.A. is a genre that, you know, has a lot of big feelings, specific characters, just this, like a long journey for the young women in this film. So the film is watching a young person figure out how to participate. And there's different people who kind of help her or point out what she's doing wrong or do it a different.

way. So that's kind of a short version of what the movie's about. Yeah. And we were talking a minute ago before we started here about activism today with young people and how different was when you and I say were in high school. There were kids who were active and they always seemed like, wow, those kids are advanced or they have stronger opinions than I sure have ever had at that age. But it feels like now high school kids, teenagers look at activism totally differently. 100% I mean, we are able to look back at the way we grew up and think, wow, how far we've come. You know, there was no openly gay students in my school. We didn't have any LGBTQ plus groups.

We, there was, there was so little access for a lot of people. However, if you're a young person today, you're very impatient by the way things move and change. And you're not very interested in hearing how far things have come. You really are focusing on how far we have yet to go. And I think the black and white feelings of this is good, this is bad, is very helpful. It really inspires me to be around young people because we all remember when our kids are little. The first thing we see them is that don't be mean to animals, treat people well, take care of people that don't have houses, don't litter, all these very basic things that as you become older,

you put your nonsense on, which is like, you know, it's, it's, I understand what you're saying, but it's very complicated. Like, everything becomes very complicated. And young people can help us go back to the very basic things that this isn't fair. You know, she's not included. Why is it this way? All these, like, very big, basic questions that people don't really like to be asked as they get older. Yeah.

And so it's, it's inspiring. to be around people who feel like change is ahead of them, and they're going to be part of it. So how did you access, coming from our generation, having that view of activism, how did you access this modern, obviously, through the book itself, but was it talking to some of the actors

and the way they participate in their own lives? Was it looking, obviously, at real-life activism? How did you get to the core of what's happening in high schools right now? Well, the character I play in the film is the mom, who, like me, you know, grew up. up in the 80s and in this particular case, this character is kind of part of this riot girl movement where she approached her version of feminism

and then she kind of has to unlearn what she thinks she knows and really take a hard look at what she did incorrectly, what she could do better. So it's this idea of like, this is always this ever-evolving, changing relationship. to being active. And what I did like about Jennifer's book is it talks a little bit about you can make mistakes, but as long as you try. It really, it's like the, the sin is in checking out or standing still, right? That if you don't know what to do, find community,

you know, ask questions, be a person who's willing to grow and change. The more defense and brittle one becomes, at any age, we start to lose the opportunity to be of service, to try to figure out how to work together to have a better world. And anytime I know I find myself defensive, I have to take a really hard look at that and figure out, what am I defensive about? What is this about? Because our job as Gen Xers is to straddle this time right in the middle. We are, we have aging parents, we have young kids, we have all this life experience, and yet we have so much to learn. So it's, it's a lot. We have to really just like, we have to breathe through it, Willie. I know, no, I feel it too. We are in the middle,

and I'm just watching the movie. I was struck by how the kids had the courage to speak out in a way that, you know, putting myself back 16, 17 years old, you go, well, those are the grownups. I assume they know better. These things are here for, reason these rule exists because they do these roles in our school and the jocks and the smart kids that's just the way it's supposed to be what do you think has changed since you and i were in high school what what were some of the things that maybe led up to this new age of activism well in some ways things haven't changed in terms of like the emotional way in which we move through groups so i think in some ways we're still worried where do i fit in where do i belong

And also, you know, am I different? Am I normal? You know, am I going to be okay? All those like in-group, out-groups things are, they still exist. However, we're in a world now, a culture now where there's more open discussion about mental health. There's much more celebration in many ways of like the original voice. And there's more ways in which you can find people like you. So if you can't find them in your actual physical school community, you can find them online.

So I think the access might be a little bit more evolved and involved. But that is what I like about movies about this age is some stuff feels very timeless that all the deep human stuff isn't going to change that much. And the stuff that we all felt, I think young people still do feel. Do you look back at high school? Because I think I do. And I'm reminded when I watch a film like this, I look back now and I go, oh, wait, no, those were the cool kids.

Like the lanes we were in that said who was cool and who wasn't cool were completely wrong. And that artistic kid over there or that girl who was a dancer and spent all her time at Lincoln Center, then they were smart. And those were the cool kids. And I wish I could go back now and celebrate them more. And hopefully that's kind of what you're getting at, that there is a better way to do that now.

I think about that a lot. I think about what would it be like to re, almost like redo a version or story of your life where you shifted your gaze slightly this way or this way and the different journey you would have. And we all do that. In any aspect of our life, we think, wait, what if I had given more time and attention to this lane or I had a different point of view about. people and human behavior and it led me this way.

I think it's really interesting. And, you know, there's a certain amount of fantasy in that that I certainly don't know if I would want to physically go back to high school. No, I wouldn't either. Yeah, like, I'm really, really happy with the skin I'm in. And just there's so much hormonal, physical stuff that happens then. that's really, especially for women, really difficult. And the other thing is, you know, we wanted to get across in this movie is when you're a young woman, you're really watched.

You're really looked at. You have to really hold other people's gaze. I mean, we all know that you're sexualized, objectified, categorized. But you just have so many people looking at you. And that feeling of being looked at and constantly looked at, it really does happen to young women no matter what. And if it doesn't happen, that can be really devastating too. No one's looking at me. No one's paying attention to me.

In Moxie, you know, in the very beginning of the film, our main character, Vivian, gets voted most obedient. And it's devastating. Right. And then there are people that don't even get put on a list. And then there are people that are, you know, called Most Bangable when they're in high school. I mean, what does this do to everyone? It's like, who's naming you, who gets to decide what list you're on? And so it's complicated.

It's really, really complicated. So I don't miss those days, I have to say. No, I agree. But I know what you mean. I remember that movie Peggy Sue got married, which was in the 80s chestnut? Oh, yeah. I always just thought that was such a good fantasy that probably, although if I watch it now, it probably be problematic.

It has some moments. Kathleen Turner and Nick Cage, there are a couple moments, yeah. Yeah, because now that I think about it, she goes back and basically has sex with a high school kid. Forget I said this. I take your point. But she goes back and finds the artsy kid. Right. Exactly.

And the kid that she thought, she didn't pay enough attention to. What would it be like if I paid attention to him? But he probably is a minor and that's probably not okay. We'll cut all this out, Amy. as you try to walk it back. Yeah, I said it. You directed the film, as I said. You've directed before with Wine Country,

with all your girls from SNL. What was this experience like, obviously a completely different thing than directing your comedy friends? What was it like to step into this young adult project with all these young actors? Yeah, it was so different. You know, my job in Wine Country

was really to stay out of the way a lot. and just let those women be themselves or be versions of themselves. And it almost felt sisterly. And this project was, felt a lot more maternal. I really wanted to make sure people felt safe, protected, secure, because there was some sensitive material in the film. Also, I was dealing with actors who were, you know, super talented, but, you know, some kind of in the beginning of their career.

And I remember that time and how tender and vulnerable you can be. And so it brought out that kind of mama bear feeling of making sure that people were in a safe space. And they have so much energy. So I just worked them day and night. Just worked them. Worked them to the bone. I just went again, again, again. because they're so young.

Like the coach with a whistle. You have any kids? They can sleep all weekend. Do you love directing Amy? Is that fun for you to have the vision of this whole thing from end to end and watch it come together? I do very much. I feel like each chapter is this interesting story. So you prepare for the film and all of the pre-production that comes from like being at the bottom of movie Mountain and getting it ready.

And then the set and shooting is like bull riding. It's intense and you have to surf it. Then you get to go into a quiet room where you're in control and you put the pieces together. You pick up the pieces in a way and you see what you have. And you do that without a lot of people around. Those three different muscles, they're really, really fulfilling because they're so different. And I've grown to like each part in different ways. And this particular film, when we were in post, when we were editing the film and putting it together, there was a strange rumble in the world that things were shutting down.

And we wrapped January of last year. Wow. I started editing in February and March and suddenly, you know, the building that we were editing in editing in March. had to close and we had to finish the film remotely, do all the music remotely. And I bring that up only to say that I was grateful that I had this piece of work that I could be working on in a quiet, dark, and safe room. And that was a part of, and that's what's so interesting about directing is the noise, the quiet, the big picture, the detail, the control, the lack of control.

It's not boring. And I really like that. So did the, was it a strange thing, though, to sit at home alone and finish a major motion picture on your laptop, on Zoom with your collaborators? It was. It was, you know, so much of the, so much of the work that I do is kind of depends on a communal in-person experience, whether it be hosting the globes or performing or bringing people to the theater. And that's why I think it's really interesting. And I'm grateful. that Moxie's on Netflix and it can be this thing that's shared at home, just like a lot of television is because there is this sense right now anyway where people want to watch content

that way. So I'm grateful for it for sure, but it is strange. It's not, it's strange to not be able to like most people this year, celebrate the endings of things in time, in real time with real people. So even this conversation we're having now, which is just so great, is, is, you know, it's kind of, it's kind of a trip. Like, it's kind of a simulation we're in right now. And I'm really looking forward to being, to literally rubbing shoulders with people soon. Yeah. I mean, I'm talking you right now in a room above my garage and you're sitting at home and we're on computers.

It just, and we've been doing this like you for a year. This is our sit-down interviews over computer screen, so it's bizarre. You also, Amy, your whole, your professional career has been collaboration, whether it's comedy or drama, you're in a room with a bunch of people, you're doing improv or SNL or Parks and Rec. It's got, it must be sort of a foreign experience for you just to be home with the kids solo and trying to make content. Yeah, and comedy especially because so much of it is timing and, you know, so, much of it is feeling that sense of really watching the other person and the physical cues of that. I mean, even just the fact that on these remote devices, you know, it's hard to overlap. I mean, even that is just so difficult when you're trying to create because, I mean, think of your

favorite films, TV, plays. There's just this rhythm. And so it has been a year where everybody's rhythm has been a little off. And so you have to figure out, okay, how can I work within these confines to try to get some sense of rhythm? And it does feel like there's a beat coming back a little bit. And what has been so interesting is how is this technology provided a different rhythm that's been a different way to consume news and make art? And the way in which people use it to their advantage is fascinating to me. Like, you know, like, I love TikTok. And I think the people on TikTok are using it in the best way.

They're deconstructing things. They're using that device and the way we stare at our phone. And they're like, okay, this is what you're going to do. I'm going to take advantage of it. I'm going to take your attention. I'm going to use it. And I'm going to connect us, I think, is. But it's, yeah, it's collaboration is important and it has been, it's certainly changed, certainly changed.

Are you on TikTok? Because I thought you were no social media. You are on TikTok. Yeah, I don't have a, I don't have a TikTok account, but I do. TikTok is the only thing. Yeah. Yeah, I'm, yeah, I'm, if TikTok was a window, I would be a weird person standing outside. of it peering in.

And no, I don't do social media, which I'm, I never have ever, ever, ever regretted. People are like, cancel Facebook. I'm like, honey, I never signed up for Facebook. I don't have to cancel it, okay? But I don't know. There's something about TikTok that really, I just think is creative. I think it's like really creative. It's people taking the same joke and doing their spin.

it's families showing you how they live. It's young people talking about their mental health. There's something about it that, I don't know, I felt connected during a time when everybody was feeling very alone. You felt connected just parting the bushes and watching from the window. Yeah, I felt connected in that way where you know where you watch your neighbors make dinner and stuff. And they don't know you're there. Like that really appropriate and not creepy way. You breathe against your neighbor's glass and you watch them make pizza rolls.

Fogging up the windows of your neighbors. Yeah. And every once in a while you tap and then you duck and then they come closer to the window. You guys don't know what I'm talking about. I love how you're like, you know what I'm saying, right? No. By the way, you are 100% correct about social media. I'm only on it for, you know, I work in the news.

I have to follow people and cover and know what's going on. But if not for that, I would be off of it too. I don't have Facebook either, but Twitter or Instagram, someone once said to me, I think it's right. I've never felt better after having been on social media. I've either felt neutral or much, much worse. So I think you're wise not to be on it. Yeah, I mean, I get it.

I, you know, I'm probably a little self-righteous about it, even though it was a pretty random choice. I don't think I think it was purely selfish reasons at the time, which I thought, oh, this is going to be a lot of work. It's going to take a lot of my time. And, you know, when Twitter started, for example, it was like if you were a comedian, it was a place to try out jokes. And I thought, oh, I'd have to write a lot of jokes. I don't have to be really funny. And I think at the time I was on parks and I was just like too tired.

So I can't claim that I had some bigger sense of what it was going to do. But the way people talk about social media is the way they talk about cigarettes, which is like, yeah, I mean, you know, I have to smoke cigarettes. But, you know, I just try to smoke a couple of a day. And you're like, or you can try to not smoke cigarettes. And they're like, what do you mean? Right. I don't know if it choice. Hey, guys, thanks for listening to the Sunday Sit Down podcast.

Stick around to hear more from Amy Polar right after the break. Welcome back to the Sunday Sit Down podcast, now more of my conversation with Amy Polar. What you're saying about collaboration, I think we all feel it in some way. I mean, putting on a TV show like mine, it's not S&L or Parks and Rec, but the point of it is to be in a room with interesting people at different points of view and to come up with the best ideas and the show you can come up with. Just this solitary existence strikes whether you're working on a movie set or you're working at a law firm or whatever you're doing. You know, there are often these deep traumatic events, whether they're personal or they're global, that if we just pay some attention to them can change so many aspects of our life.

And this giant traumatic pause that we've been forced to take, for some has been so brutal. And I feel like I owe it, the very least, the people who have had really traumatic years to pay attention to what I'm supposed to learn here because there are so many things that we have had to let go of that I don't know necessarily if we need to chase and try to get back. And then there are other things that we've learned like, oh, people are so important. I know it's a really simple trite thing to say, but who? would have thought that that would be something we'd have to learn, that hugging our grandparents and taking care of our neighbors and being with the same people in the same room is something that we took for granted and we really, really miss and can't wait to get back to me. That is, and the other thing is just,

and I'm saying some really obvious things here to your audience and to you, but I can't believe that we have a vaccine. I can't believe it. I, if I was in charge of doing that, you know, I always think like if I was in charge of society, we'd just have like dirt roads and we'd live in tents and we'd be like, this is it. This is the best we can do. This is the best. Let's all live by the beach and we'll have some really fun talks.

Lots of good jokes, but we're going to live in tents. And that's as far as civilization. That's it. Yeah. And we'll have each other and that'll be enough. Yeah. And we'll laugh. Oh, we'll laugh. Oh, we will laugh. But what's that vaccine? No, I don't know how to do that. The fact that science has provided this vaccine in this amount of time, it just, I can't get over it. And it's so incredible what humans can do, what man can do. It's incredible that we're talking about the rollout of a vaccine within a year. of a giant pandemic.

It's just incredible. So it's all of it's a little mind bending right now. I totally agree with you. I think we've become so cynical and we're complaining that it's not fast enough. Then you stop and you go less than a year. This should have taken 10 years or whatever it usually takes. And we got it. I mean, it's incredible.

I know. We got it. People are like, I'm not going to get it until May. They're like, yep. We're getting a little greedy. It's going to be a day. Getting a little greedy here. I do encourage everybody to get it.

When it's your turn. I promise I won't turn this into this is your life, but I am curious based off of Moxie, what kind of a high school kid you were at Burlington High School. Were you the activist type? Do you see yourself in any of those characters? I think I was a floater, like a real, I went, I dabbled in a lot of different groups. I think to be very honest, I presented like an extrovert,

but I was a lot more introverted than I knew. So much like the character of Vivian and Moxie, I think I wasn't quite sure who I was. And I really was like in many ways trying to keep my head down and get through it. And in other ways, thinking maybe if I'm everything to everyone, then that will be okay. So I related.

to this feeling of this watery feeling of not knowing where I was. Because I was, I could, I played a little bit of sports. I did the school play. I was friends with, you know, popular kids. But I also like really liked all the kind of intellectual, you know, like I did the trivia contest in high school. And my mom was a high school teacher, which was so, you know, I wanted to do well in school.

So it was, I mean, I was not cool or rebellious. I just wasn't. I wish I could tell you I was. I mean, I had some authority stuff, but I think that just might be my Boston, like blue collar, you know, original papers that you get when you're born, which is, you know, that guy's not better than you. Don't listen to him. And, you know, my high school was huge. You know, I had like 400 people. in my graduating class, 1,200 kids in my school. Everybody drove to, it was so 80s, you know, so, so 80s. And it was very homogenous, very suburban.

So it was so specific. And I don't know if it exists in the same way. It was really cultural, regional. And, yeah, and our hair was just so big, Willis. I was hair with it. There's so much hair. We're going to find a yearbook photo. Did you go perm?

Were you full perm? Oh. Yeah. Sure. Thank you for asking. I did do a perm at one point, but I don't even think it took. Do you know what I mean? That's how sad it was.

I don't think my perm took. She didn't take. I think I remember my hairstylist thing. But. Did you have the bangs? You tease the bangs up and the whole? 100%. And, you know, I don't, I don't really have a lot of hair.

So I didn't even, I didn't have a lot to work with. I mean, it was just, the fashion styles were so rough. I feel like we really, the 80s are tough. And, oh, I mean, the yearbook photos are just people's hair are out of, it's out of frame. Because you're at East Coast, right? Oh, yeah. I'm from New Jersey, Amy. Yeah, I mean, come on.

You know what it's like. Yeah, we punched holes in the ozone like nobody else. Well, that is true, man. I mean, the 80s of everyone was like the environment and Earth Day, maybe. Okay, I guess I'll give you Earth Day. It was so different. I mean, the hairspray alone was an environmental threat. But yeah, I think I was that kind of high schooler.

And I, yeah, I would, to your point, I would really, it would be really interesting to go back in a time machine and figure out where I would fit in now. I don't know. I don't know. You kind of, it feels like you found your lane. You mentioned the school play. Right. You did Wizard of Oz. You were Dorothy.

Booked a huge gig with that. That was big. And then you go to BC. You joined the improv group. It feels like that started to take shape for you in high school. Like you knew you were going to be a performer of some kind? Yeah, I'll do a little name drop-by thing here. But my senior year in high school, I auditioned for the musical,

and I hadn't done a lot of stuff in high school performance-wise. And I didn't know anybody that was an actor or writer or paid for that at all. And I auditioned for the musical Once Upon a Mattress, which is kind of a big body part where it's like a princess, but the joke is she's just kind of a goofball. And she shouts a lot of her songs. And to give you a sense of what it's like, it was originated on Broadway with Carol Burnett,

who was incredible as Princess Winifred in this musical. And I got to tell many, many years later, Carol, that I was in that musical when I got to meet her. And I had this really full circle moment of, oh my gosh, I remember listening to the cast album of Carol's, singing the songs and what I loved about what Carol did and what she always did is she had this incredible huge comedic range but it was really coming from a warm place and she was a good singer but she sang funny all just that stuff I really emulated and really really did I think

when I was doing high school play that I would be talking to Carol about it 100% now but it also So it was a really awesome moment to think about, wow, there was the beginning of that feeling of wanting to perform so badly and feeling like it was what I was supposed to do. And I really wish that for anybody, no matter what they do, is what is that feeling that what they're doing for their job is the thing they enjoy doing. Those are often not the same. Yeah, not many of us get that chance. You know, life just doesn't steer you in that direction or like. to do it. We're both lucky that way. So you, Carol Burnett, Gilda Radner, I know, was a hero of yours. It feels like you had an eye toward those women who were kind of pushing through the door in spaces

where men had dominated forever. And then you did it yourself when you got on SNL. What was that moment like when you landed on the show that some of your heroes had been on and were on? It was very surreal. In fact, I just saw a picture. My friend, uh, I'm turning 50 this year, and a lot of my friends are too. And so I had a friend who sent me a picture to put in an album for my other friend. And we're in 10th grade. We're sophomores, and we went to New York City for the first time on a class trip. And I remember taking the NBC tour and going and watching them rehearse for S&L.

And it was Anthony Michael Hall and Robert Downey Jr. on the main stage that was that kind of interesting special 80s time. Yes. Early 80s. Yeah, early 80s. And I can just clearly remember going by the Today Show set and sitting in the chair and just. And then to be back in the halls of SNL that many years later, it was pretty wild. You know, you have to have this, you have to do that kind of Hoosiers thing where you can't believe that the basketball net is.

too high for you to make the shot. So you have to kind of minimize everything to just get through your nerves. So I don't think I walked around going, ooh, wow. I just kind of tried to stay a little bit grounded. But when Don Pardo would say my name, I would allow myself this moment to just actually feel it. I can't believe I'm here. And then I would kind of drop it because then you,

if you're too nervous or scared, you're not going to make the shot. But I would allow myself every once in a while to go there. Yeah, I mean, I was actually watching earlier today. I think it was your first show. It was the post-9-11 show because you got there in that fall of 2001. You're in the Will sketch with the Patriotic. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you held it together very well, I should say.

You were probably trying not to break in one of your first sketches ever on the show. You didn't want to be that person. But what was it? Because I've talked to a lot of people at S&L who say the beginning is kind of hard. As you're trying to, how do I fit into this group and these people have been here and they all know each other and they have a rhythm and they, how did you feel like you got into that rhythm and when did you feel like you broke through on the show? Well, you know, that's a really interesting question because it makes me think of what you said earlier, which is, you know, I was younger then and I was starting a live comedy show from New York at a time when everybody was saying, we'll never laugh again. Comedy is dead. That's it at the end.

Something so terrible has happened that we're just never going to get to a place where things are light again. And as a young person, I remember thinking, excuse me? I'm very young and I will laugh again. So you old people can talk about how sad everything is. But in the meantime, we're going to try to keep going so that we can create a world that gets better and it will get better. all that stuff young people have innately that we forget as we get older, we do, which is just like, it's over. And you're like, no, you're just closer to dying.

So you think it's going to be over because you think it's going to end when you die. But young people are like, I don't plan on dying anytime soon. So I definitely felt that way, you know, as a New Yorker, that experience was so incredibly traumatic, so scary, so dangerous. We all joined together, bonded together. And also, at the same time, because two things can be true, I was excited about working at the job that I always wanted to work at. And I wanted to do good work and I wanted to laugh. So those two things were living in me at the same time.

And you were there with an old friend of yours, Tina, from Chicago, which I imagine you had a touchstone at least. You guys did so much great stuff together. I was watching your Palin and Katie and weekend update. and obviously all of that. It's amazing. Your head, your, your Katie Kirk head tilt is really right on point. Well, poor Katie and for Hillary, like, I was so pregnant when I was playing. I was really, really pregnant.

Not that there's anything wrong with me pregnant, but I'm just saying, you know, I don't, I don't think I could quite get the subtleties because I was truly cooking a baby. Yeah. I mean, one of the nights of the show, as a matter of fact. Yeah. What is the magic of working with Tina for you, whether it's on SNL or doing the globe, like you're working on right now. What do you think it is about the two of you when you get together?

Well, I think it's rare and wonderful to meet somebody who's your friend who also works the same way you do. And I think Tina's love language is acts of service. Like the way she works is her love language. And I think her and I both kind of share that we love. We take pride in how we work. and it's how we show our appreciation and respect for people. So because we kind of trained at the same places and work the same way, it's so easy.

We share a very similar vocabulary. We have a very similar approach. And, you know, there are times in your life and career where you're really interested in the different ways that people work and you learn from them. And then there are other ways, especially when you're, you know, about to go to the Golden Globes or about to do life. television for the first time or you're trying something new where it feels really good to have somebody who knows your timing, your rhythm, the way, who knows you. So I was very, very lucky. Tina was there.

Rachel Dratch, who was a good old friend of mine, was there. Horatio Sands was there. There was so many people there when I arrived that were, you know, people that I could, I could lean on. Is it cool to look back on those? years, you guys are a part of this club, this S&L club. Do you ever go back and watch sketches? Do you have favorite characters or the things that you look back on now and say,

you know what, that was funny? Yeah, you know what we used to do? Near the end of my run there, there was this, I'm sure it's all even better and technological now. But, you know, when I started at Esenal, I mean, there used to still be quarter inch VHS tapes. Sure. how we did impressions. It'd be like, oh, you have to do an impression of, you know, I don't know,

Pamela Anderson and the research department would give you a VHS tape of an interview that she had done. But near the end, there was this incredible vault. It might still be there where you can kind of call up any sketch. And all we would do is watch the ones that bombed. We would love to watch the ones that never made it past dress that were. where there was just crickets. That's what we'd watch.

We'd just laugh and laugh and laugh because we would remember how horrible it was and how painful it was. And we would just, that was how we enjoyed. It's not really the hits. We didn't really like go back. Remember that how great that was? We're just like, oh, look at you.

You're sweating. You're dying. Look at remember how, and then wait for it. And you just hear like an audience member cough. And you're like, oh. So that was what we did. Where there was supposed to be a laugh. There was a quiet, vacant cough up somewhere in the rafters.

Yeah. And there's a, there's a stage, there's a, Jenna who is one of the stage managers at SNL. Like, she's been there for a really long time. Every once in a while you can hear her just like politely laughing because she knows. This sketch is never going to see the light of day. And to me, that's where you should. you're real to me, and I've always felt this way. Look, if things are going great and you're

great about it, good for you. But when things are going wrong and things are going badly, you really find out who your friends are, who the professionals are, who are the people that are not going to bail on you. I mean, we all have learned this lesson this year. But the same goes for comedy. When a sketch is going badly, when you're bombing, that is when you find out what you're really made of. You really, really have to dig deep and sit in the discomfort of it and not bail. And that is when you make friends for life. Yeah, I mean, that probably comes from your improv.

You don't have a choice. You can't walk off the stage, right? You've got to deliver something and help your friend get out of the water and save yourselves. But you know what you realize is that people often do walk off the stage. Either emotionally, they check out or they bail out of the moment or the scene. like they can't handle it so they crack up or they just can't handle how bad it's going or I have had people actually walk out.

You can do it. Don't be in a bunker with that guy. Yeah, exactly. Before I let you go, we were talking about shows that people are watching. Parks and Rec has been top of the list, I think, for a lot of people. We've been watching it too in the last year. Is that a gratifying thing to know that that's something people are either going back to or now finding with their kids, for example?

It is so satisfying. It's one of the most satisfying parts of this year for me, honestly, is that I've had a lot of people say I watched Parks and Rec with my kids. I watched it again. I watched it at night to go to sleep, all that stuff. Because the journey, the story of that show, we could have never predicted. It was always on the bubble to be canceled every year it was on. And at the very end, it started to gain momentum just as it was kind of ending.

And then it had a life in streaming. And it's become this really important show for a lot of people. And I can't believe it. I feel so lucky because, you know, you do work. You hope it resonates with people. You know how you feel about it. But that isn't always the case. So I, it's just a gift that keeps on giving that show.

You know, I think a lot. I am not Leslie Note, and there are times I wish I was more like her. And I think about her a lot sometimes when I try to have, like when I try to figure out how to interact with this complicated world. But I'd like to think that during a time when, you know, things were literally on fire. The world was and is really chaotic and continues to be that that show can be a place where it can kind of represent. you can think differently than the people that you're with and you can still figure out a way to work together. I think that is, you know, a testament to what Mike Scher and the writer's created. She's also just earnest in our cynical world.

She's hopeful and earnest and she's going to figure out how to get it done. She may be incompetent at times, but she means it, which is refreshing to see. She's not cool. She is never cool. And I like, I tend to like people that aren't cool because I feel like there's a vulnerability there to care about something. You know, it's kind of, it's what we try to talk about in Moxie, which is it's scary to say you care about something.

And also, you're putting yourself out there and you can get it wrong. But what are you going to do? Go through life, like being disaffected and being afraid you're going to make a mistake and not caring about yourself or others. Like, you know, what is the option there? So I do think caring. is a vulnerable position to be in. And I think vulnerability is strength and power.

And I am drawn to people who take that chance and like step into that ring. I totally agree. I totally agree. Thank you so much, Amy. The movie's great. Good luck at the Globes. Go get it. I can't wait to see what you guys come up with.

It's going to be good either way. Thank you so much. It's great to see you. I miss New York. Yeah, come back to the snow sometime. You're getting a little soft out there. It's free. It's like 65 degrees.

I have to pull on my jeep jacket. They're booing you from Massachusetts right now. I'm so soft. They've written me off a long time. Thank you, Amy. That was so much fun. I appreciate it. You really do hate to see a good product of the East Coast,

move west, and turn soft. Don't do it, Amy. My thanks again to Amy Poehler for a great conversation. You can catch her new movie Moxie streaming now on Netflix. And my thanks to all of you for tuning in again this week. If you want to hear more of my conversations with our guests every week, be sure to click subscribe so you never miss an episode. And of course, don't forget to tune in to Sunday today every weekend on NBC. I'm Willie Geist. We'll see you right back here next week on the Sunday Sit Down podcast.