Dave and John Chernin, known for their work in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, make their directorial debut with Netflix's Incoming. The new coming-of-age high school comedy follows Benj (Mason Thames) and his friend group as they navigate their first party.
As the Chernin brothers can relate, everything in high school feels bigger. Your crushes are make-or-break, as is your entrance at a party.
Perhaps that is why Incoming works so well. The Chernin brothers don't run from high school movie clichés. Instead, they tackle them head-on before subverting expectations.
There is no better example of that than the diarrhea scene about halfway through the movie. The scene involves the most popular girl in the school, played by Loren Gray. It was a challenge for the Chernin brothers, as they did it on a blue screen, but the end result was worth the hard work.
ClutchPoints spoke to the brothers about Incoming, Mason Thames' anxiety about his Stevie Wonder number, and ideas for a potential sequel (make it happen, Netflix).
Incoming directors Dave and John Chernin's party tricks
ClutchPoints: What are your party tricks?
John Chernin: I can open a bottle of beer with a lighter — does that count? But you [pointing to Dave Chernin] taught me how to do that.
Dave Chernin: Yeah, I don't know that that's a party trick.
JC: I think it's a trick. Geez. [smiles]
DC: We're so removed from those kinds of parties. I don't know that we have any tricks. [laughs]
JC: Does that not count? Are we not counting that? [Would] you count that, Andrew?
CP: I would say that's pretty impressive.
DC: What did Mason say his party trick was?
CP: Beer pong.
DC: Hmm…
JC: That's more of a skill than a trick, I would say.
DC: Right. He's also at a slightly more appropriate age for those kind of shenanigans than we are.
JC: But I would say not a legal age for those shenanigans.
DC: No, no.
Being the old guys at a house party
CP: What were your experiences at the Incoming house party?
DC: It was cool. I mean, it was for influencers mostly. It was honestly interesting to get a glimpse into that culture. John and I are removed enough from the youth that we don't have all the social media like they did. But it was cool.
It was a lot of fun, man. Netflix did a great job with that. And it was weird because most people there had not seen the movie yet. So it was really just a social party more than it was a celebration of the film itself.
JC: Yeah, it was fun, but I feel like we had some anxiety going in because we were like, We're going to be the oldest people there by 15 or 20 years.
And we were. So we mostly stood off to the side. And it was fun watching the young cast, because they've become pretty good friends, so we just enjoyed watching them have a good time.
DC: Yeah, I think the party was fun for everyone, except there was a lot of questioning of who the two elderly gentlemen in the corner [were]. We had to explain that we are the directors. [laughs]
Various music tastes
CP: Since you guys are older than the cast, I'm sure that your music taste is different. Whether it was on set or at the party, were there any instances where your music tastes surprised the cast?
JC: Well, definitely Stevie Wonder. I don't think enough people knew about that. But our first AD, Adam Cuthbert, was always good about queuing up songs in between things. And it was funny to see.
He one time put on Iggy Pop and everyone responded really positively to that. So we were like, Okay, Iggy Pop plays with the younger generation.
DC: We were passing the iPod around a lot between setups. And you've always tried to play something great that the kids would not know about, but that they could also get into. So I feel like we were trying to expose them to some '90s, West Coast hip hop, a little bit of Dr. Dre, Tupac, that sort of thing.
Mason Thames' anxiety ahead of the Stevie Wonder scene
CP: You mentioned Stevie Wonder. Mason told me about the lead-up to the scene. He recalls going up to you guys and the producers asking about when it was going to be filmed and you all enjoyed seeing him anxious. Do you guys remember that?
DC: I do, that was the last day of the shoot, so we were all kind of at the end of our rope. Mason was so nervous. I think that scene took years off of his life.
We were kind enough to him to let him record his side before we filled the bleachers with audience. But he still had to perform in front of a lot of crew [members].
But he did a great job, man. He was so well-rehearsed. And one thing about that scene is we talked a lot about how much we wanted to autotune his voice and how perfect we wanted it to sound. And I think it was important to us that it sounded real.
So what you hear is really Mason singing. We thought about dubbing it with like a more professional version of that recording, But we thought he did such a great job, but any slightly missed note or whatever, that's just him singing.
CP: He also said that Isabella Ferreira, who plays Bailey, made him record it again so she could properly act. Is that true?
JC: Yeah, I think that was a very sweet, fun moment for us. Because the shoot was in its fourth week at that point. And I think from where we were sitting, it's like, Oh, that's cute that they can give each other s**t like that, and they're comfortable enough now that Bella can just torment him because she can.
How much of the movie is based on real experiences?
CP: How much of Incoming was based on your own experiences, and how did you guys distinguish this just from being another high school comedy?
DC: So a lot of that started with leaning into clichés and tropes of other movies, and then trying to subvert them if we could. So, for instance, that song scene that we just talked about, we were inspired by 10 Things I Hate About You.
There's that great scene where Heath Ledger serenades Julia Stiles. And as we were watching that movie, which is great and totally holds up, we kind of discussed how in actual high school, that would never work. That guy would get killed. People would turn on him, all of that.
So we thought that would be a funny ending to the movie if Mason's grand romantic gesture did not work. But then I think we were also just picking out moments from our high school that stuck with us and just trying to exaggerate them as hugely as possible for comedic effect.
There's a lot of like truth in the starting places of some storylines, but yeah, none of it got that crazy in real life.
Seeing themselves in the friend group
CP: Could you guys could assign yourselves to one of the kids in Mason's friend group, who would you be?
DC: Oh man. I guess I'd say Benj, because even though he's seemingly cool, he's just deep down, insecure [and] trying to find himself. I think that's kind of who I was closest to in high school — just trying to find out what my persona was, what my lane was. I'm gonna go with Benj because I certainly don't want to identify as a Koosh.
JC: If Dave takes Benj, then I guess I'd say Eddie. I remember things feeling scary, and the stakes feeling really big back then. And so I think that was something that we could tap into when we were writing it. And I think that's what was so fun about writing for kids that age in general is everything feels so monumental.
Like, it's not just this party, it's our future. Everything is a really, really big deal. And it's fun to write when you have those kinds of intrinsic stakes.
That NSFW scene
CP: There is that diarrhea scene … what went into filming that and the background of it?
JC: I think that came from a place of [wanting] to take this stereotypical hot girl in high school, and then do the most unexpected thing possible, and so I don't think you see that coming. When she gets into the back of their car, you have all these ideas of where that could go. I don't think you expect it to go there.
And then filming it was actually challenging because we shot that all on stage on blue screen. And so it was very mechanical and just putting together lots of bits and pieces, trying to get the texture of the peanut butter substance we were covering Loren [Gray] in just right every day.
But I think credit goes to those boys who knocked it out of the park and so much credit goes to Loren Gray, who is so funny, but also such a gamer.
For someone who makes her living with her image, [she was] so willing to just literally get down and dirty in the muck with us. I think that's what makes it so funny and unexpected.
Will Benj and Bailey be married in an Incoming sequel?
CP: Another interesting thing that Mason gave me was he theorized a little bit about what a sequel could look like. He wants it to be in college and also thinks Benj and Bailey will be married. What do you think happens to Benj after the movie?
DC: Married in college? I hope not. I think there's a lot of life to live beyond high school and college, but that's a very cute answer for Mason.
I don't know what happens beyond this movie. We haven't given it a ton of thought. I think Benj is a guy who is steadily finding his confidence in who he is. So I think he's probably a little bit closer to his final self by then.
JC: It's weird to think about because honestly, it's just so weird even seeing those boys a year after we shot this and seeing like, Oh my God, they're so much older, and I don't know if what we had still plays for them.
I don't know how tall Raphael [Alejandro] will be, if he can still be Fetus and be that angry, short-tempered lunatic. But I think Mason maybe just wants to be with Bella.
What the Incoming directors would want in a sequel
CP: You said you haven't thought much about a potential sequel, but what would a sequel look like? Is it college? Would you wait longer and do something else?
DC: I don't think you'd wait longer. They were freshmen in this movie, so that'd be four years from now. I think if we were to do a sequel, if the people wanted that, it would probably be college.
JC: Or we'll do a 20-year high school reunion when they have had real loss and regret in your life and things have gone awry and maybe then Benj thinks like, Oh, I got to get Bailey. That's where it all went wrong. I've been divorced twice, and this is the way it's going to work.
DC: What would you like to see in the sequel? You think college is the right place for it?
CP: I think college would be good, but I think maybe starting with a little bit of the senior year, maybe seeing like their senior week or something. That's a pretty fun thing that I don't see enough movies. I think that would be pretty cool.
DC: I like that. More of an Outgoing.
Why you should watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
CP: I've never seen It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. As two writers of the show, why should I watch it?
DC: Well, we're coming to you live from the Always Sunny offices, [we're] writing Season 17 right now. You should absolutely check it out. It's a phenomenal show.
It is the longest running sitcom of all time now, so definitely worth a watch. I would recommend starting at the beginning because the characters have come a long way since 2005 or whenever it started.
We're huge fans of Philadelphia. We used to go there in the early days to shoot all the exterior shots for It's Always Sunny. And as writers, by the time we got there, we wouldn't have a ton of responsibility. So we would kind of just explore the city, eat all the great food, hit the bars.
Philadelphia Freedom
JC: My college roommate is actually from outside Philadelphia, so I've got a lot of friends there. And then [with] all the time we spent there on It's Always Sunny, I got a Jim's Cheesesteak shirt somewhere.
So Jim's is my go-to Italian market. That was pretty good. But Rob McElhenney, who created It's Always Sunny, is always very fun, [saying,] “This is the birthplace of American democracy, and there's so much history in this city,” and all people want to talk about is like, “Where'd you get your cheesesteak?”
If I had to give a pitch for It's Always Sunny, it has been on for 17 years, so they're doing something right. But I think what is so compelling about it is the four characters on it are both so selfish and also so optimistic in their actions. And I think taking both those things to the extreme just leads you to really, really funny places.
And it's, there's nothing else on TV like it. It's crazy how funny it can be. And I would say that even if I wasn't working here, I'm just a big fan of those guys.
DC: I'm frankly pretty jealous of you that you've never seen it. I was a massive fan before we got the job working here when I was in college.
Incoming is streaming on Netflix.
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