In Brooke Shields’ new movie Mother of the Bride, her character, Lana, gets a second chance with her first love — but the actress wasn’t interested in telling a story audiences had seen a million times before.
“I normally only see the romanticized version [of these] tropes,” Shields, 58, exclusively told Us Weekly while discussing the Netflix film. “In [Mother of the Bride], Lana had put her ex out of her life. She literally had crossed him off. He was dead to her because of the way he broke her heart. So to see that come back and realize their original connection never changed. That I think is a romantic trope that I find really refreshing.”
The romantic comedy, which hits Netflix on Thursday, May 9, follows Lana after she’s left shocked by her daughter Emma’s (Miranda Cosgrove) surprise engagement. After flying to Thailand for a last-minute wedding, Lana discovers that Emma’s fiancé’s father, Will, played by Benjamin Bratt, is actually her college boyfriend who broke her heart years ago. Lana must then decide if she should pursue new love with fellow resort guest Lucas (Chad Michael Murray), or give Will another shot.
While second-chance love stories are fairytale-like, Shields noted that, in real life, it’s more complicated than that.
‘Mother of the Bride’: Everything to Know About Brooke Shields’ Rom-Com
“There are real times when couples need to separate. They need to grow,” Shields explained. “And then when they find each other again, maybe it actually works now because both are mature.”
Of course, there’s also the possibility it doesn’t work out, after all. “Or maybe it really doesn’t work because you’re so fundamentally different that it wouldn’t work anyway,” she added, laughing.
Shields, for her part, can relate to the idea of romanticizing her past relationships, as she told Us that she’s idealized her own first love “kind of forever.” Famous as a model and actress since childhood, Shields’ own exes have included Andre Agassi, George Michael, Dean Cain; she’s been married to Chris Henchy since year 2001 and they have two daughters: Rowan, 20, and Grier, 18.
“But it has nothing to do with — zero, in fact — to do with the reality of where he is, where I am right now,” she clarified of her first heartbreak, sharing that she was the one who “ended it” twice before they called it quits for good. “It was who I was at that era of my life where I was not comfortable enough in my own self or body to revel in what I had, in what I was experiencing, which was beautiful and sweet and great. And so that is what I romanticize about.”
When it comes to playing Lana, however, falling back in love seems a lot easier for Shields — especially when the object of her affection is Bratt, 60, who she calls a male “symbol.”
Bratt isn’t the only potential suitor Shields has pursuing her in Mother of the Bride. There’s also Lucas, portrayed by Murray, 42, whom she meets while staying at the resort. The decision to have multiple men lusting over Lana was something Shields said she “gently mandated” after nabbing a role as producer on the film.
“Because we’re [women] over 40, people for some reason are either afraid or don’t discuss it, or if God forbid, we’re mothers, we’re not allowed to be sexualized in any way,” Shields explained. “Yeah, no kid wants to think of their mother in that way. Creepy. Ew. I get it. But the truth is, I know many a single mom who are in this age bracket who are dating.”
Shields added that she’s determined to tell stories that get audiences in their “feels,” but also allow women to be portrayed as “sexy” in ways that feel “realistic” to their experience. Shields said she, along with other women at Netflix, have been persistent in “spearheading” their mission to make more romantic comedies, especially when they feature middle-aged characters.
Brooke Shields and Chris Henchy’s Family Album With 2 Daughters: Photos
“[Movies like Mother of the Bride], aren’t cheapened in any way, and are still fun and sweet and comical in a slapsticky way at some times and a nuanced way at other times,” she continued. “That was one of the reasons why I wanted to be a producer [on this movie]. Because I wanted to have an ear for what they were saying and what they were demanding, and then work on figuring out how to make that as an actress and as a woman work comedically and dramatically. So this was sort of an unprecedented spoke of television [and film].”
Mother of the Bride is now available on Netflix.
