Their feminism is visible on screen. “When we choose projects, we do have our own internal Bechdel test,” Ms. Fey said. In their new film, which they also produced, “these are women who are in conflict, but they’re not in competition. And it is about shaking off roles that they were given early in life that they now grew out of. Whether overtly in the story or not, we definitely are always looking at things that feel true to us.”
Ms. Poehler added: “We both have a very similar work ethic. We like to do a lot of hard work. We’re not big complainers.” And they communicate in a shorthand, almost private language. “Tina and I are very good at very quickly mumbling to each other something, usually about someone else in the room,” Ms. Poehler said.
She turned to Ms. Fey. “I’ve been more sleep-deprived with you than anyone else,” she said. Ms. Fey nodded. “Other than your babies. And they’re not funny at all.”
In “Sisters,” the feature screenwriting debut of the longtime “S.N.L.” writer Paula Pell, Ms. Poehler and Ms. Fey play siblings who unite to hold one last bash at their childhood home after their parents (James Brolin and Dianne Wiest) decide to sell it. Directed by Jason Moore (“Pitch Perfect”), and stuffed with current and former “S.N.L.” castmates and comedians, it opens Dec. 18. (“The same weekend as a little indie movie you probably haven’t heard of called ‘Star Wars,’” as Ms. Poehler has put it.)
In the film, Ms. Poehler begins as the buttoned-up one and Ms. Fey as the wild woman — cross-casting that Ms. Fey said she learned from Mr. Michaels while working on the 2004 film “Mean Girls,” her screenwriting debut. (He had suggested that the role of the innocent go to Lindsay Lohan and the queen bee to Rachel McAdams.) In “Sisters,” which Ms. Fey developed for a year with Ms. Pell before showing it to Ms. Poehler, “I was, like, we want to see Amy go crazy over the night of the party,” she said. “It’s going to be so fun to watch her take that pendulum swing. It actually is the part that requires a better actor and a better comedian. And, Amy loves sex scenes.”
Ms. Poehler: “I do. I insist on them.”
Ms. Fey’s character, Kate, is a hairdresser, and she picked up some scissor tips from her own stylist to look realistic. Ms. Poehler’s Maura is a nurse. “People like to joke that comedy is easier to do,” she said, “but frankly it’s really hard to walk that line and to try to continue to create material.
“So did I do a couple nurse ride-alongs? No. But did I also sew up some people that got hurt on set? Yes. So my point is, I consider myself a registered nurse. I wrote some prescriptions.”
