Exclusive Interview: Alicia Silverstone on Angels in Stardust

I got to spend Valentine’s Day talking to Alicia Silverstone. ‘90s Fred would be proud. The iconic star of Aerosmith videos and Clueless has a new movie coming out on VOD Friday, Feb. 21. Angels in Stardust stars Silverstone as Tammy, the mother of two living in a trailer, cultivating an active social life. Her daughter Vallie Sue (AJ Michalka) doesn’t agree with her mom’s plan to date until she finds a guy who can take care of them all.

Silverstone was gracious to talk about all her classic films as well, certainly Clueless and The Crush, not so much Batman & Robin but I went there and then respectfully let it go. Seriously, she was so full of laughs, I couldn’t actually put [Laughing] throughout the article but it was a joy to hear her speak and laugh.

 

CraveOnline: So you signed up for a movie called Jesus in Cowboy Boots. What did you think of the title change?

Alicia Silverstone: That it’s now called Angels in Stardust? I didn’t put a lot of thought into that one. I don’t know, what’s yours?

 

I was just doing some research, but you’re okay with both titles?

Yeah. Angels in Stardust sounds really lovely.

 

And strategically, when it’s on VOD it comes up first because it starts with A.

Ooh, sneaky. I like it.

 

I imagine releasing a movie with “Jesus” in the title might have had its own pitfalls.

I leave that to other people. I was just really drawn to the character and the script. I didn’t really think much of the title to be honest. I don’t really look at titles I suppose when I’m picking something. Not that we don’t read it but I thought it was artistic and interesting.

 

Tammy is so interesting because she has a not very modern strategy of looking for a man who can provide for her family. What was your take on her?

Oh, well she’s so complicated, this character, and I love that it was something I’ve never done before, so of course it would be a fun challenge. Tammy is a single mom who’s obviously searching in all the wrong places for Mr. Right and she has a really hard time balancing motherhood and her search for love. I feel like she’s messing up all the time but she’s trying the best she can, poor thing. I think it’s really hilarious. I mean, it’s very tragic and sad but I also find it very amusing that her advice is so awful for her daughter. Everything she says is the opposite. It’s the wrong thing to say but she does it with such love and such conviction.

 

She says she’s doing everything for her family, but I wonder, does she really have her children’s interest at heart?

I know. I mean, I think that that was the interesting thing about playing this role, because if you read it on paper, you could just come to the conclusion that she’s a really awful mother and I could have just played it that way, but I found it was more interesting that she was really struggling to make it a struggle the whole time. She really did love her children so much and she was trying her best. It’s just that she needed to take care of herself first. [Laughs]

So it’s like, “I know that you have needs and I really want to help you with those needs but my needs come first, and then I’ll get to you.” So it’s awful, but it’s also reasonable. They always say in an airplane, put your mask on first. Tammy’s a mask so I think she has to take care of herself first. Otherwise she doesn’t have anything else to give them, so she really is doing the best that she can. It’s just really pathetic.

 

And this isn’t her first try either. Has she learned anything from her previous relationships with her children’s father?

Clearly she’s not very evolved. She’s really a survivor. She’s doing the best she can. She lives in a trailer park in the middle of nowhere and she has nothing but her children, and she does love them. As far as she’s concerned, she’s done a great job. They’re alive, they have been fed, they have a roof over their head and we all love each other. What else is there? Now, it’s time for her, because in a way she’s given up so much. In her mind, in her reality, she’s given up so much to be the parent so she’s saying, “Now, it’s my turn. I need to find something for myself.” I’m totally defending her because I played her and I love her but you could absolutely judge her and say, “What an awful mother. What an awful thing.”

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