Filmmaker Jennifer Cram Discusses Her Funny Comedy, Sick Girl, Based on Nina Dobrev

In Sick Girl, Jennifer Cram’s funny feature film debut, Wren Cooper laments to her longstanding friends, “We’re barely together as a group.” “That’s how things work,” one of Wren’s pals retorts. Not sure how long. Amidst the chaos of an agitated assembly, Wren declares shockingly, “I have cancer!”

She is not. Wren may not have known why she blurted it out, but she may have been trying to maintain the friendship with her best pals, who are now adults, because she feels as though she may have peaked in high school. Funny things happen, of course.

The R-rated movie features Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs), Dan Bakkedahl (Veep), Brandon Mychal Smith (Four Weddings and a Funeral), Nina Dobrev (Fam, The Vampire Diaries) as Wren, and Sherry Cola (Good Trouble).

A poor choice with a humorous result

Insecurities and friendship are two universal topics that are touched with in Sick Girl. When Wren senses that her closest friends are leaving, her little deception turns into a massive, transformative event. The outcome provides the audience with a humorous perspective on the costs of insecurity and the benefits of genuine friendship.

The film’s director and author, Jennifer Cram, acknowledged right away that the goal of the production was to portray a friendship-based love story. “When I was writing this movie, my buddies and I were going through similar experiences. As we all grew older and began to mix with families, children, and occupations, all of that was rather unfamiliar. It was really different from when we’re all together, and we were trying to figure out how to handle that. Before then, we had spent a lot of time together, so it was simply a transition, which is frightening.

Viewers of Sick Girl will undoubtedly come to the conclusion that, indeed, some friendships do last. It was crucial to develop the ideal “hook” for the movie. If there’s one thing that unites everyone in common, it’s disease.

Regarding how the cancer idea originated, Cram stated, “I wanted to come up with one of the worst things I could think of, and see the bonds of friendship, how close they are, and what a friendship could survive, even with the kids.”

Viewers of Sick Girl will undoubtedly come to the conclusion that, indeed, some friendships do last. It was crucial to develop the ideal “hook” for the movie. If there’s one thing that unites everyone in common, it’s disease.

Regarding how the cancer idea originated, Cram stated, “I wanted to come up with one of the worst things I could think of, and see the bonds of friendship, how close they are, and what a friendship could survive, even with the kids.”

It’s weird, one of the first things I thought someone could do was say they had cancer. It was just something that was not representative, but this isn’t just “a bad person.” It’s just a particular case. I wanted to explore what friends can understand and take.

Since she was a little child, Jennifer Cram has longed to create stories, and she has always “secretly” desired to be a director. “I simply believed that I could never accomplish this. Like, no one would let me, that I wouldn’t be allowed,” she remarked. “You are the director of this,” the producer told me when we first met after I finished writing the movie. This film is for you. You are well aware of it. However, even now, it still feels difficult for me to just state, “Yes, I am a writer and a director.” I’m trying to overcome the imposter syndrome, but I still have it to some extent.”

Sick Girl is charming in part because it’s a tale about female friendships seen through the eyes of a character played by Nina Dobrev, whose foolish attempt to reunite with her posse by lying about having cancer has comic side effects. The picture took an odd ten years to make. Regarding the attraction of comedy starring women, Cram stated:

“I think it’s because for a long time we didn’t get to see them. I remember just even growing up, desperately looking for movies like that. Now, we’re getting to see many variations. There are endless ways you can tell these stories, and people want to see them. People are hungry for these kinds of stories.”