‘Modern Love’: Bridget Everett Says A Best Friend Can Be Your Greatest Love
🤖 AI Summary
Overview
This episode explores the profound significance of friendships as central relationships in our lives, featuring Bridget Everett, star of the HBO series Somebody Somewhere. Everett discusses the show's focus on platonic love, her personal experiences with self-worth and friendship, and reads Victor Lodato's essay, When Your Greatest Romance Is a Friendship,
which celebrates the transformative power of deep, non-romantic connections.
Notable Quotes
- You can get swept off your feet by a friend... you are in love with them in some degree.
– Bridget Everett, on redefining love through friendship.
- Some of the greatest romances of my life have been friendships.
– Victor Lodato, as read by Bridget Everett.
- We don’t always have time. So, have the gin and tonic while you can.
– Bridget Everett, reflecting on the urgency of connection.
🎭 The Power of Friendship in 'Somebody Somewhere'
- Bridget Everett highlights how the show centers on the friendship between Sam (her character) and Joel, portraying it as a primary relationship rather than a subplot.
- Everett emphasizes the importance of friendships being as transformative and fulfilling as romantic relationships.
- The show challenges societal norms by presenting a friendship as the greatest love story
of Sam's life.
🎤 Art Imitating Life: Bridget Everett’s Personal Journey
- Everett shares her struggles with self-worth and how her character Sam’s growth mirrors her own.
- She reflects on the mantra No New People
(NNP) from the show, revealing her own efforts to open up to new connections despite social anxiety.
- The theme of growth against all odds
resonates deeply with Everett, both in her personal life and in the show’s narrative.
📖 Victor Lodato’s Essay: A Friendship as a Love Story
- Everett reads Lodato’s essay about his deep, platonic bond with an older woman named Austin, which defied societal expectations of friendship.
- The essay celebrates the intimacy, joy, and mutual support found in their connection, challenging the idea that love must be romantic to be profound.
- Everett relates to the essay’s themes, expressing a longing for a similarly central friendship in her own life.
💡 Redefining Love and Friendship
- Everett and Anna Martin discuss the idea of using romance
to describe friendships, advocating for a broader understanding of love.
- They explore the challenges of maintaining close friendships in adulthood, where romantic relationships often take precedence.
- Everett underscores the importance of friends affirming each other’s value, saying, It’s really good for them to let you know you matter.
🎶 Music and Connection
- Everett performs a song from Somebody Somewhere, showcasing how music becomes a medium for expressing love and connection in the show.
- The song’s lyrics reflect the layered relationships in the series, blending romantic and platonic love.
AI-generated content may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon as a sole source of truth.
📋 Episode Description
Stories of romantic love are everywhere, but the actor, singer and comedian Bridget Everett says that friendships deserve our attention, too. Onscreen and in everyday life.
Last Fall, Everett appeared on Modern Love to talk about her HBO Original series “Somebody Somewhere,” which centers on a close friendship. Now she’s nominated for an Emmy Award for writing the show, along with Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen.
In “Somebody Somewhere,” Everett stars as Sam, a woman struggling with grief and self-doubt after losing her sister. As Sam grows closer to her friend Joel — played by Jeff Hiller, an Outstanding Supporting Actor nominee — the future starts to look more bearable.
In this episode of Modern Love, Everett tells Anna Martin why she’s looking for a friendship like the one Sam and Joel have on the show. She also reads a Modern Love essay called “When Your Greatest Romance Is a Friendship,” by Victor Lodato. Lodato was in his 40s when he fell into a platonic life partnership with an artist in her 80s, who lived across the street.
In April 2024, Lodato published “Honey,” a novel inspired by Austin Brayfield, the friend he wrote about in his essay.
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