The innate affability ofMorris Chestnutoften makes him an easy and expendable mark in horror/thrillers. In last year’sThe Perfect Guy, poor Chestnut (as the epitome of the ‘nice guy’) suffers the most horrific fate. Sure – the boyfriend in these type of films rarely last to the end credits; but typically they do something morally wrong to deserve their untimely demise, a laSingle White Female. But poor Chestnut – he’s just in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong crazy person.
InWhen the Bough Breaks, Chestnut, once again plays the most affable person imaginable – John: a charming, happily married, successful businessman. He and his wife Laura (Regina Hall) live contently in a lavish home, incredibly furnished, in a beautiful rustic neighborhood. The only thing missing: a child of their own. The couple’s unable to conceive and as such, they desperately seek out a surrogate (Jaz Sinclair) to give birth to their one last viable embryo. Of course – they choose the worst possible surrogate imaginable – Anna: a mentally disturbed con artist desperate for the life John and Laura already have.
Chestnut and Hall are both so innately likeable that you can’t help but wonder how anything truly terrible could ever happen to them. No matter what they’ll both end up fine in the end. Right? They’re just so nice… but then you remember poor nice-guy Chestnut’s fate in his last horror/thriller and suddenly the film’s outcome doesn’t seem as straightforward as convention would dictate.
In the interview with Chestnut and Hall, they discuss how they would react differently than their characters inWhen the Bough Breaks, the choices they had trouble justifying and how the film changed from script to production.
Morris Chestnut & Regina Hall:
