Comedy group Broken Lizard goes medieval in their raunchy and hilarious take The hunchback of the Notre Dame. Quasi is set in a 13th century French chateau. The titular protagonist, played by Steve Lemme, bends over, has a “gigantic deposit of fat on his back” and speaks out of the side of his mouth. Quasi is ridiculed daily and cannot walk through the castle without being pelted by poop. He gets less respect in the torture chamber, but has a gift for designing beautiful tension racks.
Quasi’s miserable life becomes infinitely more complicated during a visit from the Pope (Paul Soter) to celebrate King Guy’s (Jay Chandrasekhar) wedding. to Queen Catherine (Adrianne Palicki). The spoiled monarch gets rid of women as soon as they have achieved their goal. He wants to ally with England and break with Vatican interference. The Pope and King Guy despise each other. Quasi gets caught in the middle of the feud when both conspire to have him publicly kill the other. Queen Catherine becomes an unlikely ally and smoldering love interest once she learns of the evil plans.
Kevin Heffernan takes over directing from Jay Chandrasekhar. Broken Lizard’s seventh feature film was first conceived 20 years ago based on a Steve Lemme character. The success of Super troopers 2 enabled them to “get this thing up and running”. The comedians play multiple characters in a cleverer-than-expected story that cuts across religion, classism and sexism. They praise co-star Adrianne Palicki as an “agile comedic actress” who looks “royal”.
Fun with torture
Hulu
MW: I don’t remember ever laughing so hard at torture. How did Broken Lizard come up with the idea of Quasi?
Kevin Heffernan: We worked on the script for years, about 20 years ago. Steve would play this character of a lonely man who was always talking out of his mouth. We always thought it was really funny, so we put it in this movie. It has been on our shelf for a long time. Nobody wanted to make a historical film in which we play all the parts. After Super troopers 2, we got a little momentum and were able to get this thing going. We finally dusted off and did this.
MW: Steve, you’re bent over, you have a giant prosthesis on your back and you talk out of your mouth. How uncomfortable was it playing Quasi?
Steve Lemme: It’s fun playing a lone loser. He’s such a likeable man. People throw things at him. He takes on all these obstacles and villains. But in the end he is a heroic figure. As an actor, it’s cool to do something like that. He’s pretty much the most complex character I’ve ever played (laughs). Basically all I had to do was bend over, hold my mouth to the side, and act like a dog. I do anyway. It’s just another Saturday night for me (laughs).
MW: Talk about casting Adrianne Palicki? She is hilarious as the queen.
Jay Chandrasekhar: We need someone who looks like a queen. She’s just so regal but also so skillful as a comedic actor. We already knew she could make some great drama out of Friday Night Lights. What we really do is fake drama. We need people who can really sell while really getting the jokes. She was lovely to have in the movie.
The full papal dress
MW: What’s the best and worst movie day Quasi?
Erik Stolhanske: The worst day was the performance against Paul as pope (laughs). He was always drilling me.
Paul Soter: Look, having a fart catcher is fantastic. The day I was in full papal robes and regalia and was ushered in by a horse-drawn carriage, I thought it was ridiculous that I was allowed to do this. I could have lived that day over and over again.
Erik Stolhanske: In terms of character, your best day was my worst day. That’s a lot like our lives (laughs).
Quasi premiere on April 20 exclusive on Hulu by Searchlight photos.