The past few years have been a time for rising comediennes: Melissa McCarthy, Maya Rudolph, Sandra Bullock’s return to comedic excellence, and, of course, Kristen Wiig. Really ever since Bridesmaids, we’ve heard about Wiig starring in one film or another. She had a prime part in Despicable Me 2, will show up in Anchorman: The Legend Continues, and hits TIFF with Hateship Loveship. Her next film will be Welcome To Me, and she’s got one hell of a cast joining her.
Today we’re hearing that Welcome To Me has cast Joan Cusack, James Marsden, Alan Tudyk and Wes Bentley alongside Kristen Wiig. Wiig will play Alice, a woman with borderline personality disorder, who wins the lottery and uses the money to set up a public access show to talk about her life. She begins alienating her friends and family in her pursuit to become a little famous. Shira Piven directs a script by Eliot Laurence, with Will Ferrell and Adam McKay producing. The Will Ferrell factory really does keep it all in the family.
Welcome To Me sounds like perfect fodder for Wiig – comedy with an edge of drama, and an excellent cast backing her up. All the new cast members have long comedic histories. Piven and Laurence are a little more iffy, based on their respective filmographies. Piven has only directed a few films, two of them documentaries, and Laurence’s main claim to fame is as a writer and producer on The Big Gay Sketch Show. But with Ferrell and McKay producing, and Wiig’s always excellent comedic timing, I think that we can have high hopes for this one.
Welcome To Me has just started production in California. We’ll be able to catch Kristen Wiig next in Hateship Loveship, alongside Guy Pearce.
How does Welcome To Me sound to you? Let us know in the comments.