Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with The Get Together’s Alejandro Rose-Garcia and Courtney Parchman

Alejandro Rose-Garcia and Courtney Parchman are two of the stars of the feel-good comedy The Get Together. The hilarious coming-of-age film centers around the lives of four twenty-somethings whose lives intertwine over the course of a Friday night house party.

Alejandro’s character, Caleb, is a directionless musician whose life unravels after losing the love of his life. But when he bumps into her at a party, he has a second chance at love.

Courtney’s character, August, is a recent college graduate who is struggling to find her place in a new town and learns that her roommate and only friend has different plans for the future that doesn’t include her.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Alejandro and Courtney about The Get Together, what attracted each of them to the project, and they share what they hope audiences take away.

PC: Can you tell us about The Get Together?
Alejandro: It’s a horror/sci-fi movie…I’m kidding. [laughs] It’s a coming-of-age movie. It’s about four different characters whose nights intersect. They’re all in different parts of their lives. They’re all trying to reconcile, have fun, and grow up.

PC: What was it about this particular script that stood out to each of you?
Courtney: Oh God. The script is so well written. You feel for the characters. You want to fight for them, tell their stories, and make it feel as real as possible. We’ve all felt what they feel at times. I really liked it.

Alejandro: I felt like I saw a bit of myself in all of the characters. It happens to take place in Austin, where I’m from. I felt like I had been to that party many times over. I immediately was like, “Oh man, I do know what this is like.” It was fun. The beats were great. I found myself imagining everything the moment I read it and laughing. It was great.

PC: Like you were just saying, this film is a love letter to Austin. Alejandro, you grew up in Austin. What impact has that city had on your career as both an actor and a musician?
Alejandro: It’s been integral to my career. We were talking to someone earlier who was saying how this movie is in the tradition of [Richard] Linklater, stuff like Slacker and Dazed and Confused. Austin is a town that maybe parties past its prime. That’s what this movie is about. It’s the party that never ends. Austin has that in spades.

I moved from Austin when I was seventeen or eighteen. I went to chase my dreams in Hollywood, where Courtney is now the reigning queen. When I came back, I felt what these characters feel. This movie has characters that leave town and come back, and they feel a little alienated when they do.

Austin also has a nickname. A lot of people refer to it as “The Velvet Rut” because it’s wonderful to hang out there, and it’s very easy to not leave. That’s in the movie too. This aspect of the city is a secret character in the film.

PC: Courtney, this is your first feature film. Did anything surprise you about the experience? What was the biggest takeaway for you?
Courtney: It was my first time acting, my first time reading a script. It was a lot of firsts. I think I surprised myself a few times with how passionate I was. I thought if my character was upset, I would be like, “Okay. I’ll play upset.” But when you’re in the moment, you really do get upset. [laughs] I think I was surprised by how real it all feels. I can only imagine what filming a horror movie would be like.

PC: There are so many comedic moments between your two characters. How did you both approach that dynamic? How much of those scenes was improvised?
Alejandro: There was a fair amount of improv in there. The beats were pretty solid. But Will [Bakke] had that same approach that a lot of directors use. We would go with the script, and then we would do a few takes or as many as we wanted that were just us being absolutely ridiculous. We threw a lot of ham at the wall, and some of it stuck. Courtney and I are both in the school of hamming it up.

Courtney: It was so fun. We would get a safety shot, and then they’d be like, “All right. Just have fun. Play with it in this direction.” It was so much fun.

PC: The film does a beautiful job striking a balance between comedy and drama, especially with your two characters. For you both as actors, is one more challenging than the other?
Alejandro: Comedy’s hard as Courtney knows.

Courtney: Acting-wise, I think comedy is easier.

Alejandro: No way!

Courtney: Wait…

Alejandro: You think so?

Courtney: What do I think about this?

Alejandro: Did you change your answer midway through? See, that’s comedy. You can’t write this.

Courtney: I don’t know. I think comedy is easier to me, but drama is more fun to me.

Alejandro: They’re both hard, honestly. It’s not easy to be honest about either. It can be difficult to play something for laughs as opposed to having it just naturally be funny. The script was very funny though so that was definitely a help. But sometimes it was like, “Man, am I doing this right?” The beats are crucial. Comedy can be very difficult.

PC: The two of you have so many standout moments throughout the film. Is there a particular scene that you’re really excited for your fans to see?
Courtney: All of August’s sad moments because I feel like my followers have only ever seen me really happy. I’m excited for them to see this other person.

Alejandro: I think the last scene that we shot, breaking our little barriers and talking to each other, is great. That’s one I’m excited to have other people see.

PC: What do you hope audiences take away? Has that changed given the year we’ve had?
Alejandro: I hope that people are comforted by it. As we’re getting back into whatever regular life is, there are going to be some weird growing pains. We’re turning back into our old selves, or maybe some people have already outgrown stuff through this really difficult time. It’s nice when you realize that everybody goes through this. It doesn’t matter what age you are or your situation. There are times in our lives where we’ll all be like, “Am I still doing this?”

Courtney: I hope they feel comfort. People are having anxiety about feeling left out or not knowing if they’re doing the right things. It’s been heightened because we’ve felt so alone. I feel like people are going to be in their heads thinking, “This is crazy that I’m feeling this way.” I hope that people who see the movie realize, “Oh, everyone feels this way. Everyone has these questions.”

PC: The film is broken up into three parts. Each represents a different stage in your twenties. Courtney, I know you’re still in your twenties. But if you had to summarize your twenties in one sentence, what would it be?
Alejandro: Chasing my own tail.

Courtney: I would say a hell of a lot of growing. It’s so weird because when I filmed the movie, I was literally August—emotionally, everything. But now that we’re revising everything, I’m like, “Oh, I feel a little bit more like Betsy a little bit more now.” It’s so interesting.

Make sure to follow Alejandro and Courtney, and check out The Get Together today.