Jenny Slate on Landline, Cheating, and Her '90s Crush

"Infidelity is not freedom. It's a momentary respite from stressors that are going to come back."

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In her new movie Landline, Jenny Slate plays Dana, a woman engaged to her live-in boyfriend Ben. She's not totally sure about the relationship, or herself, so she acts out by cheating. Though she doesn't always like Dana's choices, Slate imbues her performance with compassion and vibrancy. Before the night of Landline's premiere in LA, Slate spoke about relationships, infidelity, and her favorite '90s heartthrob.

How would you describe Dana and Ben's relationship at the start of the movie?

Dana and Ben are in a long-term relationship. They've probably been together since college and they really are best friends. They really do have a good relationship. I think they have a good sex life. It's probably just become a bit traditional and a bit repetitive. I think they know each other really well but are hitting that point where they're 30, they are starting to change, and for Dana, I think she's looking at Ben wondering if he will still kind of quote-unquote “go” with her. If he will match with her while she tries to change. She's unsure of whether or not he will accept her. I think for a while, something's been brewing. Things are just a little bit too staid. Things are just a little bit too predictable. And I think when Dana runs into her college crush at a party that she kinda doesn't wanna be at, and he sees her in a way that she remembers being seen before — he makes her feel new again, he makes her feel exciting — that that starts to shine a light on the more flat aspects of her relationship.

Have you ever been in a relationship like that, where it's maybe a little too comfortable?

I like comfort. I'm also not really a person that stands for that. I ask questions. When I want something, I ask for it. When we were making this movie, I was getting divorced, and even though my divorce was amicable, I would attribute a lot of that split-up to the simple thing of people growing apart and not matching up anymore. That is what Dana is dealing with. Are we growing apart? Is that bad? Or are we just growing and can we grow together? Sometimes you can, and sometimes you can't.

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What I also appreciated about the movie was that its portrayal of infidelity felt realistic. It wasn't like Unfaithful where somebody dies.

Right. I think it's a pretty honest thing. “This is awkward. Where do we do this?” It's the '90s. There are no cell phones, so every time they're going to go do it, they are doing it on purpose. They have preplanned it. You have to sit with that really uncomfortable, sickening feeling, that you are doing something dishonest. I think Dana doesn't have the stomach for it. It's not her style. But she wants new experiences. That's the starting point for why she breaks the boundaries of her relationship. She's not confident enough in her relationship to believe that newness can happen within it. While her infidelity isn't permissible, it's understandable. It's a human mistake. I like that she isn't denigrated into some sort of "bad" woman or into a hero or any sort of majorly simplified character in that way. I like that, in the end, you see her as someone who has made a mistake, who's learned from it, and who now knows that it's not worth it to be in a partnership if she is not making choices and reassessing those choices and choosing again all the time.


Has your view on infidelity changed as you've gotten older?

I understand it. It's certainly not something that I want to have happen to me. And I'm sure that if I had a partner and that partner cheated on me, that I would be devastated if we were in a committed, monogamous relationship. So of course, it's a devastating thing. But I also think, again, while it's reckless and hurtful, it's not usually connected to that person has somehow become evil. It's usually connected to weakness and dissatisfaction, and that's really sad. It's sad for everyone. I think, for Dana, the lesson that she learned is that she doesn't feel whole. She doesn't feel whole in the relationship. She doesn't feel wholly seen. Instead, she chooses to lead an even more fragmented existence and she realizes that, although it raises interesting questions, and playful moments about her and her identity, that it's not sustainable. Cheating is not freedom. Infidelity is not freedom. It's a momentary respite from stressors that are going to come back.


Who was your '90s crush?

My no. 1 '90s crush was Leonardo DiCaprio. I had 27 pictures of him on my wall. And I, like, wanted more, but the internet didn't exist then.

Did you write him fan mail?

No. I did not. I'm not that kind of gal. I'm just a voyeur. Also, I remember a lot of my friends collected Absolut ads. I remember going through magazines hoping for either Absolut ads or pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio. My parents would find out that his photo was in Vanity Fair or whatever and buy me the magazine.

So have you met him?

No. I have never met him.

Do you wish to?

Um, I dunno. Would I like to work with him, as an actor? Yeah. I think he's a great actor. But, uh, I have a problem with sort of meeting my—


Yeah. I'm not the person that likes to do that. I like to keep my distance.

You worked with [Landline director] Gillian Robespierre on Obvious Child. How did that movie change your life?

Obvious Child was the first leading role I ever had in a movie and I was lucky enough that that movie aligned with my personal belief system. It was a real feminist piece of work. It changed my life because I got to prove to myself that I'm a legitimate actress and that I have a range that I want to explore, and I got to show that to people. It did open me up to new jobs and it gave me a real sense of belonging in a community that I wanted to be a part of. It changed me in terms of being an activist because I think it really cemented within me this belief that, for me, the way that I will be in my world is through a combination of art and activism.

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