One for Them, One for Her

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It’s unusual for a director to release two films in a single year, and even rarer for both to come out on the same day. But that’s exactly what Canadian director Chandler Levack did last Friday with a pair of new movies. Her second film, Mile End Kicks, continues the personal storytelling of her 2022 debut, I Like Movies. It stars Barbie Ferreira as a young music critic attempting to write a book about Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill while navigating the Montreal music scene around 2011 – the same scene that launched artists like Grimes and Mac DeMarco. (Levack playfully suggests the film could have been titled I Like Music.) The movie is filled with accurate and humorous details of the time, like a character buying Tom’s shoes to impress someone, a mechanical vape pen, and parties featuring a band called Bone Patrol.

Just as her Canadian romantic comedy hit cinemas, director Levack’s American college comedy, Roommates, became available on Netflix. The film, executive produced by Adam Sandler, features his daughter, Sadie Sandler (19), as a shy freshman who gets into a hilarious rivalry with her wild roommate (Chloe East). It has all the hallmarks of a Happy Madison production – lots of slapstick comedy (including a scene with Carol Kane and a turkey!), some crude humor, and a quick appearance by Steve Buscemi. Written by Jimmy Fowlie and Ceara O’Sullivan, the team behind a Saturday Night Live sketch, the film easily appeals to Gen-Z audiences with a large cast that includes Nick Kroll, Natasha Lyonne, Sarah Sherman, Ivy Wolk, and Megan Thee Stallion. Levack describes the experience as feeling like she’d entered a completely different world.

I began writing the screenplay for Mile End Kicks in November 2015. A friend needed a cat-sitter while on his honeymoon, and I suddenly had the time and freedom to focus on a creative project. I decided to completely disconnect from work and social media and just try writing a movie. That’s how the idea for Mile End Kicks came about. I was inspired by films I really enjoyed, like Frances Ha, Dazed and Confused, Bridget Jones’s Diary, and Almost Famous. I wanted to combine the feel of all those movies into one.

Many recent romantic comedies try to imitate the beloved films of the 1990s, but often rely too heavily on referencing them. People enjoy those familiar rom-com moments – the charming first meetings, the frantic airport chases, and the declarations of love that come at the worst possible time. While writing, I studied all my favorite rom-coms, intentionally including those classic elements. However, as I revised the script, it started to feel more natural. I genuinely love those tropes, especially when someone confesses their feelings at a terrible moment and the other person isn’t ready. I took that idea and added a personal twist: what if it happened while the character was holding an unusual sex toy I’d reviewed years ago? The writing process was about blending those personal experiences and inside jokes with the plot of Bridget Jones’s Diary.

I wanted to remember what it felt like to be young and starting out in music journalism. I was around 20, writing for Spin and getting to interview artists like Wayne Coyne and Sharon Jones. It was a strange experience – I had a professional role with some authority, but I also felt incredibly insecure and just wanted to be accepted. The most honest moment in the film, to me, is seeing a group of guys, all dressed similarly in band shirts, having a conversation and intentionally excluding someone. I experienced that firsthand at another publication – guys would physically turn away from me, and I’d try to contribute, saying, ‘I know my Hüsker Dü!’ I even remember once misnaming an album, and the guy who corrected me seemed to really enjoy pointing out my mistake – it was almost cruel.

You know, when I first started working on this film back in 2015, I never imagined it would become a period piece! It ended up taking a full ten years to bring to life. My producer, Matt Miller – he did Nirvanna the Band the Show – and his company, Zapruder Films, picked up the script in 2016. They actually held a contest for Canadian female screenwriters, and I was lucky enough to win! They gave me $12,000 Canadian – honestly, it was the most money I’d ever had – to really develop it. I spent two years, working with the amazing Jill Golick as my story editor, writing and rewriting until I felt it was right. Then, in 2018, we tried to get funding through Telefilm – around a million dollars – but nobody would even read the script, let alone commit. Getting actors on board was just as tough. Everyone kept telling me I’d never be able to film it in Montreal, that I needed to move production to Sudbury and use a Northern Ontario tax credit to pretend it was Montreal. It was honestly incredibly disheartening.

Trying to transform Sudbury into a city like Montreal would have been incredibly costly. I realized we’d likely use our entire tax budget just to renovate a single street. I was really driven to make a film – I’d watch videos of Greta Gerwig directing Lady Bird and be moved to tears. Matt Miller advised me to create a smaller film first, suggesting we could tackle the more ambitious project if that one succeeded. That’s how I ended up applying to Telefilm’s Talent to Watch program, which led to I Like Movies. I’m grateful that Matt Miller and Matt Johnson kept their ten-year commitment to me – they weren’t obligated to, and it took a long time for this film to finally come together.

It’s interesting that this movie is being released now, with Gen-Z’s current fascination with the “indie sleaze” aesthetic. Seeing my youth defined on TikTok as “indie sleaze” is strange, but it’s cool that this generation is curious about what millennials experienced. A lot of young people have told me the film feels very “millennial-optimistic,” reminiscent of the post-Obama era, which is funny to me. I’m happy they’re engaging with it, especially since Barbie Ferreira was such a big star on Tumblr. What seems to really resonate with them is that this period felt like the last moment before everything became so focused on being online. People just experienced things—you didn’t need to document it for social media. Now, everything feels self-aware and we’re always partially distracted by our phones.

We’re also releasing my other film, Roommates, now. It’s quite a leap from my smaller indie film to a big Netflix comedy with Adam Sandler! It happened while I was editing Mile End Kicks and feeling a bit frustrated with getting it finished. I got a call from my agents asking who I’d always dreamed of working with, and I said Adam Sandler. Turns out he’d seen my film I Like Movies and really enjoyed it, and he had a project he thought I’d be a good fit for. They told me to read the script that night and be ready for a call from him – even an unknown number! I barely slept. The next morning, I got a call from an L.A. number, and I was so excited I was practically in a daze. I ended up talking to Adam for an hour and a half, and two days later, I was flying to Beverly Hills to pitch the movie to Netflix. I scrambled to put together a visual presentation in just one day. Throughout the entire preparation process, I was still finishing Mile End Kicks – I’d be scouting locations in a fraternity house one day and then trying to find a Wi-Fi signal in someone’s bedroom to approve visual effects shots. It’s actually perfect that both movies are coming out on the same day, because I essentially finished them around the same time.

The film features large parties, elaborate stunts involving ropes and courses, and even a fire. As an indie filmmaker, making a movie of this size presented a lot of unexpected difficulties. I was completely unprepared for the sheer scale of it – all the set pieces, stunts, special effects, and famous actors. Getting the job felt so strange, like I’d been transported to another reality. It was as if I went from working in the world of small Canadian films to suddenly being in this completely different, much bigger one. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel like I didn’t belong. I figured I was probably in a coma, lying in a hospital bed, so I didn’t need to worry about directing these crazy scenes – it didn’t feel like my real life. That thought actually helped me cope.

Working with Adam Sandler is unique because he’s truly the driving creative force behind his films. He has complete control, which means if he believes in a project, he’ll make it a reality. People often assume his Happy Madison productions are casual and easygoing – like a fun trip to Hawaii with the cast – but he’s actually deeply involved in every detail, obsessing over making every joke land perfectly. We’ve even debated single frames of footage! He has an incredible eye for visual storytelling, rhythm, and timing, almost composing scenes like a piece of music. He envisions the entire film in his head, and his passion for comedy and collaboration is innate. He genuinely wants to create art that resonates with everyone, especially his daughters, and make films they can connect with. It’s incredibly refreshing to work with someone who truly appreciates and recognizes female comedic talent.

Did working with Adam Sandler’s daughter, Sadie, add extra pressure to the film? I definitely felt for Sadie, as she was finishing college at NYU when she suddenly became the lead in a big-budget movie. The film really relied on her – she’s in almost every scene and carries the story. She made it look effortless, even though she was battling bronchitis while filming the karaoke scene and had to repeatedly sing “Mr. Brightside.” Honestly, if I were in her shoes, I wouldn’t have been nearly as professional, kind, and dedicated as she was that day.

What specifically about Adam Sandler’s work made you eager to collaborate with him? For many of us, Sandler’s films define our childhoods – I still find myself constantly quoting lines from movies like Billy Madison and The Wedding Singer. His performance in Punch-Drunk Love was incredibly impactful for me as a teenager, and our film, I Like Movies, is really a tribute to that movie. It’s also notable that his first film was directed by a woman, Tamra Davis. He’s one of the few men in his position who actively seeks to create comedic roles for women and support up-and-coming female directors. In the 80s and 90s, directors like Penny Marshall, Amy Heckerling, and Penelope Spheeris frequently helmed major comedies, but that opportunity has largely disappeared. It’s rare for women to get the chance to direct films with budgets over $10 million, especially comedies.

It was a big shift, honestly. My first two films were so deeply personal – I’d spent years writing them, and I felt like I knew every single detail, every nuance. I had a very clear vision for how everything should look and feel. But with Roommates, it was the first time I really had to learn how to truly collaborate. Instead of pushing my own ideas so strongly, it became about building something together – almost like an improv session where we all contributed to a shared vision. It really felt like a project born from the combined energies of everyone involved, a true ‘Chandler-Sandler baby,’ if that makes sense!

You just had the premiere for Roommates in L.A. How was that?

My friends all gathered at my place, and I splurged on a limo. This might be my only chance to have a film screened at the Egyptian Theatre, and I wanted to make it a really special night, like something out of the show Entourage. It was amazing to see such a diverse and fun group of people all together – the highlight was definitely getting a hug from Laura Dern, which made my night!

What’s it like to be hugged by Laura Dern? It’s like being bathed in warm sunshine, with a touch of the mysterious and otherworldly – almost like a kiss from the iconic director David Lynch himself.

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2026-04-23 00:57