Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow are reprising their roles from Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion for the sequel.
The duo was at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in Anaheim, California, to preview Romy and Michele 2, which they both executive produce.
With the sequel premiering 30 years after the original was released, Sorvino explained why she thinks the comedy has withstood the test of time.
“People tell me that it means a lot to them. Fans tell me that it’s their comfort movie, or it was the movie that made them feel okay about being themselves in high school, or that it celebrates the love of their best friend,” Sorvino told Deadline at D23. “They relate to the relationship that Lisa and I have, and some people love the fashion, and some people love the dancing, and they’re very human.”
Despite Romy and Michele being “wackadoodles,” as Sorvino described the fictional characters, she says that the duo are “also very relatable in some core way,” adding, “I felt like in the first one, we’re sort of nerd underdog heroes, like when we finally get to have our day in court against the people who’ve tortured us — [the] bullies. Underneath our weird affects and our ridiculous ideas, there are real beating hearts, and I think people connect to them.”
Almost three decades later, Sorvino and Kudrow are reprising their roles in what is a reunion to the cast as well. Sorvino says she stayed in touch with Kudrow over the years and had campaigned alongside her to make the sequel a reality.
“We’ve been in pretty constant contact throughout the years, but it’s a joy to play with her again,” Sorvino said of working with Kudrow on the sequel. “She’s such a great acting partner and just a wonderful person.”
Sorvino said it was great to work with her co-stars like Camryn Manheim, Alan Cummings, Janeane Garofalo and Julia Campbell, adding, “They were all so much fun to see again and to get to know them a little better.”
“I spent almost all of my time with Lisa in the first one, and this time I was like, ‘Wow, Janeane is so great.’ She’s so warm and funny. I feel like in the first one I was so intimidated by her, like Romy was intimidated by Heather Mooney [Garofalo’s character]. And then we have some new friends who came to play: Rob Huebel and Keegan-Michael Key, and they’re so funny. The duo of them together — they are side-splittingly funny.”
Watch Sorvino’s interview in the videos below.
