When Ilana Glazer set out to make the Hulu film False Positive in 2019, she never expected to be pregnant in two years time.
In fact, in an exclusive interview with E! News, she calls the situation an "absurd cosmic joke," because the movie is a thriller about what it's like to be pregnant as a woman in modern-day America. She remarks, "There were so many times [False Positive] was going to come out and the fact that it came out when I'm like not just pregnant but like, so visibly pregnant is so funny."
But as Ilana points out, the movie is "more about the system" than what it's like to actually be pregnant. In other words, the Broad City actress feels "very, very different" about the experience in comparison to her character Lucy, who is essentially gaslit and traumatized for the duration of the film.
False Positive centers on Lucy and husband Adrian Martin (Justin Theroux), who seek the help of fertility specialist Dr. Hindle (Pierce Brosnan). Dr. Hindle helps them conceive twins after months of trying, but Lucy begins to feel unsettled by the charming doctor and his almost robotic nurses.
For Ilana, it's clear she feels the opposite way, explaining, "I'm realizing how much in my life I approach with fear and then, when you do the thing, it's so different... You know, when something's palpable and tangible, you're like, or I have realized now, I can handle this."
Having carried a growing baby in her belly for months now, Ilana calls pregnancy "spiritual and beautiful and amazing," while also acknowledging how "grotesque and scary" the whole process is.
And she calls it "grotesque and scary" in the nicest possible way, though she and co-star Sophia Bush don't mince their words when it comes to the pressures societies place on women as they prepare to bring new life into the world.
Sophia describes it as such when discussing her character Corgan, who is supposed to be Lucy's best friend. The One Tree Hill actress says she approached her character with "the understanding that sometimes villains come in very kind packaging."
Corgan's duplicitousness rears its ugly head when Lucy tells her that she no longer feels she can trust her husband or doctor. Rather than believe Lucy, Corgan chalks it all up to "baby brain."
"She really is an expression of internalized misogyny," Sophia explains. "She is, you know, on paper, smart and successful and a good friend, but just beneath the surface is always, 'How does your husband feel about that? Have you spoken to him? What did your male doctor say?'"
And in Sophia's mind, women don't have to be pregnant to understand why Lucy feels conflicted every way she turns. The actress says False Positive uses a "human woman as an example of that kind of internal battle we're having—sometimes consciously and often very unconsciously."
And portraying Corgan, Sophia said, "Made me want to vomit."
Ilana felt the same way as they filmed their scenes, describing the process as "really painful," because it's not who Sophia is. "Our relationship is founded upon that support and truth seeking," she tells Sophia. "It felt so wrong to be unseen by you in that way. It was such a strange counterintuitive physiological experience."
Sophia adds, "It feels horrible. But it's the experience for so many women."
Viewers can see False Positive when it premieres Friday, June 25 on Hulu.