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Chris Evans’ Misfire Inspires Iconic Comedy

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Chris Evans’ Misfire Inspires Iconic Comedy


It’s not always the biggest hits that have staying power. Even a box office flop can leave a lasting mark — and for the team behind Edie Arnold Is a Loser, it was one of Chris Evans‘ most iconic misfires that did just that.

Wearing its Scott Pilgrim vs. the World inspiration on its sleeve, especially in its fast-paced, Edgar Wright-style editing, Edie Arnold Is a Loser leans into quick cuts, visual punchlines, and a heightened sense of reality that mirrors its characters’ chaotic energy, giving the comedy a rhythmic, almost musical flow.

The film follows an awkward, directionless young woman named Edie, who finds herself spiraling through a series of misadventures as she tries to figure out her place in the world by starting her own punk band. Blending offbeat humor with stylized editing, the film leans into Edie’s messy journey of self-discovery, where each setback only makes things more unpredictable for her and her fellow “turds.”

ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan spoke to the filmmakers behind Edie Arnold Is a Loser at SXSW in Austin, Texas, last week, where they dished on the inspiration behind the film and how they created something uniquely their own.

Megan Rico: I think that the one that people keep saying that is pretty apparent in the editing style is Edgar Wright, Scott Pilgrim kind of stuff. That was definitely an influence. We just grew up on his stuff, and so it’s in our blood. I think there are also some subtler influences. For me, there’s a movie called Detroit Rock City that’s a big influence. It’s a stylized, weird music comedy. That’s a big one for me.

Kade Atwood: Another big one is anything with the Coen Brothers. Because of the nature of production, we shot in 10 days, we were doing so few takes, or so few setups, and so we were trying to figure out how to cover as much as possible in very few shots. And so, a lot of the time, it was wide lenses, people really close to camera, weird framing. And so that was really fun.

Megan Rico: I hate to be like, “Steven Spielberg was a big influence on this movie,” but in the blocking and everything, we were like, “Okay, how much can we get out of one?” Setting the camera straight, and then having our characters walking, and making the shots within it. So that was a big point.

How Edie Arnold Is A Loser Landed With Its First Audience

Edie Anrold Is A Loser
ScreenRant

ScreenRant: We premiered last night. How did it go?

Megan Rico: People were laughing. And it’s a comedy, so we want them to laugh. I think it went well. It seems like it went pretty well.

ScreenRant: Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is a pretty new experience for you guys. Just tell me a little bit about sitting with an audience, the big premiere, what did you expect?

Adi Madden Cabrera: It’s a completely new experience. So I honestly didn’t really have any expectations because I just had no idea what to expect. But it was so cool. Getting to sit with an audience, and everyone was laughing, people seemed to really love it. And a lot of people told me afterward that they did. So I think it was just the best it could have gone.

McKenna Tuckett: When the trailer started, Adi and I were like, “This is a real theater. That’s me!” It was crazy. It was so cool.

Kade Atwood: Honestly, this is kind of crazy, doing press. This is our first time, and this whole experience is a bit overwhelming, but it’s also so exciting to be participating in all these things that we’ve been following for so long.

Megan Rico: Also, it’s just really nice to see the movie. It’s the biggest and the loudest that we’ve seen the movie, and it was just such a joy to be like, “Oh, yes, I knew it was going to be good and big and loud.”

ScreenRant: People are going to be seeing this for the first time. So just tell me a little bit about who the characters are and what their relationship is.

Adi Madden Cabrera: I play Edie, the protagonist in the film, and she is just like a shy, timid girl who goes to Catholic school, and her best friend…

McKenna Tuckett: Frances. Frances is this really big, loud character. She’s almost like if Miss Piggy and Animal were in a blender. That’s kind of her energy. And the two of them navigate high school together. Edie’s very influenced by her mother. She really wants to find a belonging with the popular kids. Frances has kind of taken the other route of like, “Well, if you’re not going to like me, I guess I’ll go for it.” And together, they make a punk band.

Adi Madden Cabrera: They play in their church, so Frances plays the organ. Edie plays the drums, sort of. Percussion. Edie has a passion for her music, and Frances pushes her to explore it more in a genre that she actually likes.

McKenna Tuckett: Through trials and tribulations and friendship and nuns.

ScreenRant: There’s also a punk influence here. Tell me a little bit about that. We are at SXSW where those things are intersecting, which must feel pretty cool to have it here. Tell me some of those punk influences that are in the film.

Megan Rico: It was huge that we were able to get music by X-Ray Spex. It’s a band that is just legendary. We knew that if we were going to do a movie that had any sort of punk sensibility, we wanted to feel authentic, and we wanted to just showcase music that’s really part of the genre in a very real way. And so we reached out to the daughter of the lead singer of X-Ray Spex, and she loved the movie, and she was like, “Yes, you can use the songs.” So that was a big one for us. We love punk music. We feel that rowdy, DIY ethos is really important to finding yourself when you’re young, but then, also, finding your voice as an artist.

Kade Atwood: It also crossed over into the making of the movie because it was so low budget and so scrappy and DIY, we really embraced the punk nature. That comes across on screen in a way that, I don’t know, like it was necessarily intentional, but as it’s coming together, it felt like a punk movie.

ScreenRant: The little animations are so cool, too.

Kade Atwood: Megan hand-drew all of those. Frame by frame, she spent months doing it.

Megan Rico: My eyes were going cross-eyed by the end. I was just like, on my iPad for months, scribbling it.

ScreenRant: Is there anything about the film I have not touched on that you want to stress or express to the audience before they see it?

Megan Rico: Something that’s really exciting for us is that, because it’s a movie about high schoolers, we wanted everyone to look like high schoolers. So we ended up casting a bunch of first-time actors. This is the first credit for both of our leads. This is Adi’s first time in front of a camera, ever. It was just such a joy to watch them grow and gain confidence. They really settle into their performances; their chemistry is so good. We were just so impressed with them.

Kade Atwood: The audition process was really fun because we got Adi’s tape, and it was good, and we’re like, “Well, let’s bring her in for a callback.” And then throughout the day, we’re putting her with different people, trying her in different roles, and you could see her confidence grow more and more. She settled into the role, and it was just a very cool experience to see. Just in the matter of a day, she really settled in, and she’s incredible in the film.

Megan Rico: Whereas McKenna came in day one and was like, “What’s up, I’m Frances.” We had a storyboard where Frances was in that pose that no one had seen, and she immediately took that in a pew, and Kade and I were like starstruck. We were like, “She’s doing the thing!”

ScreenRant: So, being that this is your first film, what did the experience teach you about what you want to do next? You have a dream manifestation you want to put out there?

McKenna Tuckett: Genuinely, the environment that Kade and Megan made was so wonderful and welcoming. I remember we did a little Zoom call before we started our first rehearsal, and Megan was like, “Okay, so when you get there, you’re going to want to make sure you pack some snacks.” They really initially guided us and held our hands. Then, as we went for it, we built confidence, and it really just solidified that this is what I want to do. I haven’t felt as happy or fulfilled as being on the set with everyone, working with everyone, and acting.

Adi Madden Cabrera: Same for me. It truly felt like magic. I dreamed of being an actor as a little kid, like most little kids do, and it felt so unattainable. And then being on the set, it’s like, “Oh yeah, I can do this, and also, this is why people do this, and this is why people love this.” It was just like truly the perfect first experience, I think ever.

ScreenRant: What do you believe is the best movie soundtrack of all time?

Megan Rico: My first thought was the Harold and Maude soundtrack. It’s not a fun soundtrack at all. It’s all Cat Stevens, but that was really good. I recommend it. Also, Michael, the movie where John Travolta plays an angel — it’s a good soundtrack.

Kade Atwood: For me, honestly, it’s probably Forrest Gump. That soundtrack was pivotal for me. I saw it as a kid, growing up, on TV. It was on television all the time. And that was like my introduction to music from the ’60s and ’70s, and it was very influential in my musical upbringing.

McKenna Tuckett: The Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack’s really good. It was a really good introduction for that era of music. I felt like that kind of music was getting into obscurity, like a smidge. And then with Guardians, it was like, “No, this stuff rocks. Come back.”

Adi Madden Cabrera: It’s called The Pirates! Band of Misfits, and it’s a little claymation film about pirates, and that soundtrack is so good. I’m obsessed with that movie, and nobody knows about it.

Edie Arnold Is a Loser had its world premiere at SXSW on March 13.



Release Date

March 13, 2026

Runtime

73 minutes

Director

Kade Atwood, Megan Rico

Writers

Megan Rico

Producers

Bryson Alejandro


Cast

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Adi Madden Cabrera

    Edie Arnold

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Cherish Rodriguez

    Luanne Arnold

  • Cast Placeholder Image

  • Cast Placeholder Image


Be sure to dive into some of ScreenRant‘s other SXSW coverage with:



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