Local 'SNL' geeks inspire 'Sisters'
By Hal Boedeker
Tina Fey, left, and Amy Poehler are the title characters in "Sisters," opening Dec. 18. The film is set in Orlando. (K.C. Bailey)
Patti DeLaCruz wants everyone to know that Tina Fey's character in "Sisters" is based very loosely on her. Very loosely. Got it?
"She has way more fun than I ever had in my life," said DeLaCruz, 55, of Altamonte Springs. "My sister dreamed up this character. When did I do that?"
Her sister is Paula Pell, 52, who wrote the movie, grew up in Central Florida and is played by Amy Poehler. The movie's plot: When their parents sell the family home, two sisters travel home to Orlando to clean out their room.
When "Sisters" premieres Tuesday in New York, DeLaCruz will be there with her mom and dad (who still live in Altamonte Springs), her husband and their three children to support Pell.
"It means the world to me that my sister and the rest of my family can watch and celebrate together this movie about what home and family mean. It's priceless to me," Pell wrote in an email.
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"It's pretty cool," said DeLaCruz, senior director of program development for Girl Scouts of Citrus. "We're the real sisters. We have to have some red-carpet time with Tina and Amy. I've known them for years. I knew them before they were famous."
Pell came home last year to host the Women of Distinction Awards Gala, the premier fundraiser for Girl Scouts of Citrus. DeLaCruz visited the "Sisters" set as filming ended in August 2014 after a quick shoot in New York state.
"We had a lot of time issues," Pell said. "To bring the entire cast down here and do it was just not doable in the time that Tina and Amy could actually be in it."
DeLaCruz also saw "Sisters," which Fey produced, before the last edit. "It's going to be hilarious," she promises. "It's fun, touching."
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She is the No. 1 fan of Pell, who has been at "Saturday Night Live" for 20 years. She was a writer and head writer and now serves as a consultant. Pell will help write the "SNL" episode hosted by Fey and Poehler on Dec. 19, the day after "Sisters" opens.
"I'm so proud of her," DeLaCruz said. "We look at each other and say: Is this really happening? We were 'SNL' geeks growing up."
Pell graduated from Lyman High School in Seminole County and what is now Seminole State College. She originated Pamilia Perkins from the Adventurers Club at Disney's Pleasure Island and was the organ-playing Bingo Lady in Florida Lottery commercials.
She was working at Universal Studios Florida when "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels offered her a writing job in 1995. Pell has written for the Oscars, was a creator on the web series "Hudson Valley Ballers" and shared an Emmy for writing "SNL."
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On "SNL," Pell said she learned to work quickly, write from her life experience and move on, because every week is a different show and there's no time for brooding. Yet "Sisters" took almost four years to reach the screen.
Pell said she was "super grateful, in a surreal fog" before the premiere. "It's so amazing to finally see it coming out. You get to a point in the lengthy process where you forget that is the end goal."
Oscar-winner Dianne Wiest and James Brolin play the parents in "Sisters." The cast includes "SNL" favorites Kate McKinnon, Maya Rudolph and Rachel Dratch.
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"I've always wanted to write a screenplay," Pell said. "To get it made was even harder, and to know we had a great time doing it is its own victory."
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She described the film's theme as "all about what home means and whether home is something in a building and can be taken away from you or something you carry with you."
DeLaCruz is ready with a rave review for her sister. "To stay as grounded as she is — she's still Paula and hasn't bought into the Hollywood thing," she said. "She has definitely hit her stride. She has made so many people famous. Now she's getting a piece of it. Pretty cool."
hboedeker@orlandosentinel.com
Hal Boedeker
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