“You’ve got to go for a Cheesy Gordita Crunch,” says Dave Chernin as he browses the options on the digital kiosk at a Taco Bell Cantina in Chelsea. “I’ll order one for you too,” he assures John Chernin, his older brother (of 15 months) and writing and directing partner.
The siblings are in New York City to promote “Incoming,” a high school comedy about four nerdy friends that is a raunchy throwback to films — like “Superbad” and “American Pie” — that topped the box office before superhero films hit Hollywood takeovers. And yes, the Chernins know there’s more authentic Mexican food nearby, but we’re thinking of outside the bun as an homage to a scandalous scene in their R-rated movie. It’s one in which two freshmen (Ramon Reed and Raphael Alejandro) take a drunk older classmate (Loren Gray) on a chalupa run. Considering that their fast food excursion ends with explosive diarrhea and a Tesla interior in dire need of a deep cleaning, “Incoming” probably won’t be part of Taco Bell’s next ad campaign.
“It’s scripted as Taco Bell,” Dave says. “And there was a lot of talk about, oh, we can’t actually say Taco Bell. But made-up names like Taco Town just didn’t feel as funny. So we got creative and didn’t show the wrappers or an actual Taco Bell establishment.”
The scene, the brothers say, is inspired by an all-too-true story – even if the names and restaurant have changed. In fact, much of “Incoming,” which follows the kids as they try to score an invitation to a banger, is based on the house parties Dave and John attended growing up. But when they sat down to write the film, they worried that gravity bongs and beer kegs would seem, well, passé.
Thanks to Netflix
Spyglass Media Group, LLC and Artists Road, LLC/Courtesy of Netflix
“We spent a lot of time discussing whether kids even go to parties anymore?” says Johannes. “And then we thought about asking our friend’s teenage kids, but that’s a little weird. You don’t really want to ask them in front of their parents.”
Since the Taco Bell is busier than the high school rager that takes up most of “Incoming,” we move, lunch in hand, to nearby Madison Square Park. The brothers carry Modelo Especials with their bag of burritos, so there’s a hint of concern about walking down 23rd Street with open containers of alcohol. “It’ll make the article more interesting if we get arrested,” John offers.
The Chernins, whose father is media mogul Peter Chernin, have worked together for most of their careers, including writing “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and creating “The Mick.” “We just have an abbreviation that goes back decades,” says John.
Despite the brothers’ comedy background, major studios weren’t interested in backing “Incoming.” Instead, the film was produced independently by Spyglass Media Group and sold to Netflix after it was completed. Part of the problem, the Chernins say, was that studios don’t produce many R-rated comedies, and there’s a greater sensitivity to humor that pushes the boundaries and can go viral for the wrong reasons.
“We got a lot of feedback, like, ‘The script was hilarious, but it’s not really what we’re doing now,’” says Dave. “There were some concerns about the children taking drugs,” John added.
But working on “It’s Always Sunny,” a wildly popular show that has one foot in cringe comedy and the other firmly in gallows humor, the brothers have learned how to walk the fine line between irreverent and mean-spirited.
“We’re not afraid to navigate these tricky waters,” says Dave. “’Always Sunny’ is definitely not afraid to go places, as long as it’s funny. That’s because there’s an unspoken agreement between the audience and the show’s creators: the people who make this show are on the right side, despite the terrible things the characters do. We joke about them, not glorify them.”
