Judy Greer on the emotional "escape" of shooting 'Family Squares' remotely during the pandemic

Screen Media

(NOTE LANGUAGE) The new dramedy Family Squares is now in theaters and on demand, following a group of people shaken up by video messages left by the family matriarch after she passes away.

The film was shot remotely during the height of the pandemic by its cast -- which includes Archer series star Judy Greer, as well as Emmy winners Henry WinklerMargo Martindale, Ann Dowd, and Happy Endings star Casey Wilson -- and plays out primarily via Zoom.

A fun behind-the-scenes clip runs during the end credits to show what an undertaking it was.

"Even if we were to do it now, it would be easier, but that was still back when we were like, 'What are these things?'" Greer tells ABC Audio, gesturing to the borders of her Zoom window. "You know, especially...like no offense to actors, but like, we're not super tech-savvy."

She adds of the mostly ad-libbed project, "It was nice even just for a few days to have something to take my mind off of everything that was going on with the pandemic and politically. It was just like kind of a godsend for that short amount of time that we shot."

As one might guess, Family Squares is at times an emotional movie -- but real tears weren't hard to come by during the lockdowns.

"Oh no, no, no," Greer admits. "It was only hard because we all like we're just wanting to talk to each other and communicate with each other and shoot the s*** and stuff like that. You know, like after being just like alone in my house with my husband for so long, I was like, 'I get to talk to my friends!'" 

(Video contains uncensored profanity.)

Friday, February 25, 2022 at 2:00PM by Stephen Iervolino Permalink