With ‘From Scratch,’ Netflix cooks up its version of a Lifetime weepie
Netflix Inc.’s “From Scratch” is a made-for-TV movie about two young couples who hit an all-too-familiar rough patch in their love lives and are forced to face their most deeply held challenges together.
The new film from Netflix, which stars Jennifer Connelly, Jennifer Lopez, James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan, is based on the 2007 best-selling novel by Meg Wolitzer, an all-around standup who’s had a checkered career in comedy (including writing for “Saturday Night Live”) but has always had something to say that’s deeply personal.
Wolitzer made the film in a burst of inspiration, writing down what she saw in her head in the midst of filming a television pilot version of her novel based on an idea from the late, lamented “Saturday Night Live” writer, Lorne Michaels.
Now the story is making its way through Hollywood again, and Netflix is making it available a year ahead of its television premiere on May 3.
Netflix’s efforts to broaden its storytelling possibilities came to a head with this film, which will give it more opportunities to show a diverse range of human experiences.
“From Scratch” had been a Netflix original that had premiered on the service in 2006.
The project took a chance on Wolitzer, who had written a script that seemed to fit the tone of the film perfectly. Her novel “I Never Lied to You” won the Orange Prize for Fiction, a literature award.
“I’m a big fan of books that are very smart and funny and deeply emotional,” said Netflix VP of original series and movies Jennifer Salke when asked about why the service was casting this film. “Sometimes you just want to go on a vacation with someone,