When people think of Fran Drescher, they often think of her voice. It’s special. It’s abrasive. It was funny. Really annoying. But Drescher knows how to present it. Love it or hate it, Drescher can turn the volume up or down as the situation calls for – she’s no idiot. It was her intelligence and ingenuity that sustained her career for forty (!) years before and after the hit TV show “The Nanny.”
However, Drescher’s accent goes far beyond her nasal Queens accent. She was a strong, vocal woman throughout her career, advocating for issues and causes important to her and founding the Cancer Schmancer Foundation. She’s had success both on screen and off – from her New York Times bestsellers, Enter Whining and Cancer Schmancer, to her recent TV series, Happy Divorced, about life with her husband. her gay ex-husband (based on her own marriage).
The actress now takes on a rare dramatic supporting role in the new film “Safe Spaces,” which had its world premiere this week at the Tribeca Film Festival. She plays Diane, whose mother (Lynn Cohen) is dying and whose son Josh (Justin Long) is going through a bad patch at work. Diane copes with the impending grief by starting to clean out her mother’s apartment before the woman dies. It’s a scene that shows Drescher to be in high spirits but not overbearing. Drescher handles the role deftly, making Diane sympathetic even when she behaves inappropriately. And inappropriate behavior runs in Diane’s family.
Salon caught up with Drescher at the festival to talk about “Safe Spaces” as well as one of her classic roles, Bobbi Flekman, “the landlady with the biggest role” in “This Is Spinal Tap,” as well screened at the film festival.
“Safe Space” opens with Josh telling his students that they shouldn’t be afraid of embarrassing themselves. I think that’s a good place to start with you, Fran.
[Laughs.] Because I’m embarrassing?! [Laugh.]
No, you seem fearless and shameless. You discussed your life with candor, enthusiasm and style. Can you talk about what I might call your lack of restraint?
I think it’s authentic self-expression. That’s how I like to look at it. My fans feel like they know me and in many ways they do. I became famous and then many things happened to me. I was the victim of a violent crime – raped at gunpoint by someone I didn’t know, who was on parole. I am a cancer survivor. People often ask me to sign chapters in the book that they see fit. Whether it’s my dog dying, being raped, or surviving cancer. I feel like sharing what I’ve been through so I can also share what I’ve learned from the experience as well as the blessings and life lessons. As a writer and a celebrity, I feel compelled to accept my pain, turn it into purpose, and give to charity. I can apply my reputation to the greatest benefit.
Diane is a Jewish mother and she seems to know when to be pushy, when to guilt her son, when to be manipulative. What is your secret? And how can I deflect things the next time my mother guilt-trips me?
[Laughs.] Guilt is a funny thing. Usually the recipient will feel guilty. The blamer is sharing their feelings about how the other person has been terrible or not really as helpful, caring or considerate as they could be – according to that person. Zen masters teach us that there is no room for guilt. You have to be clear about where you’re coming from, and feel respect, empathy, and sympathy for the other person’s grievances.
And when your mother specifically blames you, Gary Kramer, I tell her, “You know, you’re beautiful! You are the most beautiful mother among all mothers, and I love you so much! And see if that spreads.
I am an identical twin. He wants to take my place and interview you because he loves you. I’m afraid to publish your advice now because it will help him too.
Yes right. [Laughs.] But that’s different. Talking over and over again means the person says and does. I feel like that’s really important. I founded the Cancer Schmancer movement and a big platform of our organization is detoxifying your life. That will exponentially reduce many of the illnesses you and your family may be experiencing. We teach you how to do it. We talk about causation, not mitigation.
If you visit cancerschmancer.org, they can click on a long educational video to dictate more responsible manufacturing trends. Because at the end of the day, manufacturers really don’t want to kill you, they want to sell you. But they’ll sell you whatever you’re willing to buy.
You got to motivate, educate, and activate people to take action. Everything they buy and don’t buy becomes their vote and their protest. It doesn’t matter who’s in the White House or Congress, what matters is us. We as the largest consumers on the planet are driving all the woes of the world because of big business greed — but we’re enabling that because of mindless consumerism. If everyone stopped drinking cola today, they’d stop making it tomorrow. The bottom line is the bottom line. That’s my job. I tirelessly speak to people to wake them up, shake them up, and take the check, choose, and change challenge. Check labels, choose healthy, organic, eco-friendly products and become the change we all so desperately need.
