Elisabeth Shue (“Karate Kid,” “Cobra Kai”) delivers one of her most profound performances in “The Good Half.”

In the film, she plays Lily, the mother of Renn (Nick Jonas) and Leigh (Brittany Snow). After her death, the family dynamics are thrown into chaos. The fact that Lily’s boyfriend Rick (David Arquette) also shows up doesn’t help.

Although such a loss should be accompanied by grief, Renn is angry. He must confront his past with his mother while also pursuing a blossoming relationship.

While speaking with ClutchPoints about The Good Half, Elisabeth Shue exuded a clear maternal warmth that resonated with her character. I had just been in the emergency room for heart complications and she seemed genuinely concerned.

During our interview, Shue talks about her “better half,” her gratitude journal, and why Cobra Kai fans shouldn’t count on her return in Season 6.

Elisabeth Shue-The Good Half Interview

ClutchPoints: I’m excited to talk to you about The Good Half. Congratulations on this film! I thought it was really profound.

Elizabeth Shue: Thank you very much. I really love this film. I am happy and very grateful that everyone likes it so much and that it speaks to people.

CP: You’ve worked on many projects, both big and small, like Back to the Future and Cobra Kai. How would you compare something as small as The Good Half to The Boys?

IT: I would say that it is the story above all else that changes the experience of working on a smaller or larger film.

You’re still working with actors, and the crew feels pretty much the same, even if it’s smaller or bigger, but the story is obviously much more manageable here and much more focused on these very complicated personal relationships.

I think one of the reasons actors keep wanting to do smaller films is because they tend to find it more interesting to be in smaller stories.

CP: I love the concept of the better half that children see in their parents. How do you think people close to you, like family, friends, etc., would describe your better half?

IT: Well, it’s difficult because if I’m honest and think about how this term came about, I feel like my whole life is the good half. I don’t actually have a bad half and I’m very grateful for that.

Of course, when I was battling an illness, I also had to cope with a certain amount of loss, so I would probably put that in the “bad half” category.

But yeah, I really feel like most of my life has been the good half, just because I can’t believe I’m even alive anymore. I really think something has changed me a lot: I’ve learned to write in a gratitude journal every morning – that sounds very cliche. And the first thing I always write is that I’m alive.

It sounds very straightforward and somewhat cliché, but when you really think about it, all we should really be happy about is simply the fact that we exist. That simplifies things pretty quickly.

CP: When I read about the making of this film, I know there’s a lot of talk about how the cast was open and collaborative. Can you think of a time on set with your fellow actors or maybe the director or anyone else where you felt like the atmosphere was open and collaborative?

IT: Oh yeah. I mean, every single moment I experienced on that film. I actually had to come to the film after they had already been shooting in New Jersey for about six weeks.

My first scene was the scene in the restaurant where we all talk about how I’m sick and how I don’t want to upset anyone and how everything will be OK. That was my first scene in the movie and I hadn’t met anyone yet. I hadn’t spent any time with anyone yet.

I was so touched by how all the actors supported me and were there for me and made me feel instantly connected to the film. I thought that was pretty special. Everyone in the cast are really good people.

CP: It sounds like you arrived a little later than everyone else on set and didn’t have as much time to really get to know everyone. But your relationship with David, your partner in the film, isn’t shown much in the film. Was that difficult for you at all?

IT: I would rather spend more time with the actors I work with than less, to get to know them, feel comfortable, or discover interesting aspects of their personality that I can learn from and work with.

But I think great actors can also approach a role with such an openness right away that you can pretend you have them and feel connected to them because of their presence. And I would say with Nick, I was very impressed with how present he was as an actor.

We had to build this incredibly close relationship – that’s kind of the foundation of the film – and we had to build it right away. I think that would be hard to do with an actor who isn’t open and generous. So I really enjoyed working with him. When I saw the film, I thought he did a great job. And he was great to work with.

CP: What fascinated you about the script of The Good Half?

IT: I would say just the idea that we all experience loss and we all have very broken families. (laughs) The premise of the film is so relatable because in the midst of the tragedy of losing someone you love, you’re thrown into this absurd world of a broken family.

And then everyone’s trying to survive and they’re all doing really weird, funny, absurd things to survive because, at the end of the day, we’re terrified of dying, aren’t we? We’re just so terrified of just fading out of the picture. And when you see that up close and personal with someone you love, it’s so fascinating what it does to people.

I think this film is wonderful because of its comedy. And the laughter is just so human. I could really identify with it and thought: Oh, this is a story that people should see for exactly that reason – to feel more community and more empathy for each other.

CP: And one of my favorite scenes in the whole film is actually right at the beginning. It’s a flashback where you’re talking to the younger version of Nick’s character. That was a very poignant moment in the film. Could you describe the filming from your perspective?

IT: Oh, it was nice to do that scene. It was very emotional because I was younger then and had no idea I would ever get sick. But as an actor, I knew that one day I would leave him.

The idea of ​​having to tell him, “I’ll never leave you,” and knowing that was going to happen, was very emotional, and of course I couldn’t show it, but I could feel it inside me. It was an interesting feeling.

I’m trying to remember what day it was. I really only worked for two or three days and packed every single scene in. So that was one of the scenes.

It was really invigorating to shoot so many scenes back to back… a kind of deep dive into the story. Normally all of these scenes would be spread out over several weeks, but because of the shooting schedule, they were all packed into a few days.

CP: What are the advantages and disadvantages of this?

IT: I think the advantages are that you have no choice but to just jump into it and not overthink anything. As I said, I think really great actors meet you where you are and they are always so generous. And so there is something immediate and dramatic about the fact that you don’t know each other and yet you have to pretend that you do, which I think makes for a more Support for raw connections for each other.

So I don’t really see any disadvantages. But that’s because I’ve worked with great actors. Maybe it would be hard if that wasn’t the case.

CP: What do you think is the most important thing that audiences take away from The Good Half?

IT: I hope they laugh a lot. I was so surprised by how funny it was – I love how human comedy is. I’m sure every single person on this planet has lost someone at this point in their life and I’m sure they can empathize and also relive some of the things they learned.

I just think it’s a great film to build community. And I think it’s a little sad that there are no more films and theaters, because I feel like it’s one of those films that we saw in Tribeca, and it was in a big theater with a huge audience, and it was very emotional to watch it with a big audience because of all those human elements.

And it’s a shame that people can’t share movies like they used to. So that’s my hope. I’m very happy that the film is being shown in a small (theatrical) release. Hopefully there will be a bigger release. I guess that will be a preview on those two days, July 25 and 28, but then hopefully there will be a bigger release. (Editor’s note: The Good Half was shown in major theaters on August 16.)

CP: The Karate Kid has been around for over four decades now. How do you react to the franchise continuing with spin-off series and the like? Was this something you expected when you signed on and starred in the first film?

IT: Absolutely not. I wasn’t expecting anything. It was my first film. And we thought at first that the title wasn’t a good title, which I find hilarious. (laughs)

So yeah, it was a big surprise that it was so successful. And it’s a big surprise to me now that it’s continued all these years. It’s a wonderful surprise because it connects me to this young generation of creators – the kids who are growing up now and seeing it for the first time, or who are seeing Cobra Kai.

I’m very grateful to have been in some films that have stood the test of time and connected me to the next generation. So, yeah, it’s pretty lucky, right? First film: Karate Kid.

CP: I know you appeared in Cobra Kai. Is there any chance you’ll come back at all or is the book closed?

IT: I probably won’t come back. I think we handled it perfectly.

(laughs) I think it would be fun to see if she shows up again, just because the goodbye scene felt very final to me. It was touching and kind of perfect for what it was supposed to be.

But I’m grateful that I did it. It was really fun.

The Good Half is in theaters.