Meg Stalter has done it again. In Cora Bora, a new film from director Hannah Pearl Utt, Stalter—known for playing the woefully incompetent assistant Kayla in Hacks—shines as Cora, a struggling (and decidedly middling) musician who strums her guitar in coffee shops and at open mics in Los Angeles. She is in a long-distance, open relationship with her girlfriend Justine (Jojo Gibbs), but despite ample evidence that both her love life and career are on the rocks, Cora claims that she is “so happy.”
Eventually, however, in a last-ditch attempt to reconnect with Justine, Cora flies back home to Portland, Oregon—where she still can’t seem to do anything right. She is a grown-up Amelia Bedelia, taking instructions too literally and ultimately getting it all wrong. Even her grand, romantic return doesn’t feel quite as grand as it should. Cora is masterful in her overconfidence, a defense mechanism for being very much in denial about something—but the film takes its time revealing what is really going on with her.
Stalter, a seasoned performer now known for playing the comically incompetent assistant Kayla on Hacks, captures something real in Cora’s hopeless bumbling: the dissonance of feeling miserable in the city you’ve moved to in pursuit of a dream. But while Cora toils, crossing paths with an angry dog owner played by Chelsea Peretti and a free-loving hippie played by Margaret Cho (among other starry supporting players), Stalter herself is flying high.
Vogue spoke to the actor and comedian about telling queer stories on film, open and polyamorous relationships, and her plans for Pride this month.
Vogue: You’ve talked about how the part of Kayla in Hacks was written for you. Was that the case with Cora? And what attracted you to the role?
Meg Stalter: I wanted to do the movie right away. Hannah, the amazing director, wrote me a beautiful letter about it. [Cora] wasn’t written for me or anything, but Hannah was really sweet and was like, “I could really see you in this part.” And when I saw the deck, I was like, Oh my God, this is so cool, because it’s cool to see a queer story like that. I think it’s interesting that it’s a poly relationship that’s not going well, because there are a lot of people online being very open about being poly, and you don’t always hear what’s bad about it—but you can imagine what would be bad about it. So, I think that was funny—a person who is acting like she is okay with it, but clearly is not. I think that probably happens a lot. I’m sure there’s also very happy poly people, but it definitely couldn’t be me. This movie is also really funny, and I think the funniest things to me are also heartbreaking. So there was a lot in that, too.
You touched on the dysfunctional poly relationship in the movie—is that something you’ve ever experienced?
I think I could never, ever do that. Literally, if my partner was out to dinner with someone else on a date, I would be showing up as the waiter. I’d be like, “Hi, why wasn’t I invited?” Like, how is everyone doing it? And how are they not absolutely heartbroken every day? I would be like, “But you still like me the most, right?” [Laughs.]
It’s definitely not for everyone. But back to Cora: You have this persona you put on in the comedy videos you post on Instagram, and in your role as Kayla…you’ve sort of coined this brand that can really only be described as Meg Stalter comedy. There are a few scenes—I’m thinking of the airplane scene in particular—where the Meg Stalter really shines through in Cora’s dialogue. Did you contribute or write anything for the part?
I’ve been lucky to work with people that let me improvise a lot. And I think that’s part of what helps me get hired—I love to improvise and I think the parts I get are a little more loose. I think some of the airplane stuff was improvised, but I didn’t send them notes on the script. And it’s the same with Kayla from Hacks. There’s so many times me and Paul will improvise because those characters allow you to do that.
That’s so fun. In Cora Bora, Cora is living in Los Angeles and trying to make it as a musician. She isn’t the most talented singer, but she’s also not too bad. What was rehearsing for that facet of the role like? Do you have any kind of musical background?
Miya Folick [who wrote and composed the score] is so amazing and all the music is so amazing. I’m a pretty nervous singer and I think that’s interesting, because my whole life I’ve always wanted to be on stage. So I made myself do choir in high school and was definitely singing in elementary school, but I never was amazing. But it’s so funny to be a mediocre singer and act like you’re a really good singer. I think it’s even funnier than being a bad singer and acting like you’re good. It adds to her character.
Before we go, I would be remiss not to wish you a happy Pride! What are you doing, or hoping to do this month?
You know, I said this the other day, but I would do anything if I could see Jojo Siwa do that new song of hers and her crazy dance. Everyone is making fun of her, but she’s actually an amazing dancer. I think she knows what she’s doing and I think she knows everyone’s talking about her song and dance so she’s probably just amazing at marketing. I don’t have any plans to do that, but if anybody knows where she’s performing, I would love to see Jojo do her song. I don’t know if I’ll be able to, but wouldn’t that be amazing?
This interview has been edited and condensed. Cora Bora is playing in select US theaters.