Michael J. Weithorn, "A Little Help"

By any measure you care to apply, Michael J. Weithorn has enjoyed a tremendously successful career on his home turf in television.

He had his first writing credit, for "Benson," while still in his early 20s. He was a story consultant on "Family Ties" and wrote dozens of episodes, and also penned episodes of "Cheers," "The Wonder Years" and "The Sinbad Show." He created, produced and wrote the show "Ned and Stacey," which lasted four seasons.

Then in 1998, he co-created "The King of Queens," which was a ratings hit for a decade. Weithorn also branched into directing and earned five Emmy nominations.

With nothing left to prove on the small screen, Weithorn decided to try his hand at filmmaking. His first feature, "A Little Help," stars Jenna Fischer as harried woman with a borderline drinking problem and a fractured relationship with her family. When her husband (Chris O'Donnell) suddenly dies, her safety net slips away.

Weithorn wrote and directed the indie dramedy, which played at last year's Indianapolis International Film Festival, and picked up a theatrical distribution deal.

He sat down with the Film Yap for a phone interview to talk about his film, shifting career gears and casting an actress known for being funny and wholesome in a black comedy.

Christopher Lloyd: Tell me a little bit about your experience bringing the film to Indy Film Fest last year.

Michael J. Weithorn: It was very nice. I think it was fairly well-received. I think it showed a couple of times and I was only able to go to one screening. It was in the afternoon and there was a tremendous downpour before it was showing. That might have held the crowd down some, but it was still half-full. The people who stayed for the Q&A seemed to like it fairly well. ... I hadn't realized it had won the top award (Grand Jury Prize), so that's a great honor.

Lloyd: People like to label movies in easily definable categories: Drama, comedy, romance, etc. And I'm not sure what you call this movie — or do you resist trying to label it?

Weithorn: It's hard to label. The phrase "dramedy" is sometimes used, but it typically hasn't been associated with movies people want to see (laughs), so we've avoided using that. We haven't really been able to come up with a phrase; I've been half-jokingly using "melon-comedy." I don't know if that's that appealing, either.

You know, it's a blend of drama and comedy. My hope is that they blend well and that people don't feel a jarring juxtaposition against each other. But the intent was that life is sometimes very difficult; traumatic things happen. But there's always some funny or darkly absurdist element to it.

Lloyd: Your main star, Jenna Fischer, is known mostly for her comedic role on television's "The Office," and most of her movie roles have been comedies, too. When you do have a film with deeper themes and darker moods, is it a challenge to weave that comic persona into the mix?

Weithorn: Jenna, I had a very good feeling about her that she was right for the part and her personality. But you never really know until you're actually doing it what kind of performance a person will give. But I was just blown away when we started shooting just how capable an actress she was, how in command of her craft. I think what she did that was very successful was she just played with great emotional honesty. Things were funny where they naturally were funny. She wasn't trying to force the joke.

And that's what I always admired about her on "The Office." I've always been a fan of that show, too, but there are some very broadly comedic characters on that show. And she has always kind of held down the fort, so to speak. Not that she's not funny, but she's always played her character very grounded. In a way, she's sometimes the eyes of the audience. With Steve Carell acting bizarre, whatever reaction we would have if we were in that office is the one she's having.

So she's not an actress who feels she needs to get the laugh. She just wants to play the character in a truthful way.

Lloyd: You've had a lot of success in television, from "Family Ties" to "The King of Queens." What made you want to branch into feature films?

Weithorn: A couple things. When "The King of Queens" was winding down, I really felt that it's an exhausting, exhausting thing to do to run a television show for a full season and then multiple seasons in a row. It just saps all of your energy and time. There's so many things to do, and the conveyor belt moves so fast. I had really just gotten to the point where I was getting older — I'm 54 now, but I was around 50 at the time — and I just didn't think I could do this anymore physically.

I like television comedy; even now I'm exploring doing a comedy for cable, with half as many episodes so it seems like it would be manageable. So it was the fact that the grind of TV was getting to be too much. But also, I've always loved film, and there are certain filmmakers whose work I've always admired. I felt like, "Boy, if I could make a movie like that, I'd be really proud of myself."

Because as much as I like the sitcom form, I also like stories that are more reality-based, grounded — more verisimilitude about life. I was interested in exploring that. And also working in a very modest budget, in a situation where there's no big network or studio, I was able to just make the movie I wanted and not have any masters to serve, so to speak. And work with actors and people who weren't there for the money, but because they like the project.