The gal pal gamble

Poehler: It makes us feel powerful to watch people work out. Without us having to do it. It's like a power move, it's like a status move. We just sit next to people working out. We put people working out between us and the person pitching us the idea. But I think too, the idea of working together, there had been different kinds of small approaches at it. Tina was much too busy and just starting her show to write a script. It was exciting to work on something we didn't have to create.

Fey: This is a completely dude-safe movie.

Poehler: It is very dude-safe.

What do you mean by dude-safe?

Fey: There are plenty of jokes in there. They're not gonna sit there and be, like, "Oh, my God, I can't believe my wife dragged me to the movie 'Wedding Fight.' "

Michael McCullers told me that when you were developing this project at Paramount, they floated the idea of you two doing a movie version of the classic sitcom "Laverne & Shirley." So, Amy, would you be Laverne?

Poehler: We had a problem with that.

Fey: I had no problem with that. I knew I was Shirley.

Poehler: All right, Tina wanted to be Shirley.

Fey: Shirley is not as funny as Laverne.

Poehler: That one was one where we were, like, well, when those guys were doing that show they were kind of too old for the parts. And then we just started really thinking about having to get into those costumes and wigs and we just couldn't do it. Also, I genuinely loved, loved that show and thought that those women were hysterical.

I see you less as Laverne and Shirley and more as Thelma and Louise. Funny, attractive but tough as nails.

Fey: Fated to die.

Making a mainstream comedy even though two women aren't supposed to be able to get away with that. Do you feel the analogy is appropriate?

Poehler: I take that as a high compliment. I'm gonna access that today when I'm feeling down in the dumps.

Fey: I like the idea that we would be perceived as dangerous.

It's that thing where men can feel threatened by funny women. Like they're armed.

Poehler: Maybe to make some kind of lame connection to that, when you were watching "Thelma & Louise," you kind of felt like they were rooting for each other in a way. In ["Baby Mama"], Tina and I have to go through our stuff where we're different.

Fey: There's something nice that we're not at war with each other. Or trying to sabotage each other. They are kind of a unit.