Kate Bosworth On Working With Andie MacDowell On Along For The Ride - Exclusive
There are a host of movie tropes that Hollywood needs to overhaul entirely, and the depiction of animosity between biological parents and stepparents is one of them. Netflix's "Along for the Ride" flips that on its head, showing a burgeoning friendship between Victoria (Andie MacDowell) and Heidi (Kate Bosworth) — Auden's (Emma Pasarow) biological mom and stepmom, respectively.
Things start off a bit tense at first. However, both women quickly realize that they're not each other's enemy, and they need to hold Auden's father singularly responsible for his own actions. For young audiences watching, this is such a positive message. Blended families are a reality in many households with young children and teenagers, so it's not exactly helpful when every movie or TV show paints stepparents out to be the villain.
Sure, some stepfamily relationships are strained and toxic, but it shouldn't be the only narrative we see in entertainment. As "Along for the Ride" proves, we can have a dramatic situation without pitting women against each other. Divorce and remarriage might not be as traumatic for young kids and teenagers if we saw more of this positive representation in media.
During an exclusive interview with The List, Kate Bosworth dished on what it was like working with Andie MacDowell. She also explained how this biological mother-stepmother relationship mirrored her own relationship with her stepdaughter.
It takes two to make a thing go right
On working with her co-star, Kate Bosworth said, "I love working with Andie MacDowell and having that very special moment between stepmother and biological mother." Of course, she's talking about the scene where Victoria helps Heidi work through a bump in her marriage rather than gloating. "It was such a personal story to me, but one that I feel is what will really connect with a lot of families today," Bosworth added.
Bosworth connected to these characters' bonds through her own experience as a loving stepmom and her great relationship with her stepdaughter, Jasper. "I met her when she was about 12, and I have such a loving relationship with her biological mother. It was a real honor for me to raise her with her dad and her mom," Bosworth explained.
It's not only vital for Hollywood to ditch toxic stereotypes, but for families to set aside those images, too. "Our family has talked about this: 'How can we shatter the stereotype of [the] evil stepmother or stepmother being pitted against biological mother?'" Bosworth said. "Because I've lived this and because I've experienced what it means to live with love and to raise a healthy, happy, grounded young woman, I feel like it's such an important story to tell. It's such an important dynamic to explore so that people understand."