Elle Magazine - April 2007
Comic Intelligence
Amy Poehler

Saturday Night Live's golden girl has caught everyone's attention with her outrageous, full-tilt brand of comedy. Now that she's hitting the big screen, this funny lady is moving in on the guys' turf


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There are a few words that come up repeatedly in conversation with Amy Poehler, 35, one of Saturday Night Live's most ubiquitous cast members and coanchor of the show's "Weekend Update." These words are ladies, as in, "I love Gilda and all the [Second City Television] ladies--Catherine O'Hara...Laverne and Shirley--I loved those ladies!" And comedienne, as in, "I think of myself more as an actor, although I like the word comedienne because it makes me laugh at the end." And power and money, as in, "I'm very maternal, and I like this job because it's like 'Oooh, we're all taking care of each other.' But sometimes you gotta just snap yourself out of it and be like: I'm gonna be hungry like a wolf! Power and money! I gotta get me some power and money!"

With four new films this spring--Blades of Glory starring Will Ferrell and her husband, Arrested Development's Will Arnett; Spring Breakdown with Rachel Dratch; Shrek the Third with Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy; and Mr. Woodcock with Billy Bob Thornton--and her own Nickelodeon cartoon, Mighty B, debuting this fall, Poehler's moment to start throwing her weight around has arrived. The people holding Hollywood's purse strings seem to agree: "I think she's brilliant! I think we're going to see amazing things coming out of Amy for a long time," rhapsodizes Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO/director at DreamWorks Animation SKG and a producer of Shrek. "She's a storyteller with her comedy, and her persona is so appealing. She glows!"

Poehler is, indeed, a bright presence, with spun-gold hair and an easy laugh, perched on the arm of a beat-up couch in her SNL dressing room. When so many actors tend to yammer about their "craft," one of the most refreshing things about Poehler is that she's only half-kidding with her power and money rant. "It's an unusually fallow time right now in terms of female comedic film stars," she says. "You have to create roles, produce things; that's the only way you get power. You get pushed around if you're just an actor auditioning for parts." Impatient with the cliche that women aren't as funny as men, Poehler is certain a "funny lady" can rise to the level of comic superstardom of SNL alums like Ferrell, Murphy, and Myers. And would she like to be that woman? "Of course."

Poehler came to SNL from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre by way of Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic (she still performs every Sunday at New York's UCB Theatre). When she joined SNL in 2001, she was such a scene-stealer that she became the only person besides Murphy to be promoted to a full-fledged cast member during her first season. She made SNL history again in 2004 when she and Tina Fey became the first female team to coanchor "Weekend Update." "[Amy's] fearless with her comedy," says Fey, who's known Poehler since their Chicago improv days. "She'll literally throw herself off a table. She doesn't care what she looks like even though she's incredibly pretty, and she's not afraid of dangerous content. At the same time, she has this tremendous warmth to her. She's got that Gilda Radner thing where you can tell the whole time that you'd like to hang out with the person that's playing this big character."

Poehler and Arnett have been able to get more hang time by working together; they prepared for Blades, in which they play a vaguely incestuous brother-sister skating team, by practicing at the Rockefeller Center rink outside SNL in the morning. "She's the funniest person I know," Arnett says. "I've been spoiled by all the opportunities I've had to work with her. By virtue of the fact that we have a shorthand, working with her is almost as good as working with a robot."

At this point, finding enough time for all her projects may be the only thing holding Poehler back. Her schedule does not leave a lot of leeway for things like sleep or having a baby, something she says she'd like to do. "As a woman, you have to get over the guilt that you're not giving your family enough, or your husband, or your job," she says. "And I'm not saying that men don't feel it...but I am saying it, I don't think they do! They don't!" To figure out the balancing act, she's been watching friends like Fey and SNL cast member Maya Rudolph, both mothers, and taking notes from guest hosts. "Reese Witherspoon has had a wonderful career. I really respect what she's done. I think she's made cool choices, and her movies made a lot of money...and that's all that matters, is that your movies make a lot of money," Poehler says, giggling. "Power and money, that's all I want. Just two things! Power and money--why can't I have them? God!"--RACHAEL COMBE