We sat down with the ‘Spa Weekend’ cast to dish on female friendship and bizarre beauty trends, from vampire facials to goat yoga

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Every once in a while, a comedy comes along that demands an immediate group chat notification, a round of drinks and a dedicated night out with your best girlfriends. Spa Weekend, which is in theatres today, is undeniably that film, starring Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Anna Faris and Michelle Buteau. Centering on lifelong friends who escape to a luxury wellness retreat only to find chaos and catharsis, the movie captures the messy, fiercely loyal essence of female friendship.

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What makes the on-screen dynamic so electric is that the camaraderie between these actors is just as vibrant, affectionate and effortlessly unfiltered when the cameras stop rolling. Sitting down with the quartet, their natural banter and mutual adoration instantly set the tone, proving that the real magic of the film stems from an authentic sisterhood built on and off the set.

The actors have known each other for a while, with Mann and Fisher going way back while Buteau was the new kid on the block. “Coming onto a movie set with these iconic women was really just amazing to see that they love what they do, and they’re really good people and there’s nothing better than that,” she noted.

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Beneath the laugh-out-loud antics and high-energy spa mishaps lies an emotional core – one that struck an intensely personal chord for Faris. I had the opportunity to interview Faris virtually last year on another project while she was filming in Australia for Spa Weekend. I remember her being grateful and happy to be filming with this group of women and having her family with her despite having just lost her home in the L.A. fires.

When I remind Faris, she’s glad I remember it that way, as she does too. For Faris, immersing herself in an environment fueled by laughter, vulnerability and the uplifting energy of her co-stars became a transformative experience, reminding us all of the healing power found when women rally around one another.

Fisher hopes that women watching can identify themselves in these different types of women represented on screen. “I think the story of four women who probably, if we had shot this in our 20s, it would have looked different for us. We wouldn’t have the commonalities of the kids, of the aging parents, of everything that we have to do in life, all the day-to-day logistics,” she shared. “We’re so lucky to have each other, and so lucky to share this movie with everyone, and I just hope everyone loves it.”

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Q&A with Spa Weekend cast Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Anna Faris, Michelle Buteau

The chemistry between the four of you feels like you’ve known each other forever. What was it like stepping on set together? 

Anna: I think we’re all at a place in life where generosity of spirit has really been rewarding. So to be laughing at these brilliant women, to be in Australia, to be getting to act with them, I felt so fortunate. I didn’t know if that day would ever happen. Even right before the shoot, I was still dubious of the idea that someone was going to finance a movie with four women.

Isla: Really? Maybe I just didn’t deny it, but I was like, what? You crazy? You should be making movies with us every day!

Anna: I agree!

Isla: Because we’re f**king amazing!

There’s this line in the movie that talks about how as women from the time you’re born, you’re told to be nice to everyone. Do you feel like this film serves as a cathartic outlet for women?

Isla: Definitely, because we all represent a different type of character that they might identify and find themselves in, or going through some of the struggles we are going through. And we hope that we can hold and shine a light and say, no matter who you are, no matter how you feel, just embrace you! Do you! You’re awesome! And here are some men with their shirts off, and everybody knows they’re not dragging their husbands to this movie, so they can enjoy the eye candy, and no one needs to know!

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What is something that you were told early on in your career, but you realized it didn’t serve you?

Isla: Oh God, I really, I really want to answer that. And I want to say this, because this was recently for me. I was literally pulled off it, I’m not going to [name], but a big movie star told that it wouldn’t be believable that his character would be married to me, because I’m so unlikable. I had a meeting, but I was like, [we’re] not changing anything.

Michelle: When I hear unlikable, I hear powerful. I think advocating is the word that comes to mind, advocating for yourself, advocating for your friends, advocating for a stranger.

Isla: I do feel like we set up a system straight away where we defended each other we supported each other in any way whether it be costume, whether it be dialogue. We had power in numbers.

Anna, I talked to you last year over Zoom and you were filming this movie, and I remember you being so happy and grateful. You had your family with you and these women, and you were just so happy. 

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Anna: Thank you, I’m so glad you remember it like that, because that’s how I remember it. I feel that probably around the age 45, I didn’t realize it, but I really was entering into kind of a mild depression. So this was the first movie that I had done in a long time, and so getting to act with these brilliant women, having that opportunity, feeling a different kind of support, and feeling stronger in my own acting.

Michelle: And you would never know, because she shows up to set with these crazy faces.

Isla: And she lost her home before she came to filming.

Anna: I’m surprising myself by getting a little emotional. Thank you for [that], it was not an easy time and I wish that I’d let myself off the hook a little bit.

Isla: But we never knew, you were so positive and so happy. 

Anna: I think that’s how I was raised, there’s no therapy. You put your chin up, girl. I think that was my method of survival in Hollywood growing up. Which was just magical, getting to work with you guys.

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Thank you for sharing that. What is it about making this movie that you’ll always remember years from now?

Anna: I think the story of four women who probably, if we had shot this in our 20s, it would have looked different for us. We wouldn’t have the commonalities of the kids, of the aging parents, of everything that we have to do in life, all the day-to-day logistics. Having this moment of reprieve in all that chaos, this chunk of time, I really hope it does well so we can do a sequel. 

Do you guys have ideas of where you could take the chaos for the sequel?

Leslie Mann: We’re on a train!

Michelle: You have to drive the train.

Isla: I’m driving it. It’s like Speed, I’m Keanu Reeves.

If you were actually stranded in a resort with no service, what are your roles?

Leslie: I’m bringing the wine

Isla: Michelle’s planning.

Anna: She might grumble about it though. I mean, just privately, to each of us individually, ‘Why am I always the planner?’

Michelle: Because I feel like we’re gonna talk about it or we’re gonna do it, and I’d rather do it.

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Anna: Yes, you are a doer. And you’re steady.

Isla: I feel like Anna would bring the love. She gave me a day and a half of her life. She came up with funny, better ways to do the script, and her husband is a DOP; she has the biggest heart. We’re so lucky to have each other, and so lucky to share this movie with everyone, and I just hope everyone loves it.

Spa culture has always been a bit bizarre. What is the weirdest, wildest therapy treatment that you’ve done in the name of skin care or beauty?

Michelle: Definitely the Salmon Sperm.

Leslie and Isla: Salmon Sperm.

Leslie: PRP. Taking your blood out of your arm and putting it in your face [editor’s note: This treatment is also known as a vampire facial].

Michelle: It’s like things you think you’re not supposed to do, like forever and all the time, it’s like, don’t get the sperm on your face. And now it’s like, get it on your face.

Anna: And pay a lot of money for it.

What’s a treatment you’ve never tried?

Leslie: Snake massage. Yeah, snake massage.

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Michelle: Get out of here with that.

Anna: Did you guys walk away from filming the goat yoga scene thinking, I don’t understand why goat yoga is a thing?

Isla: I’ve done goat yoga before. I’ve done goat yoga, it was beautiful. And they were tiny and gentle, and they slept on you. And it was like amazing. I did it in Byron Bay, it was beautiful.

Michelle: It was grounding.

Leslie: But our goats were adult goats.

Isla: I think they were in heat, they were in season or something.

Michelle: But like, it made for a good scene.

Isla: Yeah. I think that was the point, I’m sure they liked it.

I love the bloopers. You guys know the improv scenes are my favorites.

Anna: It was so fun seeing the bloopers because it took me right back there remembering how every day I was just cracking up. And I was at a time in my life when I needed that I didn’t even know.

Michelle: I don’t want to see any bloopers of a mud bath. I don’t need to see that.

Anna: That scene, I marvel at your strength, your courage, your brilliance. You went for it.

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Michelle: I went for something.

Isla: Can I just ask a dumb question? Was there actually mud in the water? Did it get in your eyes?

Michelle: I think it did get in my eyes a little bit. It’s dangerous. I don’t think it was mud, it was some sort of clay thing, this is why we work with such a great team. For weeks, they were testing it, the temperature, how it dried, how it felt, if I was allergic. I don’t remember what the substance was, but it was fun just keeping my hand in it.

Leslie: Was it warm?

Michelle: It was warm. That’s nice. I was pretty buoyant. I was like that door at the end of the Titanic. I was floating in it. It’s such a good scene.

I love that Mel has her carry-on that has the craziest things packed in. What is in your carry-on for a weekend getaway?

Michelle: Wet wipes and Prosecco. You never know.

Anna: Facial spray and my knitting because I’m an old lady at heart.

Isla: She knitted us all a hat and it’s so soft.

Isla: And she rides a motorbike so it’s a nice contrast. We’ve got a mixed bag. She’s going to knit and ride soon. Just one-handed.

Leslie: Maybe tequila and lip balm.

Isla: I’m bringing sunblock and a power bank. 

Spa Weekend is in theatres as of Aug. 21, 2026.

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