Lucy DeVito talks about ‘A Sudden Case of Christmas’ and ‘The Secret Art of Human Flight’

The cast of 'A Sudden Case of Christmas'

Lucy DeVito. Photo Courtesy of The Riker Brothers.

Actress Lucy DeVito chatted about her latest movies “A Sudden Case of Christmas” and “The Secret Art of Human Flight.”

Track and field legend Wilma Rudolph once said: “Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” This quote applies to Lucy DeVito.

‘A Sudden Case of Christmas’

“A Sudden Case of Christmas” is now available on the streaming service Hulu.

The synopsis is: An American couple bring their 10 year old daughter, Claire, to her grandfather Lawrence’s hotel in The Dolomites, Italy. They usually come for Christmas but this year it’s August.

The fact is they are breaking up, and once Claire realizes there’s not going to be a family Christmas this year, she insists on everyone making it out for Christmas in August.

Claire, in collusion with her grandfather, plan activities that are designed to re-unite her parents. A fun, warm, touching family comedy, all shot in the glorious Dolomites, Italy.

The cast of ‘A Sudden Case of Christmas.’ Photo Courtesy of Shout! Studios.

Lucy DeVito on her latest holiday movie

On starring in the holiday rom-com “A Sudden Case of Christmas,” DeVito said, “It was amazing! It was so cool.”

“Besides being able to shoot in the Dolomites, I was able to do a Christmas movie with my dad, which was just a delight. Everything about it was just a joy. I think it came out well. I was happy with it,” she elaborated.

“It is so nice to make a movie that is sweet, and it features a young person,” she said. “It’s a movie about hope and family, so it has really been a wonderful experience, and I am happy that people are now able to see it.”

“It’s a Christmas movie that is conventional in a lot of ways but unconventional in the sense that the characters are very human and flawed in their own ways, and likable. It is nice to see that representation in a Christmas movie,” she acknowledged.

Lucy DeVito on working with Antonella Rose

On working with Antonella Rose, DeVito said, “Antonella was wonderful, and she was really professional and wise beyond her years. She was so fun, and she was always very prepared on set. She was really good, and she kept all of us adults on our toes. There was no slacking off there.”

Working with her father, Danny DeVito, and Andie MacDowell

“It was amazing to work with my dad, we always have an amazing time when we work together. To be in our home country of Italy was really cool as well,” she said.

DeVito continued, “Andie is wonderful; she is such a sweetheart, and we were all living in the same hotel. We would have dinners together, and we would go on amazing nature walks in this beautiful, idyllic place. It was hard not to have a good time there. It was just beautiful!”

Danny DeVito in 'I Need That' on Broadway
Danny DeVito in ‘I Need That’ on Broadway. Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

Lucy DeVito on ‘I Need That’ on Broadway

Last year, she starred opposite her father in “I Need That” on Broadway.

“That was awesome too,” she exclaimed. “It was such a dream to be able to be on Broadway, and to do it with my father as well was so cool.”

Lucy DeVito on ‘The Secret Art of Human Flight’

The synopsis is: After the death of his wife, Ben Grady (Grant Rosenmeyer) stumbles upon a self-help book by an enigmatic guru named “Mealworm” (Academy Award nominee Paul Raci of “Sound of Metal”), who claims to have harnessed the power to fly.

The book arrives…and so does Mealworm, forcing Ben to navigate his family life, accusations of foul play, and the bizarre rituals laid before him in the hopes of healing and, just maybe, achieving flight.

On starring in “The Secret Art of Human Flight, DeVito said, “That was great. It was a totally different experience. It was a really small movie that we shot in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It’s a beautiful and quirky movie about grief. I though it was very poignant and fun.”

“Everybody on that was so wonderful, especially Grant Rosenmeyer, Paul Raci, and our director H.P. Mendoza, who was able to make so much out of so little. It was a real labor of love on everyone’s part, and I think it was really unique and beautiful,” she expressed.

“We shot that mid-pandemic too so that another bonding experience because we were all on location, but we were all living in the same place too,” she noted.

“You get to know everyone really well, and that’s what I love about making movies because it becomes like a family in those situations. I am still very close with all of those people,” she acknowledged.

“With ‘The Secret Art of Human Flight,’ I hope people try to find the humor in the grief that we all experience,” she added.

Paul Raci and Grant Rosenmeyer in 'The Secret Art of Human Flight'
Paul Raci and Grant Rosenmeyer in ‘The Secret Art of Human Flight.’ Photo Courtesy of Level 33 Entertainment

Paul Raci on Lucy DeVito

On working with DeVito in “The Secret Art of Human Flight,” Paul Raci told Digital Journal, “Lucy is wonderful,” he said. “Lucy is just a real person. She is a straightshooter, very talented, and a beautiful woman; she just had a baby. She is a wonderful actor, and I loved working with her.”

Paul Raci in 'The Secret Art of Human Flight'
Paul Raci in ‘The Secret Art of Human Flight.’ Photo Courtesy of Level 33 Entertainment.

Lucy DeVito on Paul Raci

In return, DeVito returned the compliments about Oscar nominee Paul Raci. “Paul is the best,” DeVito exclaimed.

“We joked around a lot too. Everyone was in this project for the right reasons. Paul was just so fun to play with on set and he was also heartbreaking this film, and overall, an incredible actor,” she acknowledged.

Taking cues from her parents

She revealed that she takes cues from her parents, veteran Emmy award-winning actors Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman.

“My parents have always been role models to me,” she said. “I grew up on sets, going to ‘Cheers’ and ‘Batman Returns’ so I have a unique childhood in that sense. They are so funny and talented but at the end of the day, they are just regular people.”

“They are very grounded, down-to-earth and lovely family people. I am so lucky to call them my parents. They have always been supportive and champions of my work,” she noted.

“I am really happy to have them to look up to, and to bounce ideas off of them. We are still all working so that is great, and we still collaborate, and we still share our projects with each other,” she elaborated.

Rhea Perlman
Rhea Perlman. Photo Credit: Maarten de Boer

Lucy DeVito talks about the film ‘Matilda’

She recalled her father, Danny DeVito, starring in and narrating the fantasy comedy film “Matilda.”

“Matilda was one of those stories where my sister and I were reading that book,” she noted.

“We introduced the story to my dad, and he read it, and he was blown away by it obviously and he thought to himself ‘I want to make this movie.’ It is so cool that he wanted to make a movie about a young girl to inspire his own daughters, so that’ was a really special thing,” she explained.

‘A Cinderella Christmas’

In “A Cinderella Christmas,” she stars alongside Peter Porte (“Days of Our Lives”) and he had great words about DeVito. “That was fun and a really cute film to do,” she said.

“I love a Christmas movie! There is something about them… it is a nice tradition to have throughout the year to look forward to,” she exclaimed.

Peter Porte on Lucy DeVito

Peter Porte had great words about working with DeVito in “A Cinderella Christmas.”

“It was amazing to work with Lucy,” Porte told this journalist. “She is very, very funny. She had a line about Beef Wellington, and there is nobody that can sell Beef Wellington like Lucy DeVito,” Porte acknowledged.

Lucy DeVito on Peter Porte

“Peter Porte is wonderful; he is so talented, and he was the perfect leading man in this movie, which was a really fun one,” DeVito said.

Favorite holiday traditions

Regarding her favorite holiday traditions, she remarked, “We always have a big Christmas Eve dinner. We are Italian so we usually have pasta and fish. We always get together as a family.”

“Now, I have a kid, and my sister has a kid, so Christmas is becoming more fun again. The idea of Santa and presents is reawakened so that is very fun,” she noted.

“On my mother’s side, I am also Jewish, so we also celebrate Hanukkah, and we light some candles, and make some latkes. Our experience with the holidays is quality family time, where we eat a lot and watch movies,” she added.

Stage of her life — Motherhood

On the title of the current chapter of her life, DeVito said with a sweet laugh, “Mommy.”

“I am in my motherhood chapter, where I am learning how to take care of an infant,” she said.

Advice for young and aspiring actors

For young and emerging actors, DeVito said, “Try to generate your own content, if you can. Work with people that you love, and see as much as you can. See movies, plays, art, listen to music, and try to read books.”

“Enrich yourself as much as possible and be inspired by all the things out there,” she added.

Superpower of choice

If she were to have any superpower, it would be “to read people’s minds.”

“That would be cool,” she admitted. “I would like to be wise in that sense.”

Lucy DeVito defines success

On her definition of the word success, DeVito said, “Success means happiness and family and love. It’s a mixture of a lot of things.”

“For me, it’s feeling healthy, as well as feeling love and closeness to my family and my friends. Also, being able to express myself creatively,” she added.

Message for her fans

For her fans, she stated, “I hope the fans enjoy these new movies. I feel that ‘A Sudden Case of Christmas’ is a good film to watch with your family, and I hope people enjoy ‘The Secret Art of Human Flight’ too.”

“A Sudden Case of Christmas” is available to stream on Hulu by clicking here.

To learn more about Lucy DeVito, follow her on Instagram.

Read More: “A Sudden Case of Christmas” review.

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