Jon Bernthal, Shea Whigham and John Pollono on Small Engine Repair

With Small Engine Repair opening in select theaters this weekend, I recently spoke with Jon Bernthal, Shea Whigham, and writerdirector and star John Pollono about making the pitchblack comedic drama. If youre not familiar with the material, Small Engine Repair is based on Pollonos awardwinning play and its a powerful exploration of class struggle, brotherhood, and modern masculinity with a wicked twist. Frankie (Pollono), Swaino (Bernthal) and Packie (Whigham) are lifelong friends who all love Frankies teenaged daughter Crystal (Ciara Bravo). But when Frankie invites his pals to a whiskeyfueled evening and asks them to do a favor on behalf of the young woman they all adore, events spin wildly out of control. During the interview, Jon Bernthal, Shea Whigham, and John Pollono talk about the long road to getting this film made, how theyve been describing the film to friends, what people would be surprised to learn about the making of the film, the editing process, Ciara Bravos accent and fantast