Kelly & Michael: Laura Dern Family Thanksgiving + ‘Wild’ Review

Kelly & Michael: Laura Dern

Laura Dern came by to talk to Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan about her new movie Wild, which looks amazing. It’s a true story about a woman who hikes the Pacific Crest Trail in order to deal with her mother’s death and other things that went wrong in her life. Dern plays the mother. She seemed really happy to be there. And she had amazing shoes. “They’re perfect for 10 minutes,” she said.

Kelly & Michael: Laura Den Thanksgiving

Laura Dern had a good Thanksgiving. She was with her parents and stepparents. They had a very tender, sweet, beautiful, no-drama Thanksgiving. They’re the modern American family. They set the tone. It took them 35 years to get to that point though. She cooked this year, and it went pretty well. She remembered the first time she had Thanksgiving at her house. Her dad heard a noise and found her sobbing hysterically with food everywhere. She had it catered, but she had to heat it up. She made a turkey this year, and it was actually decent. She’s really grown.

Kelly & Michael: Laura Dern and Scott Baio

The first film she was in was when she was 11 or 12. It was the movie Foxes with Jodi Foster. The male lead was Scott Baio, which was a huge deal. There were four girls in the audience who had no idea who he was. Her mother also invited him over, and he said yes, which was very exciting. He wore a Saturday Night Fever-like white pantsuit. He loved dogs, but her dog menstruated on him. That’s horrifying.

Check out the video here:

Kelly & Michael: Wild Review

Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern are her parents. Dern’s amazing in Wild. Kelly read the book and it was fascinating to see on screen. The woman hiked 1,100 miles herself. But it’s really about longing, grief, hope, and finding yourself. Dern plays her mother. It seems impossible, but she does it beautifully. The film is told through the daughter’s memories as she’s on the trail. It’s a mother-daughter love story. They did a special family screening. Her dad loved it. He thanked her for making a movie for him. It’s really relatable.

In the clip of Wild, Dern’s character was talking to Witherspoon’s character about trying to be your best self. Wild is out now in LA and New York City but will open nationwide on December 16 2014.