Danny DeVito & Lizzy Caplan’s New Thriller Movie Puts An Exciting Twist On Home Alone, Teases Drag Star

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A home invasion somehow goes more awry than Home Alonein the new Danny DeVito-produced thriller Drag.

This film, the first feature directed by Yaviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitzer, follows two sisters who travel to a remote house in upstate New York with the intention of robbing it. Things quickly go wrong when one sister injures her back and can barely walk, forcing the other to try and get them both out before the owner comes home. What follows is a tense and emotionally charged series of mishaps.

Lizzy Caplan, known from Now You See Me, and Lucy DeVito (who also produced the film with her father, an Oscar nominee) play sisters in Drag. John Stamos, a familiar face from sitcoms, and Christine Ko from The Handmaid’s Tale also star. The film premiered at SXSW on March 13th and has received overwhelmingly positive reviews.

I was at SXSW covering the film Drag, and we had a fantastic interview with the whole cast – John Stamos, Lizzy Caplan, Lucy DeVito, Christine Ko, Greg Yagolnitzer, Raviv Ullman, Danny DeVito, and Jake DeVito! We were chatting about how much their characters go through in the movie, and Lizzy Caplan had a really fun take on it. She said filming felt like a female-led Home Alone, which she thought was a surprisingly rare opportunity. She and Lucy DeVito both really embraced getting to be totally ‘vanity free’ during the shoot – it was cool to hear them talk about that!

Lizzy Caplan enjoyed taking on roles that typically aren’t given to female actors. She generally felt good during filming and was well-rested, though her co-star, Lucy, pushed her hard. The only injury she sustained was a tweaked back during a scene where she physically interacted with John Stamos, and that happened near the very end of production.

Drag’s Back Pain-Driven Story Has A Very Real Origin

I’m thrilled to discuss this film – I really enjoyed it! Let’s start at the beginning: where did the concept originate, and how did the project come together?

Raviv and I were both suffering from really bad back pain. We actually both discovered the same book – it’s the one mentioned in the movie – and thought, “We’ve already hurt our backs, what could possibly make things worse?”

If you struggle with back pain, we highly recommend checking out the book by John Sarno. The documentary itself is really a service to the public.

Christine Ko: They did give us the book. We all got the book.

Greg Yagolnitzer: Have you read the book?

Christine Ko: I did not read it.

You know, I hadn’t read the original book, but when the script landed on my desk, something just hit me – literally, I got a backache while reading it! [Laughs] Greg and Raviv sent it over to me, Jake, and Lucy, and I actually had to reread it because that feeling – that wonderfully awkward, cringe-worthy feeling – grabbed me immediately. We all called each other right away, buzzing about it. We just knew, this was special. We had to be a part of it – it was a real gem.

ScreenRant: How do we describe the dynamic between the sisters?

Lucy DeVito describes her and her sister’s relationship as a complex mix of love and annoyance. They’ve known each other forever, which means they can easily irritate each other, but they share a deep and unique bond.

I think they genuinely love each other, but they have very different perspectives on things.

Lucy DeVito: No, they don’t.

Lizzy Caplan: They’re not the ideal teammate for each other.

ScreenRant: What did you love about the script and this character that made you want to be here?

I was hoping to do a classic, feel-good Christmas movie, but then I read the script for ‘Drag’ and the chance to wear a dress was too fun to pass up! Honestly, this is the kind of role I’m excited about right now. I recently finished ‘The Hunting Wives,’ but ‘Drag’ was the project I was really waiting for. I’m so thankful the creators took a chance on me – and as you saw, it’s definitely a surprising performance! I think I’ve built up enough goodwill that audiences are willing to go along for the ride with me – they feel like they know me, and maybe that makes the unexpected twists more shocking. I’m just really grateful to everyone who let me take this risk and put myself out there.

Just so everyone knows, we couldn’t have asked for a better cast. These actors were actually our very first choices for each of the roles – they were who we originally envisioned when we started.

John Stamos pointed out that this is the first film the creators both wrote and directed, which he found really impressive. He emphasized how challenging it is to establish and maintain a consistent tone, especially for a first-time project, making their accomplishment even more remarkable.

I saw a ton of films at SXSW – around 25, actually – and this one really stood out. Honestly, it’s easily in my top five favorites, and might even be the best movie I saw there. It was a complete surprise and I’m just thrilled I discovered it!

I think our movie really stayed true to the original script. It was simple to support because the director had a clear and complete vision, and everyone involved quickly got on board and worked together seamlessly. It’s a testament to the talent of everyone who contributed.

ScreenRant asked Christine about her role, noting that it involves some physical activity.

Working with John Stamos was fantastic – we did a lot of dance rehearsals, and he’s a genuinely gifted dancer. Honestly, the VFX team carried a lot of the heavy lifting, making everything incredibly safe and seamless. I was amazed by what they achieved! They showed me the storyboards, so I had a clear picture of each shot, which really put my mind at ease. It was surprisingly fun spending 21 days on set doing night shoots – you don’t get to say that very often in this business!

ScreenRant asked about the collaborative nature of the production, specifically how it felt working with family members on the project.

I’m so proud of what we’re building at Jersey 2nd Avenue with Lucy and Jake. We’ve been working together for a while now, and our main goal is to find new, talented filmmakers with exciting, original ideas. We really focus on supporting first-time directors – people who not only write fantastic scripts that immediately grab our attention, but also clearly understand the art of filmmaking. We’re there for them every step of the way, but honestly, it’s amazing when you find people who are truly passionate and dedicated to making a really fun movie – and that’s what we’re all aiming for. A big perk for me personally? We have Zoom calls every other day, and I get to see my ‘kids’ – Lucy and Jake. It’s all business, of course, but it always turns into a personal check-in – ‘How are you doing?’ and ‘What’s new?’. And now Lucy has a little boy, Carmine, who’s a year and a half, and he just brings so much joy to my life. I really cherish that.

ScreenRant: And you’re not getting away with it back there. Tell me what you love about this film.

I was hooked on this movie from the very beginning! Everyone was right – it’s a classic physical comedy. I especially love when the humor comes from the action itself, and this movie had action everywhere. It was clearly a tough performance piece, but they assembled the perfect group and guided them brilliantly, making it absolutely hilarious. Like my dad said, working with this team was the key. They came prepared with so many ideas, and they really put the actors through their paces, rehearsing and storyboarding every single shot. The preparation was incredible – there were moments where we’d look at an idea and think, “Wow, that’s going to be difficult!” – not knowing just how much work was ahead. Then they brought in Ben Goodman as DP, and the camera rigs they built were amazing – they found simple ways to get these really unique angles, all while letting the actors’ hilarious physicality shine through. It was so much fun to watch it all come together and grow. That’s really what makes this movie so special to me.

Be sure to dive into some of ScreenRant‘s other SXSW coverage with:

  • The Sun Never Sets Review
  • Brian Review
  • The Fox Review
  • I Love Boosters Review
  • Dead Eyes Review
  • One Another Review
  • Kill Me Review
  • Ready or Not 2: Here I Come Review
  • The Saviors Review
  • Family Movie Review
  • Power Ballad Review
  • Seekers of Infinite Love Review
  • Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice Review
  • Normal Review
  • Over Your Dead Body Review
  • Sender Review
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2026-03-18 00:58