‘Sisters’ Screenwriter Paula Pell Is Comedy’s Secret MVP

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If you’re planning on going to the movies to see Sisters this weekend, you’re going to find yourself laughing at the work of three of the greatest feminist minds working in comedy today: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Paula Pell.

You know Paula Pell, right? The genius Paula Pell! Well, if the name doesn’t wring a bell, it’s probably because Pell is more apt to work her magic behind the scenes. From 1995 – 2014, she was Saturday Night Live‘s secret weapon. Pell was a great and talented comedy writer, but maybe her real gift is her ability to take the germ of a performer’s idea and give it legs. When she started, Pell quickly made a name for herself as the writer behind such popular sketches as “The Culps” and “The Spartan Cheerleaders.” Pell told Vulture that while the latter was created by Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri, she was brought on to help shape it into a recurring sketch powerhouse.

Oftentimes a writer at Saturday Night Live becomes associated with one performer or one brand of humor. Because Pell’s tenure at the show was so long, she got to evolve with the ever-changing cast. She also found herself in a position where she was responsible for cultural defining moments. Maybe the biggest one of these for Pell was the “Debbie Downer” sketch. Once again, the sketch started out as an actor’s idea – in this case, Rachel Dratch — and Pell helped her figure out the “that little nuance of her looking into the camera with the sound effect.” You know what sound effect we’re talking about.

From 2006 – 2008, Pell was one of Saturday Night Live‘s head writers. Coincidentally, she replaced Tina Fey. During this era, Kristen Wiig established herself as one of the biggest and brightest voices in comedy — and Paula Pell was her frequent co-writer. Most notably, Pell helped Wiig write and develop “Gilly.”

In addition to her work on Saturday Night Live, Pell has helped beef up the scripts for Bridesmaids and This is 40. She wrote a few episodes of 30 Rock and had a frequent recurring role on the sitcom as Pete Hornberger’s wife. She also appeared on Parks and Recreation as Ron Swanson’s mother. Besides all this, Pell has a sitcom in development at HBO and is turning her popular “Hey Young Girls” tweets into a book! Still, Pell has one more awesome project up her sleeve. This summer she told the New York Post that her web series Hudson Valley Ballers is “the joy of [her] life.”

So, yeah, even if you’re not hip to Paula Pell, you’ve definitely fallen in love with her comedy. She’s basically the unsung superwoman of comedy…but that’s probably about to change very soon.

Sisters opens in theaters nationwide December 18.

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