‘Am I Ok?’ Draws Inspiration From Writer Lauren Pomerantz’s Coming Out Journey

A story of self-discovery, queerness and friendship, the Sundance comedy-drama “Am I Ok?” is based on writer Lauren Pomerantz’s personal experiences. The film follows two 30-year-old best friends, Lucy (played by Dakota Johnson) and Jane (played by Sonoya Mizuno), who live in Los Angeles.

While Jane has a steady job and is in-line for a promotion that will require her to move back to London, Lucy is a free spirit moving through life with few worries. However, when Jane gets the promotion and Lucy’s routine is interrupted, she realizes she’s a lesbian.

Pomerantz, Johnson, actors Jermaine Fowler, Sonoya Mizuno, and co-directors Stephanie Allynne and Tig Notaro, who also acted in the film sat down for interviews at TheWrap’s virtual Sundance studio to discuss the making of “Am I Ok?”

Notaro shared that she based the look of her character Sheila, or the “Hammock Lady,” off of singer-songwriter Patti Smith. Notaro recalled that when she showed Smith a picture of herself from the film, the musician hilariously did a double-take, saying “Wait, that’s not me.”

Johnson, who also has a role in the Sundance film “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” said she appreciated the imperfectness of Lucy and was looking forward to telling a story that showed an older woman continuing on her journey of self-discovery.

“I really loved the idea of somebody not having it all figured out and perfect by the time they’re in their 30s,” Johnson said. “It’s just not realistic and everyone is so different, and I think it was just a nice breath of fresh air to be like, ‘It’s really okay to either change your mind about who you are or what you want to be or really discover who you are and to also still be working on it for a while.’”

Pomerantz says the script started as a “friendship movie,” about her own struggles with coming out and talking about her sexuality with others.

“As I was writing [the script], and as I was coming out — and when I did come out — I realized that’s what I really wanted the story to be about, and then I kind of shifted course and made it a coming-of-age friendship story based on my whole journey,” she said.

For more of the conversation on “Am I Ok?,” watch the video above.

TheWrap’s Sundance Studio is presented by NFP and National Geographic Documentary Films.