Applauded for infusing as much emotion into her nuanced act in Blockers as she could humour, Leslie Mann says there was a lot in common in her life, on and off screen, when playing a mother to a teenage daughter in the film.

"I was going through the same experience that I did with my daughter while shooting the movie," says the actor, who is a mother to girls Maude and Iris. She has an array of comic capers on her résumé, but Mann insists that comedies that are grounded in reality are the kind that moves her. "My favourite movie is a comedy that is kind of dramatic, and one that lets me [grow] as an actor. My favourite film, Broadcast News, defines me as a person. I also love Harold And Maude. I watched it constantly, and it has [established] my [taste]."