By ARIELLA MONTI
Raphael, who became engaged in November, gained plenty of wedding planning experience while doing research for the movie which she co-wrote with Casey Wilson and Greg DePaul.
The film, which opened on January 9, stars Ann Hathaway and Kate Hudson as best friends who have dreamt about the perfect wedding day since they were children. Through a series of planning mishaps, Hathaway and Hudson schedule their weddings at the same place, on the same day and bridezilla behavior ensues.
Not only a writer, but an actress, Raphael plays Amanda, a character that she describes as "A completely narcissistic, wedding-obsessed, mess."
While living on Long Island, Raphael had plenty of run-ins with over dramatic brides while working at a Nassau County catering hall. "I would witness brides going crazy and losing their mind," said Raphael who used her first hand knowledge when developing the script.
She said the main thing her experiences brought to the movie was "The intensity of these women and the way they were running the day and the way that nothing else mattered."
The film made $21.5 million in its opening weekend, coming second to Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino, despite being bashed by critics nationwide. "There's always been a disconnect between what the critical reviews are and what the people think," said Raphael who avoids the reviews, but has seen the movie with four different audiences. "When an audience is laughing consistently and then crying because it's the heart of the movie, you can't tell me it's not a successful movie."
While Raphael fell into screenwriting, she got her performing start at South Side High School with former theater teacher Larry Waxman. "I feel like I owe a lot to the South Side High School drama program," said Raphael, who graduated in 1998.
"I feel really grateful because even if you have the talent and even if you're thinking about pursuing it, if you don't have that kind of push, like I had, and I had Larry Waxman who really pushed me in that direction, then it's hard to really go for it," she said.
Under Waxman's guidance she applied to and graduated from New York University in 2001 with a degree in theater and women's studies. While attending NYU, she met writing partner Wilson, of Saturday Night Live fame. The pair developed a two-woman sketch comedy show called Rode Hard and Put Away Wet, which they wrote and performed at the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theater in New York City.
The show was a selection at the HBO Comedy Arts Festival in 2005 where Raphael and Wilson were solicited by Los Angeles agencies that wanted to represent the pair as writers.
"I think always I'm a performer at heart," said Raphael when asked if she preferred writing or acting. "I enjoy writing, but I love acting."
Raphael, who now lives in Los Angeles, can be seen in the summer movie, The Year One with Jack Black and Michael Cera. As her first big role, Raphael will play Black's girlfriend, Maya.
