Jill Kargman is known for being gleefully out of step with the denizens of her native Upper East Side, so it seems fitting that when I find her in the aggressively floral library of a private club in her neighborhood — one of so many to open in New York of late — she is, as always, wearing black. And even though the May weather outside is starting to flirt with summer temperatures, she is completely covered.
“I have the blood pressure of a vampire, 86 over 60,” says Kargman, explaining the cup of tea warming her hands. “I’m like a dead body. I’m cold on a beach.”
This public-facing version of Kargman, the one who grew up on 66th and Madison Avenue and only briefly entertained a life downtown, is familiar to many who’ve followed her dispatches from her beloved corner of Manhattan. She’s published a dozen books with titles like Momzillas, The Rock Star in Seat 3A and Sprinkle Glitter on My Grave. Perhaps more prominently, she created and starred in the three-season Bravo comedy Odd Mom Out (Yes, Bravo briefly made scripted TV). It was her outlet to comically position herself against her wealthier, pastel-loving neighbors. But in her new movie, Influenced, she takes the opposite approach and goes full Stepford. Almost.
