“You gotta get a Cheesy Gordita Crunch,” says Dave Chernin as he scrolls through options on the digital kiosk at a Taco Bell Cantina in Chelsea. “I’ll order you one, too,” he assures John Chernin, his older brother (15 months) and writing and directing partner.
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The siblings are in New York City to promote “Incoming,” a high school comedy about four nerdy friends that’s a raucous throwback to films — like “Superbad” and “American Pie” — that dominated the box office before superhero movies took over Hollywood. And yes, the Chernins know there’s more authentic Mexican food to be had nearby, but we’re thinking Outside the Bun in homage to an outrageous scene in their R-rated film. It’s one in which two freshmen (Ramon Reed and Raphael Alejandro) take a drunken older classmate (Loren Gray) on a chalupa run. Given that their fast-food outing ends in explosive diarrhea and a Tesla interior that desperately needs a thorough cleaning, “Incoming” probably won’t be part of Taco Bell’s next ad campaign.
"It was in the script as Taco Bell," Dave says. "And there was a lot of talk about like, oh, we can't actually say Taco Bell. But making up names like Taco Town just didn't feel as funny. So we got creative and didn't show the wrappers or an actual Taco Bell establishment."
The scene, the brothers say, was inspired by a true story — though the names and the restaurant have been changed. In fact, much of “Incoming,” which follows the kids as they try to score an invite to a lavish party, is based on the house parties Dave and John attended as kids. But when they sat down to write the film, they worried that gravity bongs and beer kegs would seem, well, passé.