- - Juliette Lewis plays a chair (yes, a chair) in trailer for “By Design, ”narrated by Melanie Griffith (exclusive)

Staff AuthorDecember 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM

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You might want to sit down for this one.

Juliette Lewis plays a chair — yep, a literal chair — in the upcoming film By Design from filmmaker Amanda Kramer, and Entertainment Weekly has your exclusive look at the wacky first trailer.

Described as "an absurdist spin on the body-swap comedy," the movie (in theaters Feb. 13, 2026) follows Lewis's Camille, who, after seeing a beautiful chair at a showroom, "realizes that she truly envies the life of this perfect piece of furniture," per the film's official synopsis.

"I wish I could just be you," Camille whispers, clinging to the seat.

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Juliette Lewis and Mamoudou Athie in 'By Design'

A voice-over gives the trailer a meta twist, asking cheekily, "Have you heard of this movie where Juliette Lewis plays a chair? Her character swaps bodies with a chair...but a chair doesn't have a body."

And yet, she and the object still manage to "swap forms," leaving Camille unable to move or speak. But it turns out her friends and family prefer her much better this way: Her mom (Betty Buckley) thinks she's a better listener, and her besties (Samantha Mathis and Robin Tunney) think she's easier to get along with.

She even has better luck in the dating world, landing Oliver (Mamoudou Athie), a "minimalist bachelor who gradually becomes romantically fixated on his elegant new possession." In the trailer, he and Camille share a warm embrace, and later he's shown licking the chair's wood-grain seat (marking the second trailer in as many months featuring a character tonguing an inanimate object).

Narrated by Melanie Griffith, By Design promises to celebrate "the messiness of female interiority with deadpan humor, surrealist flourishes, and interpretative dance numbers."

Consider us seated.

on Entertainment Weekly

Original Article on Source

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