With so many syndromes (ADHD), bureaucratic agencies (USDA) and different statistical metrics (OPS) already receiving their own acronyms, it seems only appropriate that, since one out of two marriages end in a split-up, adult children of divorce (ACOD) merit the same level of recognition.

Writer-director Stu Zicherman felt the same way. Opening in New York and Los Angeles theaters this week, his film A.C.O.D. centers on restauranteur Carter (Adam Scott), who, having survived the madness of the split of his parents (Catherine O’Hara and Richard Jenkins) as a kid, now has to oversee bringing them back together, along with their new spouses, for the wedding of his younger brother (Clark Duke). Along the way, he learns that, unbeknownst to him, the therapist (Jane Lynch) he saw years ago was actually an author doing research for a book about the effects of divorce on kids. For Playboy, I recently had a chance to talk to Zicherman about his film, divorce in both real life and as seen on screen, what quality can long mask relationship troubles, and a family secret called “the Hysterectomy Conspiracy.” The conversation is an interesting one, so click here for the excerpted read.