| By Fred Topel
In Theaters November 23
|
Everyone knows this story. There’s a girl or guy you really like, and you’re pretty close to them, but they just love you as a friend. No matter what you do for them, you can never escape that box of “Just Friends.” You’d think somebody would have made a movie of that before now, but here we are.
Just Friends takes us inside the pain of Chris Brander (Ryan Reynolds), who longs for his high school buddy, Jamie Palomino (Amy Smart). A chubby teen, when he comes back as a successful, good looking music executive, he still can’t get out of “The friend zone.”
As the object of Chris’s affection, Smart could relate his struggle. “I have to say that in junior high school, I had the biggest crush on this guy that just lasted forever and I basically threw myself at him and it didn’t work,” she said.
Sadly, she has also put boys in “The friend zone.” “It’s not easy. Relationships, sometimes they go both ways and you like each other and sometimes, it’s one-sided and I think it’s important to be honest when you don’t feel the same way.”
Then sometimes, neither party can recognize the connection. “Yeah, you’re right. You’re like, ‘Where is my soul mate? Oh, there you are.’”
High school was a painful time for Chris. Jamie was popular and beautiful, with everyone from jocks to music dorks pining for her. Smart seemed to outgrow high school before it was over.
“I was really independent. As soon as I got my car I was just off doing my own thing. I was modeling and doing commercials and I felt like there was definitely the popular kids in school that were really sexual and drinking and smoking and getting wasted. I just wasn’t that kind of person until toward the end of high school where I felt like people were just starting to mature and realize that, ‘Oh, we’re not going to be here the rest of our lives. We can’t treat each other the same way we’ve been treating each other.’ I wasn’t the super popular girl by any means.”
Described by many as a “girl next door type,” we’ve never had a girl like Amy Smart in our neighborhood. “I’ve always fantasized about being that unapproachable, fabulous diva but I’m just who I am and I think what I enjoy about life is seeing the bigger picture and not putting anyone above or beneath me. That’s not really realistic ever. There’s so much publicity and hype that people can buy into their image, into their own hype. It can be so not grounding.”
In the film, both Chris and another former high school dork, Dusty (Chris Klein), vie for Jamie’s attention. It’s been a while since Smart has been approached, as she’s in a committed relationship, but she still enjoys the attempts.
“It’s always fun to hear a really great pick up line. It’s entertaining. It doesn’t work but… I don’t even think pick up lines. I think the best way to meet people is through a friend. I always find blind dates don’t work very well.”
When working on the high school scenes with Reynolds, Smart got to hug and kiss his fat suit. “It just is mushy. It’s so weird because he’s such a good looking guy but when he wore it I felt so much more comfortable in front of him. He was a big teddy bear.”
It helped that Reynolds fell into character in the suit. “I felt like he seemed less confident and more easy going. I don’t know what it was. I think he was also enjoying the fun of it and really getting into that kind of character.”
Shot in the Canadian winter of Regina, Saskatchewan, the Christmastime set comedy gave the California native a rude awakening. “I’m from Los Angeles where it doesn’t get that cold and I got off the plane and it was negative 52 degrees with a wind chill factor. I’ve never even gotten close to experiencing that. It was so freezing where you literally ran from the car inside the hotel and felt the cold catch up with you. We had all these heat packets just taped or stickered to our bodies when doing the outdoor scenes.”
The weather did lend itself to a comedic set piece on an ice skating rink. Since Reynolds bore the brunt of the slapstick, Smart only had to learn basic balance on skates.
“I took some lessons. That was fun. Took some lessons here and then went up there. I did some of that and my stunt double did part. My mom was actually in ice skating. She competed a lot so she was excited that I got to learn how to be an ice skater.”
Opening in time for Thanksgiving vacation, with the potential to play through Christmas, Just Friends could be the big hit that launches Reynolds and Smart to the next level of their careers. Smart is hopeful for that success.
“I’m looking forward to it to be honest. I know I’m ready for myself and my career. I just think it’s a fun movie and a great two hours to get away and forget your life and laugh or bring back memories of people in your life that you’ve maybe had a relationship with. So, I’m looking forward to it. It’s a fun, feel good movie with a lot of heart.”
Luckily, the years of paying her dues with supporting roles in teen movies has kept her grounded, so a success wouldn’t turn her into an instant diva. “I felt like with my career so far, it’s been sort of this steady even climb. I think, with television especially, you can have these mega-stars overnight. Film doesn’t feel like that unless it was American Pie which was this huge hit. It hasn’t been this massive hype on me.”
Just Friends opens November 23. |
