The casting of Christina's (Cameron Diaz) best friend was critical to the tone of the film. Producer Cathy Konrad was looking for that 'true best friend' connection between the characters. "Christina and Courtney are in every scene of the movie together. That energy of friendship had to come through," says Konrad.
Director Roger Kumble adds, "When Christina Applegate came in and read with Cameron, they had so much fun. They were doing improv, trying different things that friends would do. You could really see that connection happening." Cameron Diaz says, "Christina Applegate has perfect comedic timing. She is just constantly coming up with great moments, just grabbing them out of the air. She is such a great actress."
CHRISTINA APPLEGATE (Courtney)
Did you fight for this role?
Yes, I fought tooth and nail for this role. I just looked at it and I said, "There is nobody else. Nobody else can do this. I have to do this. I have to play this character. Please, please, I have to." I just put that in my mind and when I went in there to audition for it, for me I just felt like it was a rehearsal for something that I'm doing. That's what this is for me. I have to do it. I must.
Did you ever go out to clubs like the girls in this film?
Absolutely. I thought this was such a testament to that period of time when women go through this. This is something that I think a lot of women go through. They go through a lot of bad relationships and somewhere around 25-26, you just get like, "I'm so sick of being burned, I'm so sick of being the one waiting by the phone. I am going to act like a guy because guys obviously are unscathed by all of this and they're happy. They're happy just watching sports and scratching and burping and going out and meeting some hot chick and never talking to them again - so let's try that for a little while."
I'm just generalizing. I think there's a period of time where women feel like they need to behave like men in a way, just to protect themselves and to give them that little bit of time to realize who they really are. They wanna hang out with their girlfriends, they want to explore themselves and find out what they were doing wrong. At the end of the day, women just want love. We don't want to be that way; we want love.
Roger Kumble gave you credit for being fearless. How did you get to that point?
Probably because I don't take myself seriously. I have the ability to make fun of humanity. I think the women that were chosen to do this film all kind of feel that way. I think we all are so okay with ourselves that we can go that extra mile. We can make ourselves look silly.
What do you like about physical comedy?
I've been obsessed with Lucile Ball pretty much my whole life, so that was such a great inspiration to me as an actor and a person. Whenever I get to do something remotely close to what she did, I'm all gung ho.
Were there a lot of outtakes?
They happened all the time. At the end of the scene, there was always something that we did that was just completely inappropriate and didn't end up in the movie. Once you get these girls on a roll, forget about it. At the end of every single scene, there was something that was definitely not in the movie.
How hard is it to find good, funny roles?
It's really difficult because comedy is about opinion. Humanity, we all understand. We can read a script and go, "Oh, I can see the struggle that this human being is going through." But comedy is a matter of opinion, so what some person might think is funny, another person might not. It's hard for someone to write funny roles for females. It's just really difficult and, luckily, this script came along. It was written by a female and she's a very funny female. She's been through all of these things and she just sort of documented her life. It was just so wonderful; it was just so perfect.
How do you feel about nudity?
I think there are certain times where nudity is imperative to the structure of the scene or the characters or what they're going through. Look at "Shakespeare in Love" - when he takes the bandages off of her for the first time and sees her breasts for the first time, that's a very important moment for the story. In "Boys Don't Cry," when she's standing there with full frontal nudity, that's a very important part of the storytelling. When it's not an important part of the storytelling, then it's just gratuitous as far as I'm concerned. I think that's when women say they won't do it unless it's important. That's how I feel. I won't do a sex scene and be naked. I will not.
What was it like working with your husband?
They asked me if it was okay if they asked him and I said, "Oh my God, please ask him. I don’t want any other guy in there - so, absolutely." The character was actually going to follow through to the rest of the movie but Johnathon got a better job.
The two of you have a conversation in the film. How long did you have to keep repeating that conversation?
They just kept rolling and we just kept doing it, trying to find other contexts for what we were saying. It was great because we did have a conversation. Johnathon and I were having a full-on conversation, just using these other words, which is sort of the way life is.
How is married life?
It’s fabulous. It’s wonderful. I love being married. I love hanging out with him. He’s really my best friend and there’s just such a sense of calm after you get married and after you go through that ceremony. You’ve made a commitment that’s so strong - and it is strong. It shouldn’t be affected by anything on the outside world, so it’s a very strong bond.
What do you do when you're not working?
I hang out with my husband, my dogs and my cats, and go bowling.
How many pets do you have?
I have two dogs and two cats. They all get along. I have one dog who can’t walk and she’s amazing. She’s the most amazing creature on the planet. She doesn’t have use of her back legs at all, so I call her 'Little Drag-along.' She drags herself everywhere. I have a wheelchair for her.
Do you consider yourself fashionable?
It’s hard for me. I don’t really know how to dress myself very well. I know what I like but I have trouble putting everything together. Cameron is this genius who can just sort of put these freaky things together and it all just works. She has that kind of mind. She’s very creative. She’s really good in the garden. She’s really good with decorating. She’s really good with these things. She’s very artistic that way and I’m just completely handicapped.
