The part of Jane was a difficult part to cast because a lot happens to the character in the film. Director Roger Kumble had worked with actress Selma Blair in the 1999 romantic drama, "Cruel Intentions." Kumble says, "I knew that she would be the right person to play Jane, because she'll do anything. And we get her into some screwed-up situations in this movie, so to speak."
SELMA BLAIR (Jane)
Roger says you can do anything he asks. Is there anything you won’t do?
I will do almost anything for the sake of a joke or for the sake of someone’s real belief in something to help tell a story. I will not do something shocking for the sake of being nasty. If it’s not hurting anyone’s feelings, I’m in on the joke. I have no ego, I’ll make fun of myself, and I’ll make fun of being humiliated. I get it. But [not] if it’s something that, when I get home, I’m gonna be ashamed because someone might be hurt because of it, or [if it has] to do with violence, which is something that I have a real problem with on film. I think our priorities in this country are a little off that we won’t see nudity but we’ll see someone’s head cut off. That’s just a personal thing for me that I can’t reconcile. There are certain things that are too horrific for me, but nothing too ridiculous.
You have a very interesting scene with a banana in this movie. Can you ever look at a banana the same way again?
That banana gave me some of the best memories of my life. No, having Cameron Diaz and Christina Applegate and a whole crowd of extras behind me with my head in a beautiful guy’s lap, it’s not that bad. No, I’m just being silly. It was okay.
Do you and your boyfriend have plans to get married?
I had been engaged a few years ago actually to a lovely, lovely man and yeah, I keep giving the rings back. This one’s going back so something’s amiss with me.
So you're not the marrying kind?
No, I’m just not thinking of marriage right now. There’s too much I want to [do]. If I get married, it’s something you really have to work at. It’s hard enough to work at having a relationship with best friends and girls that are in the business. I’m lucky I got to work with Christina and Cameron, such amazing girls to work at a friendship with, but a romantic relationship is too much for me to really work on right now. I wanna give it my all.
Are romantic comedies for women by woman an untapped market?
Nora Ephron has been doing it for a while - and very successfully - and everyone loves [them]. Her movies were great. I think there’s always room for them because there aren’t a lot, and this is not a full-on romantic comedy. This is a screwball comedy that has a great support group of friends in it. You won’t probably go see this if you really wanna bring the Kleenex. It’s not that kind of good, sappy romantic comedy.
Do you have girlfriends like this?
Oh, definitely.
Are they actresses?
Yeah, my best friends. Reese (Witherspoon) is one of my closest friends. I’ve worked with her twice. I knew Cameron two years before this movie. I think she hangs the moon. Christina too, these are girls that I’ve known before the movie and they’re my pals; I’ll be friends with them forever.
What about bathroom humor for women by women?
Bathroom humor, fart, and poo poo humor in movies gets a laugh. It’s a pretty easy audience, and that’s been around for ages. [There's] not a lot written by women and now we have it in this movie. I think it’s high time, although let’s face it, they’re fart and poo poo jokes. I don’t think we’re contributing to the dumbing down of America and all the things that people will probably be saying. There’s plenty of room for this kind of inane stuff but it's also really supported by a lot of screwball comedy.
Will you be in "Legally Blonde 2?"
I don’t know. I know that they’re making one. I know it’s in the works and I imagine Vivian would have a meatier role considering she’s a nice girl now instead of the adversary. It depends what they do with it. I don’t think there’s a script yet, so that’s yet to be decided.
What are you looking forward to about playing the nicer version of Vivian?
It was hard being the adversary against someone as sunny as Reese. People really hated me. I want to be liked, too. I’m friends with Reese so it would just be fun to get to pal around again.
What's next for you?
I have "A Guy Thing" coming out July 13th. I love it. Jason Lee, Julia Stiles and myself and it’s a complete ensemble love triangle. I’m the engaged girl; I’m playing a grown-up. I play a woman that’s obsessed - not obsessed with getting married, but obsessed with my wedding plans. This is the guy, this is Mr. Right, and I have to book the band, have the right ring on, and my family, and the country club. At his bachelor party there’s a hula dancer, Julia Stiles, who is everything I’m not, which is fun and quirky. She’s the girl who embodies the free spirit and I’m a little more rigid. He wakes up in bed with her the next morning and doesn’t know what happened and he’s really torn. Is this what I want in my life or can I not get married? Am I not ready? It’s done in a real screwball way but it’s very funny. You have to see how it ends because it’s not your typical 'everyone lives happily ever after,' but it’s still not anything that will put you to tears.
Were you and Julia Stiles friends before?
Yes, we’d actually done a movie called "Down to You" that we all want to forget - that most people did forget to see, which is really fine in my book, but my mother liked it. My mother said, "I thought that was a really nice movie."
What does your mother think of this film?
My mother is the biggest Todd Solondz fan, which is strange that she would be a fan of "Down to You." She loves "Storytelling." I don’t even know if she knows about "The Sweetest Thing" yet. I should ring her up and let her know what I’m doing. She knows about the movie, she just doesn’t know that my TMJ bills - my jaw pain bills - have gotten a lot worse since the banana scene.
Do you have to prepare her for this stuff?
No, it doesn’t freak her out but I do think she says, "Oh, Selma, what will my friends think?" That’s her big concern. My mom really is pretty bullet-proof.
What about the rest of your family?
I have three sisters, that’s it for the family. I think my sisters get a kick out of it. I think one of them thought it was a bit odd to see me without clothing in a movie on a big screen for Todd Solondz, but that’s about it. We’re sisters. We grew up like these girls in "The Sweetest Thing." We’ve talked, we’ve been raunchy, we’re silly, we run out of clean clothes and you wear your bathing suit and you pee in the urinal. These things happen. We’re three sisters. You spend enough time with someone, you’re bound to do things that seem a little dirty.
