More of this Feature • Interview with Jason Lee ('Paul') • Interviews with Shawn Hatosy ('Jim') and Lochlyn Munro ('Ray') • Interview with Director Chris Koch ADDITIONAL "A Guy Thing" INFORMATION: • "A Guy Thing" Premiere Photos • "A Guy Thing" Trailer, Credits and Websites • "A Guy Thing" Production Photos • Jason Lee • Selma Blair • Julia Stiles

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SELMA BLAIR ('Karen')

Are you getting tired of playing the girl who gets dumped on in romantic comedies?
Yes [but] I didn't really realize it until [the press] have all brought it up over the past couple of days. I guess there's got to be someone who gets dumped on and I'd rather be that someone than have someone else be that someone. It's okay but it's probably time for me to move on. I think I've kind of worn out my welcome as the 'country club mutated girl that doesn't get the guy but gets the very big ring.'

If you're tired of the role, why take this one?
Actually when I got this script, I so wanted to play Becky. I got the script and I thought, "Oh, God, Karen's kind of a snooze cruise." I didn't even think of it. I thought it was just being sent to me for Becky, and that was it. I called and said, "Yeah, I'd love to play Becky. Thank you." They said, "What are you talking about? Becky?" So I was playing Karen. I thought, "I don't wanna play Karen. I just don't. I've kind of done this." Then I went and met with [director] Chris Koch and I fell in love with him. I really did, I fell in love with him in the way he said, "We don't have to make her the bitchy fiancée. She doesn't have to be 'Vivian Kensington' [Blair's "Legally Blonde" character] all grown up. It doesn't have to be the same thing."

It was really important to me that there was no animosity in this movie. There was a sweetness to it. It's a romantic comedy. We don't have to have some little catfight, even if it's unbeknownst to the girls. I wanted it to stay kind of like an old Hollywood throwback where it's good, clean fun and merry mix-ups.

I didn't know what I was in for exactly because it was very tough to walk that narrow line for Karen while supporting our stars. What Paul [Jason Lee's character] does in this is very kind of 'off.' It's a bit tricky because you don't want to like him. You think he cheated on his girl or wants to cheat on his girl or isn't gonna get married, isn't gonna through with it, and you don't want to like him but we have to like him because he's our guy. Then you don't want to like Becky [Julia Stiles' character] because she's kind of a home wrecker. [But it] keeps coming around, no one's being honest with each other, and the only one that's honest is Karen.

[Karen] just wants to get married and [it would have been easy to] make Karen a bitch, but I refused to do that. It was really a fine line to not go to that stereotype. I had to just make her really focused on this wedding and it was hard. Chris had to reel me in a lot and say, "Okay, you're getting too sensitive now. You're playing it for the real too much. Our hearts are breaking for Karen." I'd always have to go and play her much more focused on the wedding in order to not play her like the biggest dingbat in the world. But you have to play her a little bit daft or else we wouldn't have a movie, so it was actually a bit tricky for me.

I actually learned a lot on this little movie. And I loved it. I had the best time shooting this movie. I've known Julia for years. She's someone we've sent postcards back and forth for years. We met on another movie years ago, and Jason I had known through friends. [It's] just a great cast and so I was thrilled to be with Julia. We really got on.

Did you ever break into laughter while filming "A Guy Thing?"
I love to laugh and well, who doesn't? Jason Lee made me laugh all the time because he's so big, and I love how goofy bodies can be. He has it in him to be such a stable, strong, Jimmy Stewart-kind of regular guy. Then we'd yell, "Cut," and he'd turn into monkey boy. [He has] this big body and I just crack up when bodies do things that you just don't think they can. I like doing that with my body, too. Everyone got in the spirit of really 'no holds barred' zoo behavior. [It was] all in good clean fun although I think sometimes our mouths did run away with us. My character was so constricted and restricted that it was kind of fun to let loose between takes. I have a lot of energy.

What's your idea of romance?
I truthfully don't know. I mean, there's all the clichés that I'd like to say like, "Oh, I'd love a secret admirer and persistence and things left in front of my door, and John Cusack under my window playing 'In Your Eyes.'" I buy into all that and I kind of dig that the most. But I guess, honestly, it would be [where] I can be my unfiltered self without being embarrassed about that in front of someone, because God knows, I never want to hurt someone's feelings. I never want to be a showoff or attention getter or something that, truthfully, is kind of repulsive to me, but I get uncomfortable.

I don't always know how to communicate. I think I get a bit unfiltered and a bit strange to people. I do get from guys a lot like, "Oh God, you know, she's just so weird." That's not that romantic to me. But they still go after me and they still say, "But we're meant to be together." And I think, "But we can't be. You can't possibly mean that. What are you liking if that makes you uncomfortable?" And I get that a lot, you know, "Oh God, if you just stop running around at four in the morning, you'd be a great girl." Well, I can't. I go to bed when you wake up and that's just the way it is. So, if I could be a little bit more comfortable without feeling ashamed, I think that's awfully romantic. And if a fellow let me face out in the restaurant in the booth, if he gave me a good seat instead of just immediately sliding his big a** into it, I'd think that was romantic. I'd like to look out at the restaurant for a change.