On the set of the Universal Pictures comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, That ‘70s Show alumni Mila Kunis said she’s having no problem at all making the transition from the small screen to an R-rated comedy. “Apparently I curse a lot,” laughed Kunis. “I learned this in this production. As R-rated as this is, you’ve got to do some clean. I didn’t know I had like a sailor’s mouth - and I do.”
Kunis first heard about the movie when she went in for a table read about nine months before the film went into production. “It was one of those table reads where a bunch of actors get together and you just hear the script out loud to see if it’s going to be made and if it is, by who. That type of deal. It was for Judd [Apatow], and I met with Judd and Shauna [Robertson] previously. I’ve always wanted to work with them so this came along and I was like, ‘Yeah, of course I’ll do the table read.’”
Four months later, Kunis got the call saying Apatow and company wanted her to be a part of Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Long-time friend of Judd Apatow and star of How I Met Your Mother Jason Segel wrote the script and stars in the film. Kunis plays a girl who catches his eye. “She lives in Hawaii, she broke up with her boyfriend, she stayed in Hawaii and then she meets Jason’s character,” explained Kunis. “I don’t think either one of them are looking for love in any type of matter, and I think they just accidentally bond over the same thing where they both didn’t know who they were during their relationships. I think it’s a very funny relationship that these two have because they know they’re not - it’s like over a five day week so their love sparks really fast. I wouldn’t say she’s looking for the right love. I just don’t think she’s looking for anything.”
Jack McBrayer (Kenny the Page in 30 Rock) plays a supporting part in the movie and Kunis blames McBrayer for making her lose it on the set. “I think [he] is one of the most brilliant comedians. He is so f--king funny. Him and his wife play this young Mormon couple checking into the hotel, and I’m checking them in. You are going to die! Without giving too much away, they’re Mormons. They’re waiting to have sex. She’s really horny and he’s confused and stuff. She starts kind of hugging him sexually and he’s like, ‘Honey, what’s gotten into you?’ She goes, ‘Well, not you.’ Literally, for a good 12, 15 minutes, I could not stop laughing. That’s my favorite scene only because I was in hysterics. You know when you laugh, you cry? That’s where I was. I was in hysterical laughter. He is hysterical in this.”
One of the perks of being in the Forgetting Sarah Marshall cast was filming in Hawaii. Asked about her favorite Hawaiian memories, Kunis replied, “Are you kidding me? First off, where do I begin? It’s Hawaii. I currently live in LA in the midst of West Hollywood, so my backyard is cars and dog poop and smog. My backyard in Hawaii was literally the ocean. So to wake up every morning and to have a cup of coffee, and to get to set I had to walk on the beach. Okay, life could be so much worse. The people were great. I learned to surf. I was around amazing crew, amazing cast. I have nothing negative to say about Hawaii. I want to move there so bad right now - you don’t even understand. After being there for two months, I miss the beach. I’ve never been a big beach lover whatsoever. I’ve never been a surfer. I currently own a surfboard. I’ve driven a jet ski. I’m not very adventurous. I’m a huge klutz. I will fall, I will trip, that’s kind of what I do. So in this whole vacation, I opened up my mind. It was so great. I took hikes, I did this. It was so amazing.”
Unlike Jason Segel, Kunis didn’t have to do anything physically difficult for the film. However she did sustain an injury just getting to the set. “I don’t technically have to do anything physical in this movie, other than tread water. And we’re in this ocean and to get to this water I had to take a jet ski. When I got off the jet ski, the jet ski and I collided and I ripped my neck off. This whole part is all makeup. That’s about as exciting as that story got, but none of this is for the movie. This is just my own stupidity getting to set. So no, but while Jason is hanging off the cliff, I’m treading water. That’s about as dramatic as that got.”
Thankfully, Kunis’ injury wasn’t too serious although it probably looked as though it was to the crew. “I didn’t know I did anything. I got out of the water and they were like, ‘What is on your neck?’ It’s like blood, but it healed really well. I’m telling you, Neosporin, A-okay.”
Kunis picked up a new skill during her downtime in Hawaii. “Well, I don’t want to brag, however I can stand,” said Kunis about her skills as a surfer. “That’s about it. That’s my big move.”
The actress claims she’s a klutz and believes if she can pick up the sport, then it’s something anyone should be able to conquer. “I have two left feet and if I can stand, so can anybody. And then we went on the water kayaks, the ocean kayaks where you kind of ride waves in kayaks. That was crazy fun. You flip, it’s rad, and there’s turtles everywhere. I don’t even know where to begin about how it was… I want to go back to Hawaii. I want to kind of transport everybody that I love in LA to Hawaii and live there. Like my mom, my dad, my boyfriend, my dogs, my best friends and just be like ‘click’. Like open up a commune,” joked Kunis.
