Chris (Reynolds in a very convincing fat suit) is an overweight, shy, high school student who is secretly in love with the pretty and popular Jamie. Unfortunately, Jamie thinks of Chris as one of her best friends and treats him like a brother, which totally ruins all of Chris plans for romance after they graduate.
Years after being teased and bullied and basically run out of town, a weird series of events lands him back in his hometown with a bizarre pop star (played by Anna Faris) in tow. He's lost weight, has a high-paying job, and babes falling at his feet. But when Chris runs into Jamie at the local bar, he realizes there are some crushes you never get over...
Amy Smart Praises “Just Friends” Star Ryan Reynolds: “Ryan was absolutely wonderful to work with. He’s so talented and smart and spontaneous. I think what worked was that we both were really comfortable with each other and willing to just play. Also with Roger [Kumble] directing, he’s really about instead of just cutting and re-starting, he’s like, ‘Take it again, take it again,’ while the camera is rolling. He kept it really spontaneous and fun; sometimes really over the top and other times more toward what we were trying. But Ryan was really fun to work with and there were moments [when we ad-libbed] that are in the film.”
Smart couldn’t always keep it together while they were filming and she blames her inability to stop herself from laughing on Reynolds. “He’s just so funny. He feels sort of like Jim Carrey to me. There’s something similar, I think. But I also think Ryan is great at bringing his heart to a scene when it calls for it. But that car scene was really hard to do…”
Amy Smart on Ryan Reynolds’ 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.”
Smart says that Reynolds’ personality changed when he put on the suit. “Absolutely. 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,” said Smart.
Amy Smart on Staying Warm Up in Canada: “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.”
While members of the cast were doing their best to keep warm, Reynolds had the opposite problem. “Actually, he was sweating his a** off in his fat suit. He was putting cold packs underneath it. It was only when we were outside filming that it was beyond freezing.”
Amy Smart on Her Onscreen Rival – Anna Faris: “She really worked on making her character have more of a heart than being just a b***h. She was great. I didn’t work with her that much because we didn’t have that many scenes, but the scenes that we did have - like our fight - she was just great with that big long purple jacket and her hair. I thought she did a great job with her character.”
Amy Smart Developed an Interesting Backstory for Her Character in "Just Friends:" “I did write a backstory and I’m kind of bummed that it didn’t get put into the film a little bit more. My backstory was I went to college and got into law and was just miserable and unhappy and came back home. I wanted to teach and do something to make myself happy - and had a nervous breakdown.”
Amy Smart on Her Ice Skating Skills: “I took some lessons. That was fun. I took some lessons here and then went up there. I did some of [the skating] 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.”
Amy Smart on Her Upcoming Romantic Comedy, “The Best Man:” “It’s about this couple that’s about to get married and I play the bride-to-be. The groom asked his best friend to be the best man, so the best man falls for the bride and his best friend sets the groom to look like this total a**hole. He blackmails him. Stuart Townsend plays the best man. Seth Green is his best friend who blackmails the groom to make him look horrible so he can get the bride.”
“The Best Man” is set in London and was directed by British filmmaker, Stefan Schwartz. Smart says one of the reasons she did the film was because it was set in England. “Partly the reason that I did the film was to do the accent and I only had one week to practice. I practiced with this coach about four different times (laughing) and it takes a lot more than that. So a few days before shooting, the director is like, ‘You know, maybe we should make her from New York…’”
