My Best Friend’s Girl Movie Trailer. Dane Cook confesses that he was excited by the prospect of playing someone as extreme as Tank. “That was really alluring, and something that I wanted to be able to play with,” says the comedian. “It’s fun being bad! Everybody likes a villain. Everybody likes the bad guy. But we also like when there’s a turn, and that’s what happens with Tank.”
Still, Tank’s contradictions posed a considerable challenge for Cook as an actor. Could he score laughs playing the depraved bachelor yet still earn the audience’s sympathy as Tank embarks on the rocky road to emotional maturity? Cook’s and Deutch’s answer was to play Tank’s struggle as authentically as possible. “This movie’s always been to me about one man’s journey to becoming a man,” explains director Howie Deutch. “It’s not all about telling jokes. It’s about being real and having the audience get invested in the character.”
“To play the character of Tank,” adds producer PersonNameDoug Johnson, “you have to have that confidence, that swagger, and be vulnerable and real. That’s what Dane captured. There’s a romantic and emotional quality in this movie that I think is going to take some people by surprise.”
Much of the charm of “My Best Friend’s Girl” stems from Alexis’ and Tank’s unlikely pairing, and the rare connection they find despite their differences. Unlike other women, Alexis is wise to Tank’s moves, which leaves him at first bewildered, then impressed, and finally, completely infatuated. “It’s an absolutely hysterical thing to watch the two of them bounce off each other,” says producer Barry Katz. “And also personally, off camera, Kate and Dane got along great. They’re very cool together and it was just a lot of fun to be around both of them.”
Hudson was impressed with Cook’s energy and commitment to his acting. She explains, “Dane really cares about what he does. He focuses on his performance and really wants it to be good. And that’s an amazing quality to work with and to see in someone.”
“Working with Kate was a breath of fresh air,” avows Cook. “When it comes to an actor who really listens, there’s nobody better than her. Nothing gets past her. Volleying with her was incredible. I was always hoping for another take, you know, thinking, `What can I throw at her, how can I challenge her this time?’”
Widely known for his performances in the “American Pie” series, Jason Biggs completes “My Best Friend’s Girl”s complicated love triangle as Dustin, Tank’s best friend who can’t stop pining obsessively – maybe a little too obsessively – for Alexis. “The word `stalker’ comes to mind,” says Biggs, laughing. “He’s a sweetheart, though. He’s the guy who, on paper, is the perfect boyfriend, but he’s probably a little too much, and he comes to realize that later.”
For Cook, it was crucial to find a co-star with whom he could form a believable on-screen friendship. “It’s very important that audience senses a real bond and chemistry between these two guys,” he says. “I knew immediately when I met Jason that we were in great shape. We have a back and forth and a banter.”
“Jason’s energy is lovely,” adds Hudson. “He’s so talented, and he’s so present, and he’s really funny, and he’s so much fun to work with. Every once in a while you meet certain people throughout your career who inspire you and who you keep with you. And Jason is really one of those people.”
Actress Lizzy Caplan, who recently appeared in the J.J. Abrams-produced “Cloverfield”, relished the opportunity to play Amy, Alexis’ foul-mouthed roommate. “I never get to take it really over the top and I was excited to do that, definitely,” she says. “Amy is filthy and says a lot of very, very dirty things. She’s the one who encourages Alexis to go out and get it on.”
Rounding out the all-star cast is the inimitable “30 Rock” star, Alec Baldwin, who makes a priceless appearance as Tank’s father, Professor Turner, a liberal academic at a women’s college who’s secretly a raging chauvinist and womanizer. “Turner is the most disgusting, sexually selfish guy I’ve seen in a film in a long, long time,” admits Baldwin. “You talk about male chauvinist pig, this guy is a whole pig farm of male chauvinism. He’s horrible. People are going to laugh at this guy, because it’s funny. But it’s sick and it’s sad.”
“All of us had a blast with Alec,” reports Deutch. “He has as much range as anyone I’ve ever worked with. He’s able to be hilariously funny and also powerfully dramatic in the same moment. That’s very difficult. He’s got a unique barometer as an actor where he can practically direct himself.”
Cook felt an immediate kinship with Baldwin on set which only enhanced their on-screen relationship as father and son. “Alec Baldwin is a classic,” he says. “He comes in with just an unbelievable energy and understanding of this character. Working with him is like putting on that favorite pair of jeans, you know. He’s inspiring.”
Baldwin was equally impressed with Cook and his ability to carry the responsibilities of a leading man. “I really wasn’t prepared for how much I would like Dane. There aren’t a lot of guys who are comics and who audiences really want to see kiss the girl. I think there are a lot of movies that Dane could do. He’s a very intense guy and very talented.”
For director Howie Deutch, making “My Best Friend’s Girl” was an opportunity to return to the kind of storytelling that marked his 1980s hits, “Pretty in Pink” and “Some Kind of Wonderful”. “I haven’t had a chance to get back to a romantic movie in a long time, a funny movie that’s based on relationships,” says the director. “I’m really interested in relationships and why we’re together, what makes them click. I could watch a guy and a girl having a date, you know, for hours, just watching what they do.”
“Howie has experience with some of the greats in comedy, like Jack Lemon and Walter Matthau,” says Cook. “He knows comedy, but he also brings depth to his directing. I trust him enough to ask a lot of questions. He’s been an incredible mentor on this film.”
“Great directors don’t transmit their tension when they’re working, and that’s Howie,” adds Baldwin. “No one is more enjoyable to shoot with.”
The cast particularly appreciated the improvisation that Deutch encouraged on set. In some cases, the director would keep the camera rolling, calling for continuous takes until they ran out of film. “Howie’s one of those people who really wants everybody to feel like they have a hand in developing their character. That’s one of the best feelings you can have on a movie set,” says Hudson.
Deutch explains that he’s a firm believer in improvisation, but only if the ad-libs are layered into the text. “The foundation of the scene has to be there first,” he says. “This script is incredibly funny, so it was easier to transition into improv because the material was there.”
Filming for the production took place on location in Boston, Massachusetts, which was a significant homecoming for Cook, who originally hails from Arlington, a Boston suburb. “I first stepped onto a comedy stage in Harvard Square in 1990, in CityCambridge, and I’ve wanted to come back to Boston and work for quite some time. It’s been a dream of mine. And doing a movie with Kate Hudson and Jason Biggs and Howie Deutch and Alec Baldwin-” He laughs. “It’s almost like, any minute now I’m going to wake up and hopefully not be back in 10th grade, still day-dreaming in Mr. Russell’s history class.”
“CityBoston is a great town, “ adds Hudson. “It’s kind of like an east coast San Francisco. It’s a big sports town, which I love, because I grew up with all brothers and I love my sports. I love football. So I got to go to some football games.”
Looking back on production, Hudson is most thankful for the relaxed atmosphere on set and the cohesive feeling among the cast. “We all really enjoyed playing the characters we played,” she says. “We all got funny set pieces to do. We all were able to show certain things we haven’t done before. And Howie just sort of let us roll with it and have a really good time doing it. It was a great experience.”
My Best Friend’s Girl (2008)
Directed by: Howard Deutch
Starring: Dane Cook, Kate Hudson, Jason Biggs, Alec Baldwin, Lizzy Caplan, Riki Lindhome, Mini Anden, Hilary Pingle, Nate Torrence, Amanda Brooks, Malcolm Barrett, Taran Killam, Faye Grant
Screenplay by: Jordan Cahan
Production Design by: Jane Ann Stewart
Cinematography by: Jack N. Green
Film Editing by: Seth Flaum
Costume Design by: Marilyn Vance
Art Direction by: T.K. Kirkpatrick
Set Decoration by: Kyra Friedman
Art Direction by: T.K. Kirkpatrick
Music by: Bruno Coulais
MPAA Rating: R for sequences of strong bloody gruesome violence, grisly images involving nudity, sexual content, language.
Studio: Lionsgate Films
Release Date: September 19, 2008
Views: 187
