Long before he became Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds starred in a string of raunchy comedies that have become cult classics, from Van Wilder and Waiting to Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle. But it’s his naughty Christmas classic Just Friendsthat may stand the test of time 20 years later.
Written by Adam “Tex” Davis and directed by Roger Kumble, Just Friends follows Reynolds as Chris Brander, a record executive who returns home for the holidays and hopes to finally exit the friendzone and spark a romance with his former friend Jamie (Amy Smart). In tow is one of his clients, pop star Samantha James (Anna Faris in a deliciously deranged performance).
Just Friends isn’t your typical heartwarming holiday fare, though. Though it has all the hallmarks of a Christmas classic – a sweet romance, snow-covered suburban streets doused in decorations, and plenty of family time – it’s something more chaotic (and all the better for it). Though you could argue it hasn’t aged well, the heart is there and audiences have recognized that.
“I think it was around the 10-year mark that it started appearing on the Christmas circuit on TV,” recalls Kumble about the impact of Just Friends and its potential status as a future classic, which is something the director thought about when making the film. “I’d love to get into that holiday canon without forcing it,” he remembers thinking.
Now, 20 years later, that has seemingly come true and ScreenRant‘s Liam Crowley spoke with the director about Just Friends to commemorate its birthday. Below, Kumble reflects on what makes a holiday movie, working with Reynolds, a cut cameo, and more.
ScreenRant: For you as a director, when did you first start to notice that [Just Friends] was having legs far beyond just its theatrical run?
Roger Kumble: I think it was about 10 years in. I think a lot of the stuff I’ve made, it’s like there’s the opening weekend, and then you’re like, ‘Am I ever going to work again?’ And then over time you get a comment here and there, but I think it was around the 10-year mark that it started appearing on the Christmas circuit on TV and then the streamers, and that’s when it kind of developed a nice life. I know Conan O’Brien was a big fan of it.
ScreenRant: For you as a playwright, as a director, what makes a Christmas movie?
Roger Kumble: Of course, the time that the film takes place. There is something with thematics involving either community or forgiveness, to quote Samantha James, that kind of holiday spirit. When we were making it, I was aware of it when we were shooting it. I’m like, I’d love to get into that holiday canon without forcing it.
Liam Crowley: I was reading that a lot of the scenes specifically between Ryan and Anna in this film were improvised. Is that true?
Roger Kumble: We had the bare bones of it in the script, and then it was kind of funny. We did a bunch of auditions and as soon as Anna came in, we knew she was the person. I knew from the Scary Movie franchise that she was fearless. She’s like, ‘Who is this? Is it Paris? Is it Lindsay?’ And I said, ‘It’s all of them in a blender.’ I don’t know. We just kind of created it together. We would always do a few takes where we would kind of riff, but she was just so infectious and so positive.
Liam Crowley: Were there any scenes in particular where you felt like the chemistry that Ryan and Anna had on screen, that they were able to elevate it far beyond just what was on the page?
Roger Kumble: Here’s the great thing: I had a front row seat of watching the genius that was Ryan Reynolds before he kind of shot out of a cannon. You see his mind at work, so you’d be a fool in a comedy not to let him do his thing or riff up with him. We knew he had to ground the scene whenever he was with Anna because she was such a wing nut, but then with the Amy scenes, he could kind of explore his stupidity, so to speak.
Liam Crowley: I had read before that both Jimmy Fallon and Bradley Cooper were once considered for Chris. Did they ever make it to a proper audition or were their names just circulated around?
Roger Kumble: I will give you the correct information. I never heard Jimmy’s name. I will tell you that Bradley was going to play Dusty Dinkleman. He gave a great audition. He was going to play Dusty Dinkleman, and then Jack & Bobby, the TV show he was on, wouldn’t release him. They wanted us to cover in case he couldn’t fly back. And we were in Regina, Saskatchewan where it was like 30 below. So sometimes the planes wouldn’t fly because it was too cold. We weren’t able to make that happen. Fortunately, Chris Klein came in and was fantastic. So as much as I missed the opportunity to work with Bradley Cooper, I loved Chris.
Liam Crowley: The Alanis Morissette cameo. Why was that cut from the feature?
Roger Kumble: God, wow, you’re really trying to take me back 20 years. I think we were just trying to move the first act along, but she was fantastic. They were involved at the time (Ryan and Alanis) and she was lovely and baked cookies for the crew. I think we were just trying to move the film along, but I was very fortunate that she allowed it to go on the deleted scenes.
Liam Crowley: Did you ever get to see the Aviation Gin commercial that Ryan and Amy put together?
Roger Kumble: I did. I loved it. I loved it. I’m like, ‘Oh, finally we have a sequel.’ I thought it was great, and it was really just sweet to see them together.
Liam Crowley: That was going to be my segue to the potential sequel question. Did you ever kick around ideas for a sequel for Just Friends?
Roger Kumble: Of course we did. It was impossible. I was shooting Suits at the time. We would banty about it, but I was like, ‘Good luck. I can’t crack this. This story has been told.’ However, if you want to spin off Samantha James, I’m down. I would kill to make that movie.
Liam Crowley: If what you were having difficulty cracking was the story specifically, what in your mind are Chris and Jamie up to now?
Roger Kumble: I’m sure they’re fairly happy. I’m sure he’s struggled in the music business, as a lot of my friends have, but I would assume they have a bunch of kids and he lets her call the shots, as I do in my marriage. With rom-coms doing sequels is just a challenging thing because if you do it right the first time, the story’s been told. Why throw in conflicts for the sake of conflict?
Liam Crowley: Do you remember that first table read? And did you feel like you caught lightning in a bottle with who you were able to put together for this film?
Roger Kumble: Well, we were piecemealing it together, and then we were trying to raise the money. We found this company up in Canada. Usually you go to Canada to save money. We went to Saskatchewan, Canada to save money on money. We knew the producers, like Chris Bender and Jake Weiner, we knew we wanted Ryan. I loved him on Two Guys and a Girl. You could just tell. And New Line Cinema had a great experience with Amy Smart on The Butterfly Effect.
So we had those two, and then what happened was we went up there a couple weeks before we started shooting, and there was nothing to do. There was no nightlife or anything. What we did was we got together, Ryan had a loft, and we would go there every night and read the script and then workshop the script. So with the help of the writer, Tex Davis, we treated it like a play. It was one of the best experiences I ever had. The studio was actually very encouraging of that. We were coming up with better stuff.
Liam Crowley: When Ryan is in his high school era, a lot of people, even if they haven’t seen Just Friends, they’ve seen Ryan Reynolds in that [make-up and costume] . How did you make it look so seamless?
Roger Kumble: We knew a certain amount of the budget needed to go to that, and Ryan is such a detailed perfectionist. I’m literally like, ‘I’m in good hands. He’s going to keep challenging all the hair, makeup and all the team to perfect this look.’ Even though I remember he was dying in that suit, it was very hot.
