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Interview: Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon has to be one of the most versatile actresses of her generation. From walking the line in her Oscar-winning performance as June Carter Cash to being Legally Blonde, she's deft at both drama and comedy. In Four Christmases, she elicits some massive laughs. From fighting her way out of a bounce house to playing the Virgin Mary, she stretches her comedic talents and manages to hold up against Vince Vaughn's massive presence perfectly. She talked to ARTISTdirect about all of this and much more.

How do you typically prepare for the holidays?

There are many stages. The first is panic. [Laughs] In early November, I walked into Starbucks, and they were playing Christmas music. I had an absolute panic attack. I was like, "Turn it off! I'm not ready!" I have to get through Thanksgiving first. It starts with the parties. That's when the family starts trickling in. After Christmas, you finally get to get rid of the family and sleep for a few days, and it's New Year's. Then it's all over. I don't reminisce much. I'm not a look-back kind of person. I'm a go-forward gal.

Would you say Four Christmases isn't your average "family" film?

Yes, this is not for your children. [Laughs] However, my family always went to movies on Christmas Day. We saw whatever was coming out: The Godfather, The Elephant Man, things like that, the cheerful holiday fare. [Laughs] It's fun to go to the movies [over] the holidays. My kids are looking forward to a lot of movies right now, mainly Bolt. Wall-E is playing on DVD at my house on a loop as soon as it comes out, everyday. It's great to be a part of a movie like Four Christmases, though.

Do you think it can be categorized as a traditional "Christmas Movie?"

It's all about a couple that avoids their families during the holidays, and because of various circumstances, they have to go home to all four families. They have to face that horrible fear of bringing home their significant other to really meet every humiliating memory that they have. Everyone avoids that. It's a natural human instinct to avoid it. So it's a comedy about dealing with it.

What did you think about the dynamic of the relationship between Brad and Kate in the film? Would you say it's a contemporary reaction to their childhoods?

It's a very modern idea that a couple will be together unmarried and never have children. It sounds like something people theorize about, but it's very difficult to do because people grow, evolve, and change. It's very interesting to see how this relationship in the movie has to grow. The most important thing that we really worked on was finding that place to be comfortable in the uncomfortable—not knowing where things are going to go, but still being okay with that.

What was it like working with Vince Vaughn?

Vince and I got along great. We're very good friends, and we were very much partners on this movie. We decided to produce it together. We worked on the script together. We worked on it for four months for five or six hours a day before we even got on set. We broke down each scene. By the time we started shooting, we really knew what we were doing. Seth was there the whole time. Vince thought up a lot. In the opening scene, we were playing on what people think of us in movies. He said, "Wouldn't it be funny if you were really sexy and you blow me off, and I was this big nerd trying to come onto you?" Vince is so smart, and he's very funny off the top of his head. He's the funniest person I've worked with in my entire life. Also, it's important when you're working with that kind of an actor to create a space where he feels free to do whatever he wants to do. You can stay there with them and keep up with them. It was challenge for me. I had to really keep up with him, and he taught me a lot. He taught me a lot about improv and ad-libbing, and I feel like I'm a better actor because of it. He's a fantastic dancer, by the way. You'd probably figure that from Swingers. When we were learning dancing, I couldn't keep up, and he'd just be like, "Oh, that's just a one-two cha-cha-cha." [Laughs]

Did Seth [Gordon, director] encourage improvisation?

Seth let us be as free as we wanted to be because, being a documentarian, he knows how to cut footage. That's all you do. We were really confident that he would find the storyline with all of the characters and all of the set pieces.

What's the story behind that hilarious bounce-house scene?

After I had to shoot the jump-jump scene for two consecutive weeks, I [became] very scared of the jump-jump. We were on that thing for two weeks solid on a sound stage with all of those children. Of course one kid decided to eat too many Doritos one day, and he got sick on the jump-jump. [Laughs] He threw up all over the jump-jump, and the screaming and evacuating was crazy. Then we had to get back on! I threw out my shoulder throwing one of those 10-year-old boys too. It was fun for me, though. I don't really get to do that kind of physical comedy that often. It was fun to try that stuff. However, when I was little, I was that kind of kid that would jump off a bridge. I had big brothers that were always like, "Just do it!"

Do you have an affinity for acting in comedies?

I enjoy it. I have a really good time. It means a lot to me when I get to have experiences where I meet young people and they say that a movie I was in got them through a hard time or they watch a movie with their family or their children. For a while, I got tired of being labeled. I've been very lucky. I've gotten to do movies like Walk the Line, Rendition, and Vanity Fair—all different kinds of movies. I feel lucky that I can go back and forth.

Was there a Christmas of the four in the film that you identified with?

Probably the one where they had to go to church…we always had to go to a lot of church, nativity plays, and things like that. Growing up, I did a lot of that.l [Laughs]

Was the film's originality what initially attracted you to it?

I thought this was a different kind of Christmas movie. I've never really seen someone have to deal with the idea of blended family and how they have to go to a million different places, but I hear people complain about it constantly. I've never seen a movie about it. It's a different kind of a comedy. There are a lot of crazy ideas in the moment, and it's fun to be a part of that energy. I knew it'd be original.

—Rick Florino
11.24.08