The Descendants (adapted by Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash from Kaui Hart Hemmings novel of the same name) stars George Clooney as Matt King, a lawyer and father of two in Hawaii caught in a crisis when he discovers his comatose wife's infidelity. Comedy and tears ensue and intertwine in classic Payne style as King discovers the bittersweetness of regret, understanding and forgiveness, aided by co-star Judy Greer's turn as Julie Speer, the unwitting fourth corner in this love quadrangle.
Movieline spoke with Greer about The Descendants, her memorable first meeting -- and love scene -- with co-star Clooney for 1999's Three Kings, her favorite theater and moviegoing habits, and why, after guest-starring on Season 4 of Two and a Half Men, she returned to the series in the wake of Charlie Sheen's departure.
It's fun to see you in The Descendants, because you share most of your scenes with George Clooney --
That's fun for me too, by the way!
And it calls to mind the previous time you and he shared a scene, in Three Kings.
I know! It was weird! It was fun to see him again and talk about that and how young I was at the time when I shot that scene. It was maybe 12 years ago?
It's a memorable scene.
And it's the first time you see his character, or are introduced to him. It's kind of amazing -- he's having sex with some girl! We talked about how I got the part and the first time I met him. I was like, I couldn't believe I met you and they literally said, 'You've got the part -- now you've got to come rehearse this scene with George Clooney,' where they were already rehearsing with Nora Dunn and Mykelti Williamson. They were like, 'Here he is -- now go in the bathroom and you guys are pretending to have sex and they barge in on you, action!' And I'm like, 'Wait, I got the part? And I go in with George Clooney who I've been watching every week on E.R.??' I was freaking out. We laughed about that.
You're mostly known for comedy; were you looking for anything specific when the role in The Descendants fell across your lap?
I got it from my agent, who sent me the script and said that they had set up this audition for me. Obviously we were all really excited about it. Maybe a year or two before I had mentioned it might be fun to try to look for some more dramatic roles... some smaller roles in either good-sized movies or independent movies, just so I could try to exercise that muscle a little bit. I'm not saying that's why The Descendants came my way; it might have come my way anyway. But that was something that I was actively looking to find.
Your role is incredibly effective, considering that we aren't introduced to you until well into the film. But it's such a potent part; she plays such a pivotal role in the resolution of Matt King's quest for closure. How do you look at a role like this and the function it serves?
Well, I didn't really think about its function in the movie when I was shooting it. I just thought it was so cool that it was in there, it was such a great role that was so well written and well-rounded, and in such a small amount of scenes. That's so hard to do! You can be number one on the call sheet in a movie and not have a role that's that well-written, you know? But after seeing the movie cut together and everything I see that one of my functions in the movie seems to be to get George to defend his wife, and to stick up for her, and to ultimately say goodbye to her.
For the length of time that we know her, she seems like the most reasonable human being around. Everyone else is hiding something, or angry, or struggling one way or another. And yet even her story is tinged with both comedy and sadness. When it finally comes out of her, it's hilarious and heartbreaking at once.
I think that's what is so amazing about Alexander's movies; they find the perfect tone. He's brilliant at creating both beautiful, poignant moments that end in laughter, that can start in tears and end in laughter or start in laughter and end with tears. And he never really tells his audience what to think about anything. He simply presents an option of a situation. He's not heavy handed with his music choices in movies, he's not heavy handed with the amount of words that come out of a character's mouth. Instead of showing a scene where the little girl, Scottie, says goodbye to her mom, he shows her walking into the room with her older sister. And you know what's going to happen. You get to use your imagination, or maybe even take a memory from your own life and put it in that place if it's something that you responded to or an experience that's actually happened to you. But he gives you the freedom to use your brain and I love that. I love that he makes me part of the storytelling because of what he doesn't show.
You're right. And that scene's lovely because the sound just fades out; the family's ultimate conversations are left private, and that amplifies the theme of letting go of your loved ones in a deeply personal way.
I know. It's about forgiveness and it's about letting go. I think that's a great way of putting it. It's also a coming of age story for a boy who happens to be 50 years old. Instead of being that Holden Caulfield character just out of prep school, we're getting a man who's lived half of his life and has to start over.
Yes! I'd like to watch more films but I try really hard to go to the theater and not watch them at my house.
Why's that?
Well, A) I like the movie theater by my house, it's the Arclight Hollywood and it's awesome.
It is! And you can pick your seats, and it's nice...
I like that! And I like popcorn, and... but I feel that movies are made to be seen on the big screen. I think they still are. You see so much more, literally and figuratively, because of the size of the screen. You really get to lose yourself in the movie. Everyone turns their cell phone off -- well, hopefully -- most people turn their cell phone off when they're in a movie theater, but they don't when they're at home. You're in a giant dark room by yourself, for all intents and purposes. I also feel it's important to watch a movie all at one time; I feel that way when I read scripts, I like to read them in one sitting because it's meant to be seen and read that way. At home you might watch bits and pieces of things while you're sitting down to scarf down your dinner or breakfast or something.
I agree with all of this, by the way.
Thank you! Now I'm just waxing poetic.
Judy Greer's Tips for Moviewatching!
Exactly.
Tell me about your involvement with Two and a Half Men. Who and/or what brought you into that project, and how does it compare to your other comedy work?
Chuck Lorre approached me about coming on the show and playing the character that I now play, and it just felt like it was such an insane moment in pop culture history, how could I not be a part of it? I'd already worked with Ashton [Kutcher], I adored him, I already had worked with Chuck on Two and a Half Men, actually, and he's been so lovely and generous to me in my career. I wanted to see firsthand what was going to go down! I was like, 'Heck yeah, I'm gonna take that job!' I also thought the character would be fun; I thought it would be cool to be the girl that Ashton was pining for.
What was it actually like on set once you arrived, after the Charlie Sheen storm had passed over?
The vibe on set was really happy and positive. Everyone at the time -- it might change, but at the time when I went there it was like everyone wanted to go back to work, and everyone was happy they were going back to work. No one really knew what was going to happen or how it was going to do, or what the feedback would be, but all these people got their jobs back. So everyone was just really thrilled, and really thankful. I was happy for all those people.
How does a sitcom like Two and a Half Men satisfy you, creatively?
It's fun to be funny, and one thing that you get in television that you don't get in movies is that in movies you get a script, you read it, and that's what you're basically going to shoot, but in television you never know. Every week I go back there, and I don't know what my character's going to do this week -- and that's kind of fun because you're building a character. They don't write 22 episodes and hand you the season, they're writing as you go. It could be like, 'Cool, this is who I am -- I'm allergic to shellfish!' That's a thing about my character that I know now. And then next week I'm like, 'Oh, I like kinky sex! Okay, awesome. That's part of my character now.' That's kind of fun!
There's all this talk of the Arrested Development movie happening...
I know! I hope so.
Do you know if your character, Kitty, would be involved in the movie?
I don't know. I'm assuming... but you know what they say about assumptions! [Laughs] I'm hoping. I don't know.
How have your choices of roles evolved throughout your career so far, from when you first started out?
I guess I've gotten slightly more selective, mainly with television. Television is great, it pays well, and it's kind of been my bread-and-butter a little bit, because I usually do a pilot every year... that doesn't get picked up... so that's been a little bit of a shift, that I've gotten to be more selective with my television roles. I've had more fun opportunities, maybe, with television. And with film, I'm just looking to work with people that I feel will help me be a better actor, whether it's certain directors or certain other actors. I want to be a better actor, and I want to have a really fun time. And I wouldn't hate going to cool places to do that. [Laughs] That's a little bit of an influence for me right now, but for the most part I still audition for all my movie roles, so I'm not really super selective to be honest. I just want to work.
Obviously all of those conditions sound fun and appealing, but as an actor you never know what the end product will be like - so it's all about the actual process of the work, in the moment.
It is. It's all about what happens when I'm there, and less about the outcome of it. Because until I'm watching a movie -- in a theater, with an audience around me - I don't know!
Which of your projects have you been most pleasantly surprised by, watching how everything finally came together?
The Descendants, obviously -- I thought it was going to be amazing, and it was. So I wasn't pleasantly surprised, I was pleasantly... excited, and happy. Not surprised at all, but thrilled. And a movie I did a long time ago that I just really loved is called The TV Set. I really loved how that turned out.
The Descendants is in theaters today.
Follow Jen Yamato on Twitter.
Follow Movieline on Twitter.