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The tradition of Hollywood stars beating up on each other in order to entertain their audiences is a cherished one. Now, combine Hollywood's love of a good fight with the age-old notion that brides and mothers-in-law are destined to be arch enemies; toss in the talents of two-time Oscar winner Jane Fonda and mistress-of-all-media Jennifer Lopez; and let the director behind movies like "Legally Blonde" and "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!" stir the pot. The result? A slapstick comedy with bite. MTV News' Larry Carroll caught up with Lopez and chatted with her about smacking Jane around, the labors of her youth and (surprise!) her love for "little JoJo."
MTV: When you see a movie that's this funny, it's hard not to imagine that it was that funny off-camera, as well.
Jennifer Lopez: We had a really good time on the set. I mean, there were several scenes that, after we shot them, in between shooting more serious scenes, we'd go in and we'd be like, "Play the cake scene again!" You know, we'd just go back and watch certain takes and laugh. We had a really great time.
MTV: Was it really your head that Jane Fonda was bashing into that cake?
Lopez: Yes, it was really me. It was really me — I had my face in the cake. Yes.
MTV: And the slap scene, was that really at full, real-time speed?
Lopez: Yeah, absolutely.
MTV: You guys really slap each other that hard?
Lopez: Oh, yes, that hard. There was no trickery, no stunts, no nothing.
MTV: Did it hurt? Did you tell her to go ahead and go nuts?
Lopez: Yes, it hurts when you get slapped. [Laughs] Especially when you get slapped over and over, you know, because we have to shoot [those sorts of scenes] from all different angles. It was challenging. But she's pretty tough, and so am I, so we were like, "Let's just go for it." And we did.
MTV: You had a number one movie, "Wedding Planner," and album, J.Lo, out at the same time in 2001. That kind of reset the rules, and ever since then this ripple effect has been felt. Do you ever feel you've created some sort of monster because there are so many people out there who are doing movies and the singing thing at the same time?
Lopez: [Laughs] Did I create a monster? Not me. I couldn't have done it all by myself. I just think that, through things that I've been doing, it's shown other people that they can do whatever they wanna do. If they have a real want and need to act the way I had a real want and need to sing while I was acting — you can do whatever you want to do. You know, with hard work and if you really, really feel it — if it's natural. For me, it was a natural thing. It wasn't like, "Well, I think I'll try to sing." No, it was like, "I have to. I have to do this."
MTV: In this movie you play a person who does temp jobs, and we know that you worked for a law firm for a while, working as a legal assistant, and I'm sure you worked all other kinds of temp jobs. What sort of temp jobs did you do?
Lopez: I worked in a perfume store. I cleaned the floor at a beauty parlor — different crazy things you do when you're growing up. I worked in a jeans store, too.
MTV: Do you think some of these younger singers need to wait a little bit longer before they start? You know, have some life experiences to sing about?
Lopez: [Laughs] No, because I love that little JoJo. How great is she? I mean, people have to do what feels right to them.
MTV: You've also signed on to the movie "American Darlings" [about jazz and swing clubs in pre-World War II America] — Nicole Kidman supposedly hand-picked you for the role.
Lopez: Actually we have the same acting coach, and she came up with the idea, brought it to both of us and said, "I think this is a good project." She was always looking for something for Nicole and I to do together. So that's kind of how it came to be. Hopefully it turns into something great.
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Photo: New Line
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