Two romantic leads in Lionsgate’s My Best Friend's Girl

At first glance, Tank and Alexis, the two romantic leads in Lionsgate’s MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL, seem like the furthest thing from a compatible couple, and most definitely not the stuff from which romantic comedies are traditionally made. Tank is a perennial bachelor who’s turned his talent for offending and manipulating women into a lucrative side job. And Alexis, the ideal woman for any marriage-minded man, is tired of monogamous relationships and just wants casual sex. That true romance, and even love, would emerge from their unlikely pairing is the spiky charm that distinguishes MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL from the pack of romantic comedy lookalikes.

“Relationships are far from picture perfect in this movie,” says star Kate Hudson, who plays Alexis. “It’s never picture perfect. Everybody’s human. Everybody makes mistakes. This movie is willing to look at those messy things and allows you to laugh at them along the way.”
“The thing that’s unique about this movie is that neither of the lead characters even wants to fall in love,” adds co-star Dane Cook. “It’s not a traditional romantic comedy in any sense. But even though it has an edge, it’s filled with heart, too.”

Hudson readily admits that Alexis’ desire to play the field after years of monogamous relationships is not the typical starting point for a romantic comedy heroine. A successful lawyer, Alexis begins MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL by ending her relationship with obsessively overeager Dustin (AMERICAN PIE’s Jason Biggs) and deciding to take advantage of her single status. “For the first time ever in a movie I end up being kind of like the guy,” says Hudson. “Alexis feels like she needs to get out there and be young and not so regimented, so she starts doing little booty calls and saying, ‘Yeah, I can do this. I can date like this. I can be unemotional about it.’”
While Tank seems like the ideal partner for commitment-free, casual sex, Alexis’ emotions come into play despite her best efforts to avoid them. Says Hudson, “When she meets Tank, he unleashes a side of her that she’s never experienced before. And of course, inevitably, she ends up enjoying it a lot.”

While Hudson has been able to flex her comedic muscles in past projects like HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS and YOU, ME AND DUPREE, MY BEST FRIEND’S GIRL presented the actress with a refreshing opportunity: starring in an R-rated romantic comedy. “I finally got to swear and say and do certain things that most people say to each other in normal, everyday life,” says Hudson. “I got a little taste of what those ‘Sex and the City’ girls were up to for so long, which was fun.” She laughs. “I’ve never looked into a box of masturbatory aides on film before.”

One of Hudson’s favorite experiences during production was shooting a scene in which Tank brings Alexis to a strip club. Tank does so with the sole intention of offending her, but Alexis is too drunk to take offense and actually ends up enjoying herself. “That was a really funny moment,” admits Hudson. “I was excited to do that scene when I read it. I don’t think I’ve ever been drunk in a movie. It was great to be a little crazy and not care. There’s a lot of stuff I got to do in this that was fun that I haven’t done before. This really was a new kind of movie for me to do.”