Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
REESE WITHERSPOON AND SOFIA VERGARA TEAM UP FOR ‘HOT PURSUIT’
Pair’s odd-couple chemistry leads to laughs
Just like many other TV fans, Reese Witherspoon never misses an episode of “Modern Family.” One night as she was watching the show, she got an idea for a movie that would team her up with Sofia Vergara, the Colombian actress who plays Gloria on the series.
Witherspoon who produced two of 2014’s highest-profile films – “Gone Girl” and “Wild,” which netted her a Best Actress Oscar nomination – didn’t waste any time putting the project in motion.
With help from her agent/ husband Jim Toth, who is also Vergara’s agent, Witherspoon arranged a get-together with the actress at a Los Angeles hotel.
“I was thinking it would be fun to do a buddy movie with her so we set up a meeting in a hotel lobby, and, literally, every man stopped what he was doing, and stared at her the whole time,” recalls Witherspoon, 39.
“It was like a hair care commercial. She was as lovely and charming as I thought she would be.”
Witherspoon also knew that the pair’s odd-couple chemistry might yield quite a few laughs.
“It was clear to me the second we met that we would make a good pair because not only did we have a great rapport but she’s so tall and composed,” says the actress. “Next to her, I felt short and funny. I knew we could play with that.”
For her part, Vergara welcomed the chance to co-star with an A-lister like Witherspoon. “It would have never occurred to me that I would do a movie with someone like her,” she says. “It’s amazing that she had the vision to put us together.”
Directed by Anne Fletcher, “Hot Pursuit” casts Witherspoon as an uptight cop named Officer Cooper who’s assigned the job of escorting mob wife Daniela (Vergara) across Texas so she can testify in a criminal case. But nothing goes according to plan and soon the pair are trying to stay one step ahead of crooked cops and vicious hit men.
Fletcher says she didn’t have to think twice after being offered the chance to direct the female buddy comedy.
“Who wouldn’t want to work with Reese? Especially in a comedy,” says Fletcher. “And pairing Reese up with Sofia was very exciting. And also painting Sofia in a different way was great because she’s so incredibly capable. They are physical and culturally different but they are very similar.”
For Vergara, one of the highlights of the movie was a scene in which Witherspoon mangles a Spanish monologue.
“It’s obviously not her best work,” says Vergara, 42. “That was actually one of my favorite scenes because she had to struggle a lot. I could see fear in her eyes. It was great because that’s how I feel when I do every scene of my life. So I really enjoyed it.
“Now, when I see the movie, I understand why people laugh so much at me. It’s hysterical to see someone try to talk in a language and look confused.”
While Vergara is primarily known as a comedic performer, Witherspoon hasn’t done a fullon laughfest since 2010’s “How Do You Know.”
But portraying an uptight police officer appealed to the actress who scored big with the comedies “Election” and “Legally Blonde.”
“People seem to like laughing at me,” says Witherspoon. “And I liked Officer Cooper. She had no female friends, and so when she meets Sofia’s character, it’s her first friend. I loved the scene when she makes out with a guy, and rushes to tell Sofia, because it’s her best friend.”
As she’s done in previous films dating back to “Freeway” and continuing through “Wild,” Witherspoon is not afraid to appear unglamorous. While Vergara is decked out in heels and tight dresses throughout “Hot Pursuit,” Witherspoon is largely clad in an unflattering police uniform.
“I knew she would be beautiful, so I decided to be the dude,” says Witherspoon with a laugh. “I kind of like playing weird characters anyway.”
Vergara believes that, in the end, Witherspoon got the better end of the wardrobe deal.
“It was great because [Reese] got to be comfortable on set,” says Vergara. “I was miserable the whole time, compressed
in that dress, sweating in high heels with blisters on my feet while she was carefree and sitting on the floor. She wouldn’t even change for lunch. The dirtier she looked, the better. She knew what she was doing.”
Even though Witherspoon and Vergara’s characters tangle with plenty of guys during their journey, neither one has a serious love interest. That, says Witherspoon, was purposeful.
“We had the idea that [the story] wasn’t just about romantic involvement,” notes the actress. “It wasn’t about chasing men. As soon as you strip that element away, you can dig deeper into the female characters.”
Vergara agrees. “I realized that this movie is very special in the sense that this isn’t like the normal movie where girls are trying to trick some guy [into marriage] or something like that. This is about two women with two different personalities who are trying to … survive. Girls will learn that you don’t have to be the same to understand another human being and support each other.”
During one interlude in which they pretend to be lesbians to distract a man (Jim Gaffigan), the pair shared a smooch. “It was delicious,” says Vergara. “[Reese] smells like a strawberry.”
As the scene goes on, Vergara gives Witherspoon’s ponytail a couple of rough tugs.
“I had whiplash for three days,” adds Witherspoon with a laugh.
“There are things you can’t fake,” notes Vergara. “And you just can’t fake a ponytail pulling.”
When it came to the film’s physical comedy, Witherspoon was happy to defer to Vergara and especially Fletcher who’s directed the rom coms “27 Dresses” and “The Proposal.”
“I don’t have a lot of physical comedy instinct,” says Witherspoon. “I’m more verbal. So we got to these scenes where we’re running from the bad guys, and I turned to Anne, and asked her what to do.”
Recalls Fletcher,” It was kind of amazing for me because … these women just went off and running. They were on point and supporting each other. That’s where these two women have great chemistry, and they listen and talk at the same time, which is an amazing skill to have.”
Witherspoon admits the biggest challenge was keeping a straight face around Vergara.
“Sometimes we’d have to walk away and start laughing,” she recalls.
As Witherspoon proved with last year’s “Wild,” female audiences are eager to see themselves represented on screen.
Fletcher believes that if more female buddy movies were made, audiences of both genders would flock to them.
“The population is over 50% women, and our money is just as green as anyone else’s” says the filmmaker. “Making movies for us and about us is a smart business move.”
Witherspoon also believes that “Hot Pursuit’” serves another under-represented segment of the movie-going population: Latinos.
“I was reading … that Latins make up 55% of the audience,” says Witherspoon. “So we need more Latin actors. There are people all over who speak both languages, and that’s the kind of life that we are all living but not experiencing on screen.
“And hopefully with the success of this film, there will be [more] opportunities to show what real life looks like.”
Adds Vergara, “It’s a huge help to the Latin actors and hopefully this will do good and producers will want to put us in different movies,” she says.
“’Modern Family’ opened a lot of doors for me but we need more places where Latins can do their thing, and people like Reese are helping.”