New Line Cinema / Trailer
This clip below of Conan O’Brien praising Ryan Reynolds‘ Just Friends is, I believe, an example of ‘real recognize real.’ It has long been my favorite Christmas movie/Rom-Com amalgam and it is Chicken Soup to my withering soul to hear this film receive its rightful praise.
Conan is a bona fide comedic genius. We can say that because he was just awarded The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor which is the most prestigious honor in Comedy. If you haven’t watched the Netflix special yet where he receives the award you should go do that immediately after leaving here but be forewarned that you will never look at Conan’s mouth the same again thanks to Sarah Silverman.
Anyway… Conan had Ryan Reynolds on his show and the first thing they discussed was Just Friends, Ryan’s 2005 comedy where he starred alongside Anna Faris and Amy Smart. It’s a perfect Romantic Comedy from start to finish. Samantha James is one of the funniest characters to ever appear in a Christmas movie. Ryan Reynolds literally coined the phrase “the friend zone” in this movie. And Conan praises it here:
Conan says this film is “one of (his) favorite Christmas comedies. It has so many hilarious performances in it.” He told Ryan he watched the movie with his wife and they loved it. They then showed it to their kids who loved it. So it’s a film that bridges the generational divide which not many comedies can say.
O’Brien also brings up how he told Ryan Reynolds “a bunch of years ago” that Just Friends he “swear(s) to god that movie will endure, it’s going to stick around” for decades to come. Ryan Reynolds has the natural response of “but you don’t know” that when you’re filming those kinds of movies and how odd it is filming them and having no clue if they’ll be hits or not.
Conan’s take on Just Friends is that “it may have been mismarketed” and that’s probably accurate. It hit theaters in November 2005 against the absolute stiffest of competition… Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire which earned $290,013,036 at the box office that month compared to the $32,619,671 box office take of Just Friends in that same time frame.
The movie has actually been on either SHO/HBO/MAX lately. I’m not sure which network keeps showing it but I keep scrolling past it on the guide… And the only reason I’m scrolling past it is because Just Friends is a Christmas movie through and through. Watching it in mid-May here in Florida when it is already 90 degrees outside and it feels like Summer, well, it feels wrong to me.
After Conan is done praising Just Friends, Ryan Reynolds dives into a story about filming it in Regina, Saskatchewan, and says it was “one of the few times in (his) life (he’s) ever been scared of going to jail.” Because they threw up this sign on the ‘Welcome to Regina’ sign that read ‘Welcome to Regina, which rhymes with fun.” Watch the full interview above for more!
Content shared from brobible.com.