This is exactly what we needed today. The cast of My Best Friend’s Wedding, including Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Dermot Mulroney and Rupert Everett, reunited on the cover of Entertainment Weekly in a new cover story published Thursday, February 7, and they revealed a slew of new details about the film alongside director P.J. Hogan.
“Romantic comedy is a really difficult genre,” Hogan told the magazine. “I think what kills romantic comedies is they often feel prepackaged or like frozen food that hasn’t quite thawed—they’re just not really fresh. But when I see the film, it’s still got a snap to it. When it’s funny, it’s really funny, and the actors all glow. And I think Julia was extraordinary in the lead role. I mean, who else could’ve pulled that off?”
In the film, Roberts plays Julianne Potter, who schemes to separate her best friend Michael (Mulroney) from his significantly younger fiancee Kimmy (Cameron Diaz). While Julianne manipulates her way through the film, her mentor George (Everett) ends up serving as the voice of reason throughout the movie. Eventually, Kimmy ends up standing up for herself in one scene as she identifies and calls out Julianne’s tactics for what it is.
“If Kimmy didn’t stand up for herself, it felt different for the end of the story. It wasn’t as gratifying,” Diaz explained in the EW Q&A.
“Nor was the original ending that we filmed. It was not as gratifying,” Roberts added.
Hogan revealed in 2017 that Julianne was supposed to have a very different ending, but test audiences helped steer the ultimate outcome of the movie. “The focus group didn’t want Julianne to have a happy ending,” Hogan explained to EW. “They still hadn’t forgiven her. They just weren’t ready for her to end up in the arms of another guy. I thought the answer was George, because the film really worked when Rupert was on camera. Rupert and Julia’s chemistry is so great.”
“When I read the [final scene] I couldn’t believe it. It’s beautiful,” Everett added. “The whole end is so wonderful and tragic in a way. It’s very, very moving. And that’s another thing in the film: It’s a comedy, but it’s got things that are really, really touching and moving.”
Mulroney and Diaz also noted that Michael and Timmy are still, in their minds, living out a happy marriage. “It supports the whole theory that it’s the right girl for him, right guy for her, you know?” Mulroney said, while Roberts added of her character: “We’re not living together. But I live across the street.”
My Best Friend’s Wedding, starring Julia Roberts, was released in 1997. Credit: TriStar Pictures
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