GIANT talks to I Love You, Man starlet Rashida Jones here.
“I’ve always been a big comedy geek,” declares 32-year-old actress Rashida Jones. “Humor is so subjective, and if you can make an entire group of people laugh, that’s a godly accomplishment.” The task poses little problem for Jones, who is, quite obviously, divine. Throughout her 13-year career, she has quietly owned each of her roles. From Karen Scarfolli on Judd Apatow’s Freaks & Geeks to her run as Louisa Fenn on Boston Public to her “dream job” as Karen Filippelli on The Office, Jones has made a keen impression on small screens.
This March she hits the box office as Zooey in writer/director John Hamburg’s bromantic comedy, I Love You, Man (watch the trailer below). In the film Zooey is engaged to Peter (Paul Rudd), who is looking for a best man. High jinks, hilarity and wildly awkward male bonding ensue. “[It's] the male version of women’s lib,” Jones says about the evolution of bro-on-bro love. “Women can be nurturers, and they can let themselves be nurtured. They can be independent, and they can be a part of a relationship….Guys didn’t have that cultural phenomenon, so they’re constantly looking for their role.” Heady stuff for a flick with a Lou Ferrigno cameo.
Although female characters in dude-centric flicks have been criticized for being flat, Zooey is anything but. “I think there’s still a deep sexism in this country,” says Jones. “But more and more there’s an acceptance that women and all of their complexities are interesting to write about.”Jones, the youngest daughter of music legend Quincy Jones and Mod Squad bombshell Peggy Lipton, certainly has her nuances as well. A far cry from typical tabloid-soiling celeb spawn, she graduated from Harvard with a bachelor’s degree in comparative religion. Jones is also a gifted vocalist, a published writer and has twice been named one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People.”
The total package hasn’t gone unnoticed. Based on I Love You, Man test screenings, Hamburg describes an overwhelmingly positive reaction to Jones’s character. On response cards, many viewers even scrawled, “I wish she was my girlfriend.” “When I read those, I give the audience member her phone number,” deadpans Hamburg, “which I’m sure she’d be cool with.”
Thankfully, the actress can soon be seen weekly when she joins Saturday Night Live alum Amy Poehler for NBC’s Parks & Recreation, a highly anticipated sitcom that will only leave us pining for more.
