Isla Fisher on Definitely, Maybe

Isla Fisher is recognizable to the moviegoing population as the psychotic woman who becomes obsessed with Vince Vaughn in the 2005 smash hit Wedding Crashers. In the new romantic comedy Definitely, Maybe, she’s on familiar romantic comedy turf but as a different, far more down to earth character. She plays April, a wise-cracking but earnest young woman who sparks a platonic friendship with Will (Ryan Reynolds) that spans through the years as he goes through several serious relationships, played by Elizabeth Banks and Rachel Weisz. April goes through several of her own, but which of the three women Will ultimately winds up with is a central mystery to the film not to be spoiled here.

Fisher spoke at a press conference in New York recently about the role, her career aspirations, and did an outstanding imitation of the pig from “Babe”. Read on…

ComingSoon.net: Do you enjoy playing the sexy, funny woman in movies like this or “Wedding Crashers”? Would you like to eventually branch out and try more dramatic roles?
Isla Fisher: Yeah, I wanna keep working, but I want to play different types of characters. That’s what really peaked my interest about this material when I read the script, that I wasn’t playing the crazy, larger-than-life person. I was playing the heart of the movie in some ways… I don’t wanna give away the ending, but it was a dramatic role essentially and that’s why I enjoyed doing it.

CS: Timing plays an important role in all three romances in this picture. Do you think this importance is reflected in real life?
Fisher: I do think timing plays an important role in real life, particularly in cooking! (laughs) Because it can go so well, and then you haven’t quite got the… yeah. I think timing is particularly important in April and Will’s relationship. They meet each other at different points in their life, when they’re attached or emotionally unavailable, and that’s very difficult for them. I think there’s nothing you can do. Timing is life, it’s the luck of the draw, unless you’re cooking and then you can get one of these buzzers that you turn around and you put it on a number and it beeps when it’s ready.

CS: Is “Definitely, Maybe” a realistic movie in that respect?
Fisher: It depends on the romantic comedy. Some of the slick, Hollywood romantic comedies where you know in the first act who’s gonna end up with who aren’t realistic. A movie like this where all the women in the movie are just normal people who are flawed and there’s no good or bad people can definitely be a realistic story.

CS: Are there times in your life that would have made a good romantic comedy?
Fisher: I don’t really talk about my personal life, but I would say in the past none of my relationships would have made brilliant romantic comedies… maybe comedies.

CS: What brought you to this character and what did you draw on to make her come alive?
Fisher: I just like the fact that she’s really outspoken and feisty, and she’s someone who had a really rich emotional arc. She begins the movie one way and ends finding out who she is. Also because she’s someone who’s afraid of love, and learns not to be afraid which I thought was very sweet.

CS: In the movie your character actually gets to utter the line “Definitely, Maybe” and in another scene you tell Ryan’s character to get his life together. Did you find those scenes to be empowering for women?
Fisher: Women empowerment? No, I didn’t see it that way. I just think she speaks the truth and I respect her for that. She really does.

CS: Did you contribute anything to the script during the process of improvisation?
Fisher: Yes, I contributed “bare-ass and sandpaper”. (laughs) I remember seeing the director’s face after that take and thinking, “that’s not going to make it in!” And then I saw it in the trailer. I am someone who likes to improvise. I am someone who when let loose I enjoy a rant. For me it was great fun. Ryan too, he’s someone who’s comfortable with writing. A lot of our stuff there were definitely bits of the script said and the rest of the time we were just mucking around.

CS: What are some of your favorite movies that you find yourself watching over and over again?
Fisher: I love the Christopher Guest films. I love the “Python” movies, I can go back and re-watch them every day. I’m not a big fan of emotionally draining movies, you know really dramatic movies where you leave exhausted and you’ve lost the will to live. I tend to steer clear of anything that goes in that arena. I like romantic comedies.

CS: Are there any historical figures you’d like to play?
Fisher: You know it depends how I’m feeling. Every day there are different people I feel I would like to play. Imelda Marcos is someone I would like to play. (laughs)

CS: Because you have a shoe fetish?
Fisher: No, I am going to go on and play a shopaholic in a movie but not just for that. There are different figures of women I would like to play. I would have loved to have played Katherine Hepburn and Cate Blanchett did such an amazing job. Every woman would love to have played Joan of Arc… all the great ones get taken, let’s be honest. I would have like to have played in “Babe 3,” that pig in the movie, she had some great little squeals. I do a great pig noise. (makes pig noise)

Definitely, Maybe opens this Valentine’s Day, February 14th.