That was the first thing I checked – her hair – when Reese Witherspoon, very petite and wearing a simple T-shirt and knee-length skirt (with hardly any make-up), entered the function room of the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills for the press junket of Sweet Home Alabama, the smash-hit romance comedy from Buena Vista International which raked in more than $30 million on its opening weekend, recouping more than half of the production budget ($50 million).
Reese, 26, is as sweet as the character she plays bigger-than-life (Legally Blonde, Election, Pleasantville, etc.), answering questions with the casual politeness expected of a Southern girl, which she is and also the character she’s playing in Alabama, directed by Andy Tennant (Anna and the King, etc.). In person, she looks far smaller than she does on the big screen. The smile never left her pretty face throughout the interview.
In Alabama, Reese stars as New York fashion designer Melanie Carmichael who suddenly finds herself engaged to the city’s most eligible bachelor (played by Patrick Dempsey of the TV series Will and Grace), son of the mayor (played by Candice Bergen in a manner that, according to some viewers, reminds you of the late Jackie Kennedy). But Melanie’s past holds many secrets, including Jake (played by Josh Lucas who resembles a young Paul Newman), the redneck husband she married in high school, who refuses to divorce her. Bound and determined to end their contentious relationship once and for all, Melanie sneaks back home to Alabama to confront her past, only to discover that you can take the girl out of the South, but you can never take the South out of the girl.
The movie’s blurb says it all: Sometimes what you’re looking for is right where you left it.
Reese is married to Ryan Phillippe (whom she met and fell in love with on the set of Cruel Intentions). They have a three-year-old daughter, Ava.
How were you able to relate to your role in the movie?
"My character, Melanie Carmichael, is from a small town and she moves to the big city and tries to make it and then she goes back home and, you know... I had a similar upbringing. I come from a very small town and I moved to Los Angeles to be an actress."
What sort of childhood did you have and what values have you retained?
"I grew up in a small community that was very family-oriented. There was a lot of emphasis on kindness to your neighbors."
Has Hollywood/stardom changed the basic Reese Witherspoon?
"I don’t think so. I feel like the same girl I used to be."
Unaffected by fame, by success?
"Yeah. I certainly have a nice and comfortable life but it hasn’t changed my outlook in life at all. I think it’s due in a large part to the fact that I grew up in a place where I was taught a lot of manners and etiquette. I think that’s important. People appreciate that."
What were some of the scenes in Alabama which you found very touching?
"I like the scene with my mother (Mary Kay Place). I was able to relate to that scene. As a mother, she wanted me to have a different life, a better life, than she had."
Do you have any role models, fellow actresses maybe?
"Oh, I have, certainly. I really like Jodie Foster and Susan Sarandon."
What aspect of showbiz, if any, don’t you like?
"Not much. Everything is workable."
You and Ryan have a daughter. How do you keep a balance between stardom and motherhood?
"Well, I take a lot of time off, so I spend a lot of time with my daughter. Ryan takes a lot of time off, too, and whenever we go away to make films the whole family goes together."
What has being a mother taught you?
"Lots of stuff. I always thought when I was young that my mother was wrong. You eventually come to the realization that she was correct about everything."
Who does the cooking at home, you or Ryan?
"We both cook. We couldn’t cook when we met each other, but we’ve slowly learned together and now we’re kind of good at it. People would be really shocked at how well-prepared our meals are."
You’re now considered the new American Sweetheart, the "new Meg Ryan." How do you feel about it?
"Oh, great! Certainly very flattering. I perceive myself as sort of a working actress, and I enjoy doing romantic comedies, trying to find movies that I love to do. When I go home, I’m just a mom. Having children changes a person, you know. It’s an experience that puts your life into perspective. It’s been wonderful for me. I go home and change diapers and take out the trash. I’m just like everybody. The experience is very grounding; it makes me feel like a real person."
You sound like you’re a homebody.
"Oh, yes, I am. Certainly! I like to be home; I’m a homebody. I cook a lot. We don’t have maids but we have a nanny who comes occasionally; she comes a couple of hours a day."
How else has motherhood affected the way you look at life?
"It certainly has taken all the emphasis off myself on to her (Ava). I’m just not worried about myself anymore. I’m a hands-on mom. I’m with my daughter every moment of the day when I’m not working. If I can, I bring her to work."
As a kid, what sort of movies did you watch?
"All sorts of movies – romantic comedies, action movies. I don’t know much about obscure films because it’s not like I was a student of film. I came from an audience-member perspective and that must be why I like commercial movies, the kind that I grew up watching."
Grew up in...
"...Tennessee. My father, a surgeon, traveled extensively as a lieutenant colonel and I was raised partly in Germany. I consider myself a Southern girl, though. We led a simple life back in Tennessee. We didn’t even know what Louis Vuitton was. I think that’s a good thing. I had to order all my prom outfits out of catalogs. It’s a different sensibility. I had manners classes when I was eight years old. One day recently, I was driving with my mom and got stopped for a speeding ticket. I said, ‘I’m so sorry, Officer.’ And the officer said to my mom, ‘Ma’am, I’ve met a lot of movie stars but your daughter has excellent manners’."
What do you think makes a Southern girl different from other American girls?
"Well, I think it’s the sensibility; it’s a different kind of sensibility, more like a small-town sensibility as opposed to very urban. There’s also a very heavy influence on politeness and, as I’ve said, on manners and etiquette. Southern girls know how to use politeness as a way of communicating or manipulating situations. It all comes out of a genuine concern for other people."
Your mom is also a doctor, like your dad. It’s a surprise that you didn’t end up also a doctor. Have you always wanted to be an actress?
"Hmmmmmm. Yeah, I always did. I knew when I was seven years old that I wanted to be an actress. At 12, I was doing commercials. My first big break was starring in The Man in the Moon when I was 14. I wanted to graduate from college but then I couldn’t balance school life and work life. Work took priority at that time of my life. I regret it sometimes because I really wished I finished college. One day I will... hopefully."
Not many people know that you lived for four years in Germany. What are your memories of those years?
"Yeah, I went to a German monastery school and I spoke German as a child. I spoke Spanish, too. I had a wonderful experience going to that school. The schools there were amazing; they had amazing educational philosophies. My mom was very impressed with them, too."
Why did you have to go to school in Germany?
"Because my dad was in the air force and he was detailed in Germany."
Are you more health-conscious than most people because your parents are doctors?
"You’ll never know my parents are doctors by the way they eat. They eat fastfood everyday of their lives. But my dad has a bad heart problem. Diet-conscious? Yes, I am and I’m teaching my daughter at this early stage to be diet-conscious, too."
What about clothes? Are you brand-conscious?
"Not really, I wear anything that can be cleaned easily, things that are machine-washable, anything you can get chocolate and peanut-butter jelly on. At home, I have to change clothes two or three times a day because my daughter is all over me."
How much sleep do you need everyday?
"I need at least eight hours. Otherwise, if I lack sleep I’m grumpy."
Do you work out?
"Yeah, I do, at least four days a week. I run three to four miles, I play tennis and I do yoga."
Any beauty secrets?
"Not that many. I just wear a lot of sun screen and I drink lots of water. I use moisturizer."
What do we expect from you after Sweet Home Alabama?
"I’m doing Red, White and Blonde."
Some kind of a sequel to Legally Blonde?
"Yeah, it is."
With you wearing blond hair again, I suppose.
"No. I’ll be wearing dark brown hair. I’m playing a girl who tries to be a politician."
Are you in real life, uh, "legally blonde"?
"What do you think?"
Oh, by the way, what’s the difference between "legally blonde" and "naturally blonde"?
(Thinks awhile) "Well... legally blonde... and natural blonde... Let me see... I took my daughter swimming the other day and when we went home I was washing my hair, and she asked, ‘Why are you washing your hair?’ I told her, ‘If I don’t wash the chlorine off it, my hair might turn green.’ Then she said, ‘Mommy, why do you want to be legally blonde?’ I said, ‘Legally blonde is not a hair color; it’s a movie mommy made. Mommy is blonde.’ She said, ‘Why do you want to be legally blonde, too?’ She’s so funny."
What are you like away from the limelight?
"I stay home, with family and lots of friends. We gather for dinner."
Nothing showbiz?
"I don’t go to parties. I’m too tired!"
What do you splurge on?
"Shoes, shoes! I’m a shoe girl."
How many pairs do you have?
"I have a lot because they give me the shoes for my movies."
More than what (former Philippine First Lady) Imelda Marcos has?
(Laughs) "No. I’m sure she has more!"
What else do you do at home?
"Watch TV, like The Bachelor, and read books."
What book are you currently reading?
"The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. I read a lot of fiction and biographies."
Come to think of it, isn’t there any professional jealousy between you and Ryan, you being both actors?
(Deadpan) "No, we’re never up to the same parts, believe it or not. At home, we don’t even talk about work."
What’s your biggest goal at the moment?
(Smiles widely) "To be a good mother!"