It’s the reunion You didn’t know you needed it. Eighteen years after Amy Smart and Ryan Reynolds got out of the friend zone in 2005 rom com Just friendsthe co-stars reunited for an ad for Reynolds’ Aviation American Gin.
The two-minute spot features Smart and Reynolds reprising their roles as Chris Brander and Jamie Palamino, playing out an emotional scene on a green screen.
“How was work?” Reynolds asks Smart as she returns home from work. “Um, I’ve had better days. The bar ran out of Aviation American Gin,” she says, holding up a bottle of Reynolds gin. “Oh no, that’s so bad. That is terrible. We’re out of Aviation American Gin,” Reynolds responds before Smart asks to cut it.
While Smart isn’t convinced about the green screen approach to a cozy home decorated for the holidays, Reynolds guarantees it will look convincing in post-production. As they replay the scene again, Reynolds decides to escalate the situation by shouting “Fk” when his wife says he ran out of gin at work.
“That was a big reaction,” Smart counters, to which Reynolds says, “Well, it’s been 18 years. I think the characters have changed a little, so I’m playing it like that in my head.”
Smart questions why she is holding an unopened bottle of gin if she is truly finished. Reynolds explains that she purchased a bottle from one of her “many respected retail partners.”
“So this is a stupid ad for your gin company?” she asks him, as Reynolds tries to defend the venture. “Well, let’s not rush to judgment before all the facts are revealed. I mean, this is a self-financed sequel based on a loose interpretation of intellectual property law… so, yes, it’s an advertisement for my Aviation American Gin,” the actor admits.
“Wow. Dirty,” Smart responds, unimpressed, as he walks off stage.
Watch the entire self-financed sequence below.
