‘Just Friends’ Star Amy Smart Recall Hilarious Ryan Reynolds Moments, 20 Years Later (Exclusive)

Just Friends has worked its way into the list of comedic greats that came out of the mid-aughts.

The film stars Ryan Reynolds as Chris Brander, who returns to his hometown in the prime of his life after being bullied mercilessly throughout high school. His only refuge was best friend Jamie Palamino (Amy Smart), who stuck around their hometown after Chris fled. When they’re reunited, both are looking for the comfort of something old while trying to process how different Chris is from who he once was.

Roger Kumble directed the movie, part rom-com, part Christmas movie, and all hilarity. He tells PEOPLE that he knew from the jump he wanted Ryan Reynolds to play the lead.

“I had been a huge Ryan Reynolds fan from Two Guys and a Girl and an Amy Smart fan. New Line had a good relationship with Amy because they had made Butterfly Effect. And so they said, ‘You can make that movie. You’re going to go to Regina, Saskatchewan to do it.’ And I said, ‘Great.’ ”

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Reynolds plays a hilarious post-glow-up Chris, who tries to impress Jamie, who, in turn, knows him too well to be impressed by the artifice he’s presenting.

“I think when he’s in high school, he’s very insecure about his look but he’s also so genuine, and their friendship is so strong and real. When any relationship is that strong and real, the looks go sort of to the back, when you’re so connected,” Smart says of Chris’s character.

“I think for him, obviously, he’s haunted by his overweightness in the film at the beginning, and then he’s overcompensated in life as an adult. ”

Of stepping into Jamie, she continued, “For me, it’s always really bringing the grounding myself in the character and figuring out what she wants, what she needs. With comedy, you have to commit even more. To make it funny, the circumstances have to be that much more intense.”

“What I enjoyed about this is obviously a lot of my scenes are with Ryan, and he is just innately so funny that it was a big challenge to hold the laughter in.”

Of the scenes that stick out in her head, Smart shares, “I think the scene where he’s freaking out in the car and she has to return his gloves… it was one take, and I do break a little bit in it, but I tried my best to keep a straight face.”

“He was just losing it! In the best way, so it was really hard,” she continued.

“When I think back to my fondest memories of it, aside from being so cold and having so much fun in all the scenes, Ryan in the fat suit was the most endearing thing I’ve ever seen.”

Kumble appreciated “always being able to riff with… and I never use the word genius, but I will when it comes to Ryan.”

“We would just try to top each other with funny. And the scene where he comes back and Samantha’s drugged up and eating toothpaste, we were just kind of like, ‘Oh, let’s have her eat toothpaste and wear a Bugs Bunny bandage around her forehead,’ ” he laughs.

“She pulled it off and just the timing of the slap fight and her popping up with a mouthful of toothpaste, that was a blast to shoot.”

Just Friends is available on Digital & Blu-ray and currently streaming on Apple TV and Peacock.