Q&A With The Break-Up’s Jennifer Aniston

Q&A With… The Break-Up’s Jennifer Aniston

By Susan L. Hornik

Jennifer Aniston

By Susan L. Hornik

Jennifer Aniston’s take on why women do too much in relationships—and the worst pick-up line ever.

	*Your latest film, The Break-up, presents both sides of the “he said, she said” story. Do you see your character as a good guy?*
	No, I think that is what is so well done about how they wrote it—in this relationship, no one is really the bad guy. They’re both flawed, they both sort of fall short. And that’s the problem. They also finally communicate in an evolved manner, which would have probably solved the whole problem to begin with. I think people can relate to that.

	Their relationship seems to benefit from closure. Is that important when couples split?
	Yes. I think that is true for any relationship: romantic, friendship, work, anything. There should always be a sense of closure and clarity as to why it happened, so you can sort of move cleanly into your next phase.

	Can you comment on the irony of acting in a role where the couple separates and your having a real life break-up at a similar time of your life?
	The irony of it, well, yeah… pretty ironic! At the time, it was something I thought about. You kind of can’t believe — when I first got the phone call — that a movie called The Break-up was coming. I laughed and thought, ‘Oh, that’s funny,’ and sure enough it was… It was like a sign or something to do it because it was sort of a cathartic thing. I felt very lucky in a way that it came to me. If this had come at any other point in my life, I don’t know if I would have been able to really get it for myself on the level I would have wanted to as an actor.

	Did you enjoy working with your co-star Vince Vaughn?
	Yeah, you could tell pretty quickly when you work with somebody, “Yeah, this is going to be easy or this is going to be a tough one.” With Vince, it was pretty easy—he asks questions, he listens, he is interested in other people. It’s not just about him!

	What kind of girl are you in relationships?! Do you do the dishes at all? Do you ask for help a lot?
	Oh yeah! I’m a little crazy about doing dishes. I definitely like a clean kitchen before I go to bed. So that is true. But doesn’t everyone? All girls?! And no, I probably should ask for more help! But I don’t. I’d like someone to just offer. Who wouldn’t?!

	It was really cute how the two of you met in the film. What’s the cutest line a man has ever tried on you?
	Pick-up lines have never been cute!

	Uh-oh! Well, what’s the worst one you’ve ever heard?
	God, I just have the worst memory when it comes to that! One guy came up to me and said he liked my salad. I didn’t know what that meant. And I go, “What do you mean, my salad?!” And he said, “You know, your salad—your hair, your makeup, your salad.” Oh God, that was stupid. Whatever!

	Why do you think romance goes out of relationships?
	I think laziness, truthfully…

Contributing entertainment editor Susan Hornik lives in Los Angeles.

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