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Cox tries dancing on the dark side
Los Angeles-Courteney Cox is faking it.
Trapped inside a hotel suite, doing more than 50 five-minute television interviews during the course of 10-hour day, she is irritable, tired and bored to death. As soon as the cameras turn off, she slums in her chair, gulps some water and awaits the next round of the same questions. But once the light go on, the transformation is as instant as it is perfect. She readily offers her perfect smile, and if you hadn´t seen her 30 seconds ago, you´d swear she was excited to see you, pondering your questions, and answering each one from the bottom of her heart. Any doubts that Cox is an accomplished actress are put to rest. Cox doing press for her new film, Commandments. Juggling the demands of her NBC TV show Friends and her first big starring film role was not easy, as she is the first to admit. "Making movies makes Friends seem like a cakewalk," she says. Cox should know. The 32-year-old actress is best known as Monica, the charming control-freak with a weakness for older men on Friends, one of television´s most successful comedies. Friends, now in its third year, continues to earn unbelievable ratings, typically finishing in the Neilsen top five with an estimated weekly audience of around 16 million homes. But, as Cox´s Friends co-stars have demonstrated, television stardom does not always translate to big screen. So what motivated Cox to go after a starring role in the new dark comedy Commandments? "Because it was different, for starters," Cox said. "I think this was a really interesting film. And just doing a movie that is controversial, that raises a lot of questions, but is also a feel-good movie. It kind of does it all." Commandments is the story of Seth Warner (idan Quinn), a happily-married doctor who sees his life fall apart. Warner´s wife dies in a drowning accident, he is laid off, and finally, he is the victim of a natural disaster that destroys his home. Believing he must be cursed, Seth confronts God, who responds with a lightening bolt that sends him to the hospital. From there, Seth is taken in by his sister-in-law Rachel (Cox) and her morally-bankrupt husband Harry (Anthony LaPaglia). Pushed over the edge of sanity, Seth vows to seek vengeance on God by breaking each of the 10 Commandments. The role of Rachel is central to the film. As the two male characters engage in an duel of morality and mortality, both end up defining themselves in part by their relation to her. Her husband, Harry, is an adulterous lier who values his collection of guitars more than his beautiful wife. But a bizarre turn of events forces him to re-examine his priorities. Seth, with his seductive chame, gives Rachel a glimpse of something far better, but he cannot be hers until he, quite literally, meets his maker. Cox was intrigued by her character´s predicament, and the unusual circumstances which lead to her awakening "I like this character because Rachel is someone who dosn´t confront her emotions," she explained. "he hasn´t hasn´t dealt with her sister´s death, her marriage is completely on the rocks and she meets this guy is much more messed up than she is, and he is able to bring her out." In the most demanding scenes of her career, Cox´s character struggles with her taboo, attraction to her crazed brother-in-law. What´s more, she must confront his motives as well, asking herself if she may just be a surrogate for her late sister, or just another "commandment to be broken.". "Seth is someone who has a lot of passion. He is right now on a quest to get answers in his life." Cox said. "And as crazy as he may come off at certain points during this film. At least he is doing something. He is passionate and he opens up this whole world for her. He shows her what love is." There is some real heat in the scenes Quinn and Cox share, a naturel chemistry between them the two actors working together for first time. "I think he is an amazing actor, and he is a great person." says Cox of her co-star. "When I saw the film, I was pleased that my font feelings for him came off." As for Cox, she has a reputation as a perfectionist, taking after her TV alter ego. Gossip columnists have hinted that she is a nightmare to work with, demanding complete control over every aspect of any project she takes on. But both Quinn and LaPaglia report that nothing could be further from the truth. I loved working with her," says LaPaglia. "She is really professional, she´s funny, she´s smart. I just hit it off with her." Quinn echoes the sentiment, reporting that they shared "a lot of laughs together." Cox was born in Birmingham, Ala., the youngest of four kids. She tried her hand at architecture school, before answering her call, and moving to New York to make it big as a model. She followed the typical path of a young starlet-magazine shots led to TV commercials to a small part in a daytime soap. But Cox didn´t get her big break until she was cast by director Brian DePalma as Bruce Springsteen´s dance partner in music video Dancing in the Dark. And that was enough to launch her career. At age 21, Cox began working steadily in string of gradually larger film and television parts, most notably as Michael J. Fox´s girlfriend in Family Ties from 1987-89. After five more years of honing her craft with small parts, she once again flirted with stardom as Jim Carrey´s love interest in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. And then she landed a part in a sitcom with an unknown cast that had a promising premise, but one nobody had any serious expectations for. The sitcom went on to change the nation´s viewing habits on Thursday nights. Since Friends, Cox has a had a seemingly midas touch. She has graced dozens of magazine covers, inspired Internet shrines, hosted award shows, and been involved with some very public romances with Michael Keaton, Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, and lately Conan O´Brien. And, unlike her co-stars, she has not fumbled in her choice of movie roles since Friends. Cox´s first post-Friends role was a supporting but significant part in the Was Craven horror film Scream, a surprise hit. In fact, Scream was so successful that it has recently been brought back to theaters, leaving Cox in the enviable position of competing with herself at the multiplex. The success of Scream, caught even Cox somewhat by surprise. "I don´t think you even know if something is going to be successful or not, to that degree. I´m so glad that it is . I knew it was a great script, and I think that Wes Craven is a great director. I was surprised they brought it back, but those Miramax guys, they know how market a film," Surprised or not, both Miramax and Cox know a good thing. Up next for Cox is Scream 2, in which she revisits her role as tabloid journalist Gale Weather, a safe bet to be yet another hit. Which means another round of interviews, another few marathon days at the center of a tug-a-war between publicists, writers and movie studio. Even with the cameras off, Cox puts a brave face on. "Hey, there is no complaining here," Cox says with a laugh.
Written by David Fenigsohn-MSNBC
