In honor of the film “Just Friends” being screened in theaters on November 23, 18 years ago, coinciding with Thanksgiving Day this year, Reynolds and Smart filmed an advertisement with the title “Just Friendsgiving.”
Recently, there was a historic reunion of Ryan Reynolds and Amy Smart. The actor, who starred in the 2005 film “Just Friends,” came together with the aviation American Gin as part of a mini “sequel” for an advertisement, 18 years after the movie was released on November 23. In honor of the film’s screening in theaters on Thanksgiving Day this year, the ad is titled “Just Friendsgiving.”
In the above video, fans can see where the characters are now in their relationship. It begins with Reynolds standing in a festively decorated living room with a Christmas tree.
“Very nice!” Smart says as she enters the room. Reynolds welcomes her, saying, “Hey, darling, I was just looking at the tree. Nothing smells quite like real pine.”
“Oh, I love our Devil’s Tree,” she says, holding a bottle of Aviation Gin.
Still in character, Reynolds asks Smart how her day was.
She responds, “My good days are here. The bar is closed, uh, Aviation American Gin.”
“Oh no, that’s terrible!” he dramatically exclaims. “It’s horrifying that they ran out of aviation.”
As they disappear from the living room, she breaks through the fourth wall and reveals a green screen. “Excuse me. Can we cut this? It’s weird,” she says.
The proposal star attempts to reassure her. “When we post it, it’ll be our home, with all the decorations and stuff. I promise. It’ll look great. I think we should give it another shot,” he says.
Resetting the scene by restoring the background, he adds, “Hey darling, how was work?”
“Oh, it wasn’t very good,” she says, clearly distressed. “You know, the bar ran out of Aviation American Gin.”
He amps up his delivery and exclaims, “Oh, f—!”
Smart instructs to stop the cameras again. “Excuse me. Can we cut this? It was a big reaction,” she says.
“Alright, it’s been 18 years, you know. I feel like the characters have changed a bit, so I started playing it in my mind the same way,” they say.
Smart still looks quite bewildered and is evidently not convinced. “Let’s try it once more, ready? Roll camera,” Reynolds says.
She repeats her greeting line but immediately cuts it off. “Hold on. If I’m leaving, why would I take it?” she asks, gesturing towards the spirit bottle.
“Alright, on the way out of the bar, you stopped at one of our many esteemed liquor partners to grab some easy Aviation American Gin,” he continues.
In the end, Smart realizes that this is not an actual Just Friends reunion.
“So, this is a foolishly entertaining ad for your gin company?” she asks.
“Alright, let’s not rush to judgment before all the facts are on the table. I mean, it’s a self-funded sequel based on a loose interpretation of IP law, so technically – yes, it’s an ad for my Aviation American Gin,” he admits.
“Very nice? Disgusting,” Smart mocks as she steps off the stage.
As tension escalates, Reynolds responds, “Alright, note to self, never work with your heroes.”
“You’re not my hee-roes!” she reacts, amidst the sound of the breaking glass of the gin bottle, outside the screen.
As the official ad concludes, a behind-the-scenes shot shows the real glimpse of the pair 18 years later.
“Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes Mrs. Amy Smart!” Reynolds cheers, as they give each other a pretend kiss.
Reynolds is known for injecting humor into his Aviation Gin commercials. Recently, he appeared with Rob Thomas in a new FX and Hulu ad for alcohol. On the occasion, Reynolds made another joke about Rob McElhenney, who is his co-founder at Wrexham AFC. He also featured in a Mother’s Day promotional video alongside his mother, Tammy.
