Entertainment

Judy Greer Talks '13 Going on 30'

by Rachel Simon

It's hard to believe that the movie that taught us the "Thriller" dance, brought back Razzles, and made Jennifer Garner a superstar is a decade old, but on Wednesday, April 23, 13 Going on 30 celebrated its 10th anniversary. The comedy, starring Garner as a teenager who's thrown into adult life after her wish to be "thirty, flirty, and thriving" unexpectedly comes true, may have started out as only a modest box office hit, but today, its legacy is huge; with the likes of Love, Actually and Legally Blonde, 13 Going on 30 is now considered one of the sweetest, funniest, and most re-watchable rom-coms of the '00s.

In an interview with Bustle last week, Judy Greer, who played Lucy, a middle school mean girl who grew up to be Jenna's untrustworthy best friend, spoke about the film's lasting influence.

"I think there’s something about it," Greer said. "I do think it’s special. It’s because of Gary [Winick, the director], it's because of Jennifer and Mark [Ruffalo]."

Tragically, Winick, whose directorial work also included Charlotte's Web and Bride Wars, passed away in 2011 after a battle with brain cancer.

"I feel like we can never, never really celebrate the ten-year anniversary without talking about Gary Winick," Greer said. "His energy lives on in that movie. That movie is filled with so much love and positivity and that was all him... there was not a negative bone in his body."

13 Going on 30 feels "like a real celebration of him," Greer added, saying that "you can just feel him all over that movie."

It's a sentiment echoed by Garner, who, in late 2011, praised the late director for making "a frothy romantic comedy" something special.

"He found what was really human about a scene, or about a character, or about a moment," she said. "That’s not always easy or pretty... it was messy, but I loved every minute of it. I really, really loved him.”

Image: Columbia