Legally lesbian? Well, not exactly.
To the delight of their queer-lady fans, Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara may kiss up on each other, but its all just part of their "Hot Pursuit." In the film, out May 8, Witherspoon portrays Officer Cooper, a by-the-books cop assigned to protect the ultra-fashionable widow of a drug-dealer (Vergara of "Modern Family") at one point faking lesbian to escape a potentially sketchy situation.
This isnt Witherspoons first onscreen kiss with another woman, of course. And even though the Oscar-winning actress couldnt recall her pre-fame woman-on-woman debut during our interview 1996s "Freeway," when she and Brittany Murphy made out how could we forget?
"I dont think Ive kissed another girl on screen," Reese says. But before I can mention "Freeway," we're asked to move onto the next question.
Heres what else the budding BFFs had to say about lesbians, "Legally Blonde" and female liberation during this gay press exclusive.
Dealing with homosexuality in comedy can be delicate, and some people take offense to pseudo lesbianism. As actors, how do you know when not to go too far? Is there a too far?
Reese: I think gay people are able to play straight roles; straight people are able to play gay roles. The whole point of being an actor is to transform. If people dont understand that we need to be malleable in our sexuality, then I think they need to lighten up.
Sofia, youre on a gay-loved TV show. Reese, you famously taught us the bend-and-snap. Looking back, when were you both first aware that you had a gay and lesbian following?
Reese: For me, probably "Legally Blonde," or "Cruel Intentions."
Sofia: Ive never really thought about it. Ive always had a lot of gay friends as very close friends. I dont know! My ("Modern Family") character, Gloria they like her!
Reese: Her attitude. And the way she dresses yeah!
Reese, what did the bend-and-snap do for your gay cred?
Reese: Um, well, hopefully legitimized my dance moves! I have a strong dance game.
Sofia: She does, she does!
Reese: And now Im working on a Latino audience with my dance game.
Sofia: Oh, the Latino audience adores her!
Reese: (Laughs) Sofias taught me how to Latin dance.
Sofia: You didnt need me to teach you anything you knew already.
Reese: I had a beat in my heart.
I dont have to tell you that your makeout scene in "Hot Pursuit" is already getting a lot of lesbian buzz. How accustomed are you to attention from lesbians at this point in your career?
Reese: I have a ton of lesbian friends, and I think any kind of women who relates to us or enjoys the movie thats awesome!
Sofia: Half of the time I dont know if theyre lesbian. Its just normal. Its not like theyre like, Hi, I am a lesbian and I am a fan!
Reese: (Laughs) The whole movie is: It doesnt matter where youre from, what your sexual orientation is, what you do for a living, what your ethnicity is women are women, and we all have a lot in common.
Ive been loving watching the evolution of female actors in the action genre. How does it feel being a part of the girls can be just as bad as boys movement in Hollywood?
Reese: I think its great. Its liberating because its not all about our characters romantic lives or that were chasing men its that were running for our lives and we have to figure out a way to get along so that we survive.
How do you feel about it, Sofia?
Sofia: About her lesbian followers?!
Sure! Lets talk some more about Reeses lesbian followers.
Sofia: (Laughs) No, like I said, I didnt really notice. I think the thing with movies is to entertain everybody. You dont have to be anything special to enjoy the entertainment of what were doing. Were doing it for everybody.
How do female-led films like "Hot Pursuit" directed by a woman, Anne Fletcher, and featuring strong female leads contribute to the feminist movement?
Reese: Anything where two women are relating to each other and were the leads of the movie, and its directed by a woman its kind of a new thing. So, were excited. But its actually a really exciting summer for womens films with "Pitch Perfect 2," directed by a woman (Elizabeth Banks), and "Spy" with Melissa McCarthy, and "Trainwreck" with Amy Schumer. Last summer was not good for womens film. I mean, I kept going, What am I gonna see this summer? And there werent any good movies last summer for women. I think this is the summer for women.
Hillary Clinton would be happy to hear that. I bet shed dig all this "Hot Pursuit" girl power.
Reese: We hope everybody likes it!
So, Reese, you get to dabble in drag. You make a cute boy, by the way.
Reese: Thaaaanks!
How was it determined what kind of boy youd be for your drag debut?
Reese: It was really interesting! Like, obviously I was Jos Bieber, the Latin Bieber, in this movie. As soon as I put on the clothes, my whole personality changed. You know, I was talkin to the honeys!
Sofia: Actually, I have to say, it was one of my favorite scenes, because to see her like that was so odd. I wasnt prepared. She suddenly showed up like that to the set and it was so hilarious. I mean, if you see the movie, at the end there are some bloopers of me not being able to control myself.
Reese: Because she thought I was hot.
Sofia: No. I thought you looked ridiculous!
