Ex marks the comic spot for Reaser in new drama
Posted on Tuesday, October 7, 2008
HOLLYWOOD — The hit Grey’s Anatomy brought actress Elizabeth Reaser an Emmy Award nomination and a show of her own, CBS’ The Ex List.
On Grey’s, she played a Seattle Grace patient whose injuries from a fiery ferry accident left her a disfigured amnesiac. Her seven-episode stint stretched into 17 episodes on the show as the character became Alex’s (Justin Chambers ) on-again, off-again, and finally insane, girlfriend.
That led to Reaser, 33, being cast as the lead in The Ex List, a comedic drama about a woman’s search for love. It comes after many years of toiling on screens big and small, and waiting for the proverbial Hollywood break.
The chance came by way of Israel, where The Mythological Ex, the original version of the series, was born. Reaser plays Bella Bloom, a San Diego flower-shop owner who is told by a psychic that if she doesn’t marry within a year, she never will. The catch, the psychic says, is that Bella already has met her husband, so she sets out on a journey to rediscover herself and the men in her past.
The Ex List airs at 8 p.m. Fridays after Ghost Whisperer.
“I did a film called Puccini for Beginners, which was a romantic comedy, and I always wanted to do more, but I kept doing drama,” Reaser says. “It’s an easy thing for me tap into. This is more challenging: to work at a different speed, quicker and lighter. It seems easy and fun, but it’s more subtle and it’s actually harder.” Behind the scenes, there have been artistic trials. Creator and show runner Diane Ruggiero resigned Sept. 12 over what CBS President of Entertainment Nina Tassler described as a “simple disagreement about the future direction of the show, particularly as it pertains to Bella.” Ruggiero’s adaptation diverged from the original, with CBS’s approval, by adding a career and sister for Bella and by making the psychic a recurring character. Of the seven episodes produced, only two, so far, contain stories from the Israeli series, which CBS also supported, according to Tassler. The problems between executives and Ruggiero were centered more on the tone of the series and how Bella was responding to her predicament / adventure.
“In the Israeli series, the character had a sense of adventure and wonderment and optimism,” Tassler says. “And maybe it’s because, in part, it represents Israeli life, which is a very ‘live for today’ outlook on things. This is a character that was always reflecting on her own personal journey in addition to how she approached life and relationships and her friends. We just wanted to make sure that in the scenes and in the stories we were faithful to that.” In a Sept. 14 interview with The Star-Ledger in Newark, N. J., Ruggiero described her frustration: “They would keep talking to me about how they wanted the Israeli version... and I felt very strongly that she has to have a regular life, and this weird quest almost has to feel like a burden at times. She has to feel put-upon. Otherwise, she bugs me. Every kind of spin they tried to put on it like that, they just wanted to be happy and optimistic.” Reaser says she had no idea that there had been problems over the direction of the show and was surprised when she learned Ruggiero had quit.
“I felt we both connected to the character and to these stories and to each other,” Reaser says. “But I completely respect her decision. If you’re not happy, then you shouldn’t be locked into something that’s not making you happy.” Playing Bella definitely makes Reaser happy, and lately, she says, as she has settled into the role, she has become even more excited about playing a woman who isn’t afraid to actively search for the One.
“I haven’t seen any departure from what I think is essential to the character and to the way we tell these stories,” Reaser says. “I think if that were to happen, I’d be very aware because I’m married to this character, line by line. But I’m also not privy to every single draft and every single incarnation of what’s been happening.
“ It’s interesting for me to play someone my age who’s a pretty cool chick. She isn’t desperate, but she’s unapologetically looking to connect and fall in love, which I think is interesting because, for me, as a woman, there’s this unspoken thing out there, that if you’re a strong woman, you don’t need a man. And I think that’s kind of nonsense. Maybe you want to have a man.” After hearing the psychic’s prediction, Bella begins to analyze every past liaison and failed relationship and tries to reconnect with her old flames. Reaser said she recognizes a bit of herself in Bella.
“I definitely relate to her search for love and her search for connection and openness,” Reaser says. “I definitely feel in my own life a lot of buffoonery in the love-life department. She’s less serious about it than I am, so she’s having more fun. She’s got a certain confidence that I don’t have. She’s able to just keep moving along. I think I can learn a lot from her.”
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
