Judy Greer has opened up about a “mortifying” memory from the set of The Wedding Planner—the time Matthew McConaughey ended up handing over $20 to cover her valet fee.
Greer appeared in the 2001 romantic comedy alongside Jennifer Lopez and the Dazed and Confused star. Directed by Adam Shankman, the film follows Lopez’s wedding planner Mary Fiore and Greer’s character, Penny Nicholson, a driven colleague who is later tasked with organizing the wedding of tech heiress Fran Donolly (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras) and Steve Edison (McConaughey).
Filmed largely in San Francisco, The Wedding Planner earned praise from one Rotten Tomatoes critic as an “old-fashioned romantic comedy,” and Greer said she still looks back on the experience with affection.
Speaking in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight, the Love and Other Drugs actor said one of her clearest memories from making the movie was just how kind McConaughey was.
“I loved seeing him in hair and makeup every morning, ’cause he had, like, pajamas on and a Yerba Mate,” she said of the now 57-year-old.
“I haven’t worked with him since, but I have a feeling not much has changed.”
Greer also shared that before filming officially began, the cast gathered at New York City’s Roosevelt Hotel for a table read of the script—an event that led to her memorable valet mishap.
“I valeted my car, I didn’t know any better,” she told the outlet.
Valet parking is common at many US hotels and restaurants, but it can add up fast—something Greer said she learned the hard way while she was still struggling financially.
After the read-through ended, she went to pick up her car and was hit with an unexpected fee she couldn’t cover: $20. Greer said she called her friend Sean Gunn hoping he could help, but her conversation didn’t stay private for long.
According to Greer, McConaughey overheard what was going on and stepped in.
“[He] gave me $20. I was so mortified, but also, like, ‘My hero’,” she claimed.
With The Wedding Planner set to mark its 25th anniversary this year, Greer was also asked whether she’d be interested in revisiting Penny Nicholson if a follow-up ever happened.
She said the original movie still works as it is, though she admitted it could be “fun” to see what a second installment might look like.
“But also, like, it’s great. Why do we have to keep rebooting everything?”
Still, Greer added she’d consider returning—so long as she would be part of the project.
She added that she’d be up for a reboot ‘as long as [she] gets to be in it’.
The Wedding Planner is available to rent on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.