Rashida Jones admits she may not always be right, but regardless, she’s got something to say.
The star of Parks and Recreation hits the big screen today with Celeste and Jesse Forever, telling the story of a young woman struggling to uncover love in a crop of handsome losers, while also not letting pride get the best of her relationships. Confesses the actress, it’s a tale she knows a little too well.
WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER HERE
“I would like to think that I took my idiosyncrasies and magnified them to come up with somebody whose character flaws stand in her own way,” Jones explains to theGrio about the similarities between herself and her character in movie. “I don’t think I’m at the point where I’m paralyzed by my need for control and my need to be right, but there have been times in my life where that’s been true…It’s the old me. It’s the last me. I’m a new me.”
Jones’ film, opening in theaters today, pairs the actress with Andy Samberg in the account of a botched friendship-turned-marriage, a strong platonic bond that couldn’t sustain romance. Accordingly, both characters are forced to move on and try out new people, sending Jones on a series of odd and unfortunate dates, some of which, says the actress, are based on real-life encounters.
“You know who you are,” the 36-year-old jokes, commenting on a scene in the film where a photographer finds a little more pleasure in himself than her. “After I got over the initial trauma and shock of it happening to me, it was a good party story. And actually, the one time I ever did stand-up with Neal Brennan – in New York – we told terrible dating stories and I told that story. You gotta have your comeuppance, and the way I do that is to write it in a script.”
While it may seem surprising someone with the looks, talent and charisma of Jones would have any trouble finding a match, the actress has certainly had her fair share of failed partnerships. Reportedly single, she’s been linked to actor Tobey Maguire and Jon Favreau, speechwriter for President Obama, in the past, and was engaged to music producer Mark Ronson for a year before ending their relationship in 2003.
Incidentally, she wrote Celeste & Forever with another former boyfriend, actor Will McCormack, based on a composite of both writers’ former relationships. Though it could have been a big screen bashing, Jones says the project is more about moving forward, and finding the key to building a successful relationship.
“One of the things, thematically, in the movie, is not wanting to be right,” she points out. “Just communicating in a way with your partner where you guys don’t have to agree with each other, but you respect each others’ decisions and opinions enough to live and coexist in a respectful manner.”
The movie was made on a budget of $800,000 thanks to Jones and McCormack’s strong industry alliances, and marks a slightly more dramatic angle for the actress, who is known to most audiences for her comedic roles in shows like The Office and Parks and Recreation. Her entrée into Hollywood came with the VIP introduction from her father, record and television producer, and jazz icon Quincy Jones, who was out to support the film’s premiere on June 22 at the Los Angeles Film Festival.
“My dad is a very positive, loving person,” Jones remarks. “His whole thing is just about kind of showing up, and working hard, and the other stuff is kind of not up to you. The inspiration – and you know, being a vessel for inspiration – is just the reward for being there every day. So, I just try to adhere to that as much as I can.”
Jones’ mother, Mod Squad actress Peggy Lipton, has also been supportive of her career, and though the young star says she has previously struggled with her biracial identity, she’s since come to a place where she’s doesn’t feel defined by whatever bounds may exist. Instead, she feels motivated by the range of her individuality.
“I spent so much time when I was young in my career being limited by the way I looked because I wasn’t dark enough for these parts, and I was too light for this and I wasn’t quirky enough or I wasn’t this enough,” she recalls. “It’s weird; I think it’s more of a challenge for other people.
In many ways, Jones has always embraced her persona. In 1994, she publically rebuked rapper Tupac Shakur for his derisive remarks about her parents’ interracial marriage. The two later reconciled when Shakur became engaged to her sister, Kidada, before his death. In her career, Jones has taken on a range of roles, most of which are racially ambiguous, and in her personal life, she has studied not only the practice of Judaism, a religion by which she was raised, but also Hindu culture. In 2011, she was nominated for an NAACP Image Award.
So it seems for the actress, being multicultural is an asset.
“I don’t have any issues about my identity,” she adds. “I relate to every side of both sides of my family. I’m Jewish; I’m African-American; I’m Irish; I’m Scottish; I’m Polish; you know, there are so many things. I wasn’t brought up to distinguish. I was brought up to celebrate those things and I think that other people think that I should be settling into one way or another.”
But, she says, she refuses to abide by such constraints.
For her next project, a film titled Cuban Fury, Jones takes on the world of salsa dancing in a story about a washed-up dancer, played by Ian McShane, who gets tempted out of retirement by his new boss, played by Jones. Audiences can also look forward to season five of Parks and Recreation this fall.
Additionally, the actress has a several writing projects in development, and long-term aspirations to direct, if she can muster up the guts.
“I’m definitely interested in directing,” she says. “I have a similar relationship with directing that I do with writing, where I’m intimidated by it. I have a lot of respect for directors and I think that it’ll take me a little bit of a jump to get there. But I did with writing, so hopefully…Yeah.”