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Jennifer Garner’s film repertoire speaks for itself. From 13 Going on 30 to Daredevil, Love, Simon and Juno, she has established herself as one of the most beloved actors of all time.
In 2006, she starred in one of her most heartbreaking films called Catch and Release, about a woman named Gray who deals with the sudden loss of her fiancé Grady.
After the death of his fiancé, Gray finds unexpected solace in Grady’s close friend Fritz (Timothy Olyphant) when their initial differences eventually blossom into love.
Now, 20 years later, Jennifer and Timothy have reunited on their new TV show. Five star weekendthe reunion she talked about Metro felt “very comfortable” even though the love scenes made her “nervous”.
Five Star Weekend follows culinary influencer Hollis (Jennifer) after she suffers the shock death of her husband Matthew (Josh Hamilton).
Hollis takes a weekend getaway to Nantucket with four women who have meant a lot to her at different stages of her life: internet friend Gigi (Gemma Chan), childhood best friend Tatum (Chloë Sevigny), college best friend Dru-Ann (Regina Hall) and Brooke (D’Arcy Carden), whom she met through their children.
It’s been 20 years since Timothy Olyphant starred in Catch and Release (Photo: Columbia Pictures/Doug Curran/THA/Shutterstock)
Now they’re reunited for Five Star Weekend… with Timothy’s character – again – comforting Jennifer after she suffered a loss (Photo: Peacock/Planet Photos)
But the four women aren’t the only people she reunites with. She also rekindles a spark with Jack (Timothy), her first boyfriend when she was a teenager.
We couldn’t help but point out the parallels between Catch and Release and Five Star Weekend when we spoke to Jennifer in London, especially given her reunion with Timothy.
‘I know! Isn’t this crazy? Yes, I kept waiting: “Does anyone realize that this is what we played before?” Jennifer replied with her signature smile spreading from ear to ear.
“It was so nice to already have that level of comfort, especially in a romantic role, because as you get older, it gets awkward, especially.” I’m just a lot more nervous about romantic scenes than I used to be.
“But I already know Timothy’s wife and I love Alexis very much. He and I trust each other, we like each other, we know we work well together, and he had no problem making fun of me from the jump, so it was very comfortable and easy. I was very, very glad it was Tim.”
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Hollis invites four women from different stages of life for what she hopes will be a healing weekend (Photo: Greg Gain/Peacock via Getty Images)
Not only is Five Star Weekend a beautiful exploration of female friendship, but it also explores the complexities of grief with sensitivity and sensitivity.
As a public figure, Hollis’ grief is on full display and she struggles to contain it and keep fighting.
In Gigi’s case, she also grieves on the show, but is forced to keep her true feelings a secret for reasons that viewers will learn. While all the other women visiting for the weekend have stories with each other, Gigi is an outsider who has never even met Hollis in person before.
“Gigi. She’s trying very hard to cover herself up and put herself out there in this environment with these women she doesn’t know. But they are both grieving inside and they both have a lot to go through. And Gigi has a lot of secrets,” explained Gemma Metro.
Before filming, neither woman had ever dated before—but you wouldn’t know it. According to Gemma, they had an “easy chemistry from the start” and that continued when they were off-screen.
Gemma Chan plays Gigi in the series, a friend Hollis makes online (Photo: Greg Gain/Peacock via Getty Images)
The cast of “Five Star Weekend” worked like a house on fire (Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
“The executives (assistant directors) would come back and say, ‘Okay, the set is ready,’ and we would say, ‘But we’re talking! We’re busy!” Jennifer recalled. “We all complemented each other’s work styles and personalities so easily.”
Five Star Weekend is based on the book of the same name by Elin Hilderbrand, a writer whom Jennifer praised for giving each character “something to chew on.”
“You have five main characters, and it’s an ensemble, and everyone has a storyline, a beginning, a middle and an end. Every person has a special relationship with every other person. This does not mean that four people should serve one,” she noted.
Having seen Five Star Weekend myself, I know it will have an emotional impact on viewers. So what do Jennifer and Gemma hope viewers – especially girls and women – will feel when they watch the show?
“I hope they feel seen. I hope they call someone maybe (who) they haven’t talked to in a while, reach out and just let go of whatever weird thing that’s been hanging around because of distance or time,” Jennifer responded.
‘Definitely. I hope they can get back together,” Gemma chimed in.
Jennifer continued: “Laugh. Just call a friend, watch it together and laugh because there is so much going on in each episode. If you have to cater to all these characters, a lot of the plot gets ruined, a lot of the characters get ruined, and it’s so funny.
“Regina Hall, I’m sorry, D’Arcy Carden, are you kidding me?” They are the funniest. Chloe, they are the funniest, the funniest. This is the best. I can’t wait for people to see it. I’m so excited.’
Five Star Weekend is available to watch on Sky NOW.
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