Carrie Preston has been entertaining fans on what critics are calling her “delightful” The Good Wife spinoff Elsbeth on CBS, but more than a quarter-century ago, the actress was just getting her start in acting on the beloved 1997 film My Best Friend’s Wedding. Preston played one of Kimberly’s cousins, and that means she got to take part in one of the most iconic awkward dinner scenes in movie history — the “I Say a Little Prayer” sing-along. Turns out shooting that scene might not have been as fun as it looked, as the actress explained why things were pretty gross by the second day of filming.
Alongside Rachel Griffiths, Carrie Preson played one of the self-proclaimed “vengeful sluts,” cousins to Cameron Diaz’s character. During the scene in question, the entire wedding party is at brunch while George (Rupert Everett) regales them with a made-up story of how he met Julianne (Julie Roberts). After building to a dramatic climax, George breaks into song, ultimately leading the entire restaurant in a spirited sing-along of Dionne Warwick’s “I Say a Little Prayer.” Preston opened up about that scene and shared the most unappetizing detail during a segment of The Jess Cagle Show. She recalled:
That was two 12-, 14-hour days to do that one scene and, you know, people were carrying around lobsters and crabs, so you can only imagine what it smelled like at the end of day two.
As many times as I’ve re-watched My Best Friend’s Wedding, I’ve never for a second considered that they spent that much time on set with real shellfish. Honestly, to spend over 24 hours on that song sounds like a pretty big ask to begin with, but I’d also have to hope that any crab or lobster that wasn’t being actually eaten by the Wallace family was not real. Maybe the smell helped Julia Roberts and Dermot Mulroney keep such disgusted expressions on their faces the whole time.
Despite that part of the experience, it didn’t sound like Carrie Preston had one ounce of regret about getting such a fun part in one of the best rom-coms of all time. She even spilled a little tea about the scene in question, saying:
It was, you know, iconic and amazing and Rachel Griffiths, that was Rachel Griffiths playing my sister and they let us sing and, you know, it was great. I mean, P.J. Hogan, the director, he wrote that. He put that scene in the movie. It wasn’t in the original script.
P.J. Hogan must have known he had gold on his hands if he added that scene to the movie himself and then took two days to shoot it — lobsters and all. I’m glad he did, since it has become such a well-known scene, and my sympathies go out to all involved for their sacrifice. How long do you think it was before any of them ate shellfish again?
You can stream My Best Friend’s Wedding with a Starz subscription through Apple TV+, or catch Carrie Preston on Elsbeth at 10 p.m. Thursdays on CBS or streaming with a Paramount+ subscription.