In the same podcast where Justin Long relayed the story about Adam Sandler explaining to him why his Drew Barrymore rom-com bombed, guest Charlie Day also spoke about his experiences on the set of Going the Distance. It was still early on during Charlie’s days at It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, so Going the Distance was actually his first studio film. Before that it was all “unwatchable horror films.” And fun fact: Charlie Day’s wife and Sunny co-star, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, also had a bit in Going the Distance with Chris Pratt, of all people, but their part got cut from the film.
In any respect, Day — who refused to audition for the role because he knew everyone wanted him for it — had a great time on the set and ended up befriending his future Horrible Bosses co-star, Jason Sudeikis. “It was fun,” Charlie Day told Justin Long on the podcast, “because we’d shoot all day and go out and party at night.” He then relayed one of his favorite memories from working on the Going the Distance set, and it involved Drew Barrymore punching a co-star.
“We were hanging out [at the hotel bar], and we’d been drinking a lot. And there’s a female actress who was in the movie — I won’t name names — and somehow she got in her head that she wanted to have a punching contest with Drew [Barrymore]. I don’t know how or why she got this idea, but out of the blue, she’s like, ‘Let’s have a punching contest. And I’m thinking she’s very young [and over her head] and Drew is going to kill this girl.
“So, Drew was like, ‘Yeah. This sounds f**king great. And she’s like, ‘Go ahead, punch my arm.’ So, the girl punched Drew’s arm and she’s like, ‘Oh, pretty good.’
“And then it was Drew’s turn.
“Drew punched this girl so hard in the arm that, from her shoulder to her elbow, in like 45 minutes, she had a bruise that looked exactly like Africa. It was the most well-defined bruise — you could navigate a ship in the ocean according to this bruise. It was instantaneous. I have never seen a body do that so quickly … she is lucky she didn’t break that giant arm bone.”
Charile Day does not name who the actress is, obviously, but the “young” actresses in that film were Kelli Garner and Natalie Morales, FYI. Meanwhile, here is that deleted scene between Chris Pratt and Mary Beth Ellis, who play a married couple that hates each other, separated on a plane by Drew Barrymore’s character. Maybe deleting this scene is why it bombed!
Source: Life Is Short with Justin Long