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Wedding Bells Ring on Prinze Film Set
By DERRIK J. LANG

NEW YORK - It's midnight on a Friday night at the Holy Rosary Church in Harlem, hardly the time and place for a wedding attended by hot young Hollywood-types. Yet Freddie Prinze Jr. and Mena Suvari, both decked out in formal gear, are watching Scott Caan tie the knot _ to an extra.

The event is one of the final scenes of "Nailed Right In," an ensemble 1980s coming-of-age drama the trio have been filming in New York for over a month.

"In my mind, it's more a story about friendship tested to the extremes," Prinze tells the Associated Press about the film's plot in-between takes.

In real life, co-stars Prinze or Suvari, who play lovers in the film, have firsthand experience in getting hitched. She eloped to cinematographer Robert Brinkmann in 2000. Prinze wed "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" star Sarah Michelle Gellar in a 2002 event much different from the film's on-camera Catholic ritual.

"I don't really ever talk about it," Prinze says about his super secret Mexican wedding. "It was a very sort of scared, special thing. I will say this: The ceremonies are extremely different."

In "Nailed Right In," the 28-year-old plays Michael, the smart guy in a trio of Brooklyn best buds, which include Caan and Jerry Ferrara from HBO's "Entourage," who get mixed up with John Gotti's mob. Alec Baldwin plays a rival boss. The script was penned by frequent "The Sopranos" writer Terence Winter.

The role is a departure for Prinze, a Latino actor who portrayed the real-life version of Wonderbread sleuth Fred in both "Scooby Doo" movies.

"When I first moved to L.A., there were no roles for me unless I was dealing drugs or gangbanging," Prinze tells the AP. "I would never go on those parts. When I grew up, that's what I had to put up with as a stereotype."

Prinze also had to deal with the stigma attached to his father, "Chico and the Man" star actor-comedian Freddie Prinze, who battled drug abuse and committed suicide in 1977.

"Growing up, parents wouldn't let me date their daughter simply because of my name," he reveals.

Prinze also says the folks in Hollywood only saw "who my father was and the mistakes he made, naturally thinking I would go down that same road. I wouldn't take roles unless they were named Zach or Biff or whatever simply to over compensate. Right or wrong, I thought it was my responsibility to clean up my family's name."

The cleaning was certainly squeaky. Although he's not credited as Biff in any of his films, Prinze did catch the public's eye as smirky soccer player Zach in "She's All That" and later appeared in a string of teenybopper romantic comedies like "Summer Catch" and "Down to You." His next big project is his own ABC sitcom.

"Freddie is a gentleman," "Nailed Right In" director Michael Corrente gushes away from the actor. "He's a professional. He's a very bright kid. If he really wanted to, he could be the next Cary Grant. And I don't say that lightly. But I don't know that it's important enough to him yet. He has all the tools to get him there."

Bad boy co-star Caan's toolbox is much different than his clean-cut counterpart.

"Do you have a lighter?" the fiery Caan probes the AP, forgoing any sort of a formal introduction, after three takes of kissing his phony bride.

The thespian, son of actor James Caan, exudes a sarcastic swagger that's drawn comparisons to the likes of James Dean and, well, his father. Caan has amassed a laundry list of film credits, mostly brooding buddy sidekick roles in films like "Varsity Blues" and "Boiler Room." His role as Carmine in "Nailed Right In" doesn't seem much different.

"I guess it's sort of out of character for me," Caan tells the AP about the wedding scene in-between puffs of his cigarette. "My character's the last person that you think would get married. In the script, he's very much a playboy."

On set, there's little seriousness from the frisky tux-clad Caan. He interrupts Corrente, draws a mischievous smile out of Prinze and sings a Chaka Kahn ditty to anyone who'll listen. But the actor, who wrote and directed the indie film "Dallas 362," has serious aspirations.

"I would love to write and direct my father in a film so he can get his Academy Award," Caan says. "I wrote a movie about basically his life and I made him a boxer instead of an actor because he's a great, great, great man and an interesting guy. So I wrote that, but unfortunately it's when he was 20. Makeup is good these days, but it's not that good."

To Prinze, the Caan injection in the film has paid off.

"I love him to death. We have an open door. That's his trailer right there," Prinze says from inside his on-set abode, pointing to an adjoining room that would be identical if not for the clothes strewn about. "He works so damn hard. He's doing such a good job with this role. All my favorite scenes are with Scott. We have really solid chemistry. You either work well with someone or you don't."

The night before the wedding scene, Prinze and Suvari's characters consummated their relationship though the pair had just met in real life. The "American Beauty" actress was shooting "Rumor Has It" with Jennifer Anniston, Kevin Costner and director Rob Reiner while Prinze and others were in rehearsals for "Nailed Right In."

"We're in bed together," Prinze recalls of the previous night. "We sort of just made love for the first time. It was so comfortable. Right away, we just got each other and got what the scene was about. I sort of stepped back and it was magic."

In the film, Suvari plays Ellen, a blue blood pearl necklace-wearing society gal who falls for Prinze's wrong-side-of-the-tracks Michael. The dainty Survari says the testerone-ladden atmosphere of "Nailed Right In" is a "new frontier" for her, especially considering her character is "such a yuppie."

"But it's very easy to get into this character once you're costume," Suvari tells the AP inside of the church's chilly dressing room. Although she's wearing a slinky dress underneath, Suvari is covered in an oversized insulated all-weather jacket and thermal boots when the camera isn't pointed in her direction from her perch in the pews.

Back at the alter, Corrente is shooting a close-up of best man Prinze giving groom Caan a subtle wink while handing him the wedding ring. Even out of context, it's a charming sight.

"Something happened to them that shall remain nameless for the rest of their lives," Corrente explains from behind the monitor. "In the midst of the jubilant celebration, there's the tinniest glimpse of what happened 20 years ago, what they share. It's both touching and sort of grounding in a familiar sort of way."

Rousing applause fills the church following the wink and a "now you may kiss the bride" smooch. The clapping isn't for Prinze or Caan; it's part of the scene. When the cameras cut, Caan immediately begins joking with Prinze. Although the wedding is fake, the camaraderie between the cast and crew seems real.

"I haven't had this much fun on a movie ever," Prinze declares. "Ever."