Once Krysten Ritter abandoned her career as a globe-trotting fashion model and started focusing on acting,she spent a lot of time playing beautiful tough chicks. And why not? With her saucer eyes,pale complexion,long black bangs and air of aloofness she practically screams Pick me! to any casting director looking for something sharp edged. In eight years Ritter has done her bad-girl act in films like the loser comedy,Shes Out of My League in which she appeared as Patty,a barb-flinging event planner,and on TV shows like AMCs Breaking Bad where her character,Jane,has a heroin problem. And when it comes to Ritters new sitcom,Dont Trust the B-- in Apartment 23,its not hard to guess that shes the one the title is warning you about. In the opening moments of the low-budget girlfriend comedy L!fe Happens,Ritter plays Kim,a single gal who loses a tug-of-war with her roommate Deena (Kate Bosworth) over the last condom in the house. The reveal of the next scenethat Kims night of unprotected sex has resulted in a babyis what turns her party-girl character,and the rest of the movie,on its ear. Ritter co-wrote L!fe Happens with a longtime friend,Kat Coiro,who also directed. Four years ago,when they first decided to collaborate on the screenplay,Ritter was still in the kooky-bit-part phase of her career. We got $4 together,called all of our friends and just made the movie, Ritter said. During this interview,Ritter was looking part fashionista (bright green skirt,oversize black sunglasses,black turtleneck) and part wild thing (scuffed motorcycle boots and her small rescue dog). To say she is self-motivated would be putting it lightly. Im a weirdo, said Ritter,who she said she devotes her time inside to writing screenplays,playing guitar and developing film and television projects. I dont leave the house unless I have to. Of the fact that she and her boyfriend,the actor Brian Geraghty (The Hurt Locker),live five minutes away from each other,not together. I dont know if I am being just a wimp and a commitment-phobe,but we really like it. Ritter began her career as a model We were all freaked outlike What? said Ritter,who spent the next three summers living out of a suitcase in Barcelona,Spain; Milan; and Tokyo. She was 18 when she packed her bags,moved to New York and got fleeting parts in big-budget movies (Mona Lisa Smile,27 Dresses) and a string of recurring television guest spots (Gilmore Girls) . She wasnt in the market for a regular network television gig until she read the script for Dont Trust the B-- in Apartment 23. In the pilot alone I was naked,dancing in a hip-hop music video. Who would have thought that her old catwalk skills could be part of how Ritter sells Chloe,her gleefully unrepentant con artist character on the show. As for the critics,L!fe Happens was a hit.I was like,No,no,no,this shouldnt be reviewed, Ritter said of her and Coiros labor of love,which was shot in 19 days for an estimated $630,000. You shouldnt compare this movie to Bridesmaids. Making a movie is hard. All that anybody should say about the film is,Good for you,girls,go get emand that its adorable.
