Anna Faris (shoulder) pads her resume

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

For those with a crush on Anna Faris, the 34-year-old actress provides a quick reality check.

“If you saw me right now, you might have a different opinion,” she says. “I’m in sweats with a baseball cap on. My hair is embarrassing. I don’t even want my husband to see it.”

He will be allowed to see “Take Me Home Tonight,” where an aimless college grad (Topher Grace) goes after his dream girl at a wild Labor Day party while also dealing with his twin sister (Faris).

“Topher brought this to me, which was hugely flattering,” Faris says. “It was a nice change, too, because I never get to play the smart, brassy character.”

Q. Just because you were the “House Bunny,” does that mean those smarter characters elude you?

A. It’s true that I get a lot of offers to play that girl. With this movie, I’ve got brains enough to spar with Topher. She’s a little sarcastic but also has a sadness to her. It was amazing to play a woman who is really frustrated in her life. She doesn’t know where to go and how to make herself a happier person.

Q. This film is set in the ’80s. What are your memories of this time? Big hair? Shoulder pads?

A. I was a young adolescent during the ’80s and had my bigger moments in the early ’90s. I was excited to wear the ’80s clothing in this movie and do the hair. But the shoulder pads were mystifying. I kept thinking, What fashion logic brought shoulder pads into our lives? Was it to make your waist look smaller or maybe it was to make your hair look smaller because it was so big in the ’80s.”

A. In the late ’80s when I was 11 or 12, I’d wake up an hour and a half before school started so I could devote 40 whole minutes to hairspray and curling my bangs under. I had tsunami bangs, which went so well with my big, frizzy perm.

Q. Who was your ’80s crush?

A. I have to dip into the ’90s and go with Jordan Knight from New Kids on the Block. Oh, I just said this out loud and my husband [Chris Pratt of NBC’s “Parks and Recreation”] just got mad at me. Everyone loved him, honey!

Q. What’s next for you?

A. I am doing a romantic comedy called “What’s Your Number?” It’s about a woman who looks back at 20 past loves and wonders which one was The One. It’s my first rom-com and I’m excited about it, because the character is close to me.

Q. And is it true that you’ll be in “Ghostbusters III”?

A. That’s such a weird rumor. So bizarre. I feel embarrassed, because everyone asks me about it. I don’t know who posted this on IMDb, but it’s not true. That said, I’d love to be part of it.

Q. Any wisdom on how to navigate this business?

A. It’s such a crapshoot. I go home to a great husband, two awesome pugs and have an amazing family. That’s what really matters.

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