When you think back to cinema in the 1990s, there’s a lot that the decade had to offer. There were some groundbreaking horror movies, a plethora of action classics, and, of course,a ton of romantic comediesthat focused on young adults finding themselves, and each other. Two of the big stars to come out of the decade were undoubtedlyJulia Stilesand Freddie Prinze Jr., who were paired together in the year 2000 for the filmDown to You, which Stiles now says was completely ruined by disgraced producerHarvey Weinstein.
Appearing on Brett Goldstein’s Films to Be Buried With podcast, Stiles spoke about her time on the set ofDown to You, which was directed by Kris Isacsson and starred her and Prinze Jr. as young lovers who meet in college and go through the ups and downs of a relationship. She called the script – which Isacsson also wrote – “very good,” and while the film was progressing nicely, she mentioned that things took a turn for the worse when Weinstein decided to get involved.
“When we did reshoots, I’m told that [Harvey] decided that because of the success of Save the Last Dance and 10 Things I Hate About You, with me dancing on the pool table, that he needed to have me dance in the film. It was just dumb. ‘Let’s get her on a pool table and have her [dance].’ It wasn’t even imaginative. I felt so slimy doing it the whole time. I don’t know if it made it into the film but it was annoying. Because I was like, ‘Well, this is so cheap, and it’s not adding to the story.'”
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Sadly, the scene did make it into the film, and featured Stiles’ character of Imogen dancing and mouthing the words to Al Green’s classic R&B songLet’s Stay Together. When viewed in context with her story above, there does seem to be an air of cringe about the whole thing, not just in the subtle expressions on her face, but on Prinze Jr.’s as well, as from the looks of it, the two can’t wait for the moment to be over.
‘Down to You’ Was Panned by Critics
Released on Jul 07, 2025,Down to Youmanaged to take in $24 million at the box office against a small budget of just $11 million, but the romantic comedy was far from a critical success. It holds just a 3% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly saying “it’s like watching the dreckiest of teen puppy courtships trying to pass itself off as Annie Hall.” Robert Dominguez from New York Daily News echoed those sentiments, adding:
“[It] relies too much on gimmicky flashbacks and the quirkiness of the movie’s supporting characters to compensate for the uninteresting leads.”
Indeed,Down to Youdoes boast an impressive list of names in the supporting cast,including Selma Blair, Ashton Kutcher, Rosario Dawson, and Henry Winkler. Sadly, even they weren’t enough to save this one, but if you’re curious to see it for yourself, it is available to stream now on Paramount+. Check out our interview with Stiles below, where she discusses directing her first feature film,Wish You Were Here, and remembers her10 Things I Hate AboutYou co-star, the late Heath Ledger.
Source:Films to Be Buried With
Down to You
