Sigourney Weaver: I was a geek

Alien, Avatar star doing comedy

Sigourney Weaver wasn't always described as stunning and statuesque.

At age 11, she towered over her classmates at 5-foot-10. ‘‘I was incredibly gawky and uncoordinated," admitted Weaver, 60, from her home in New York City. "I was very self-conscious and goofy. Honestly, I was just like a giant spider." Hence she could relate to Kristen Bell's character in the comedy You Again, out Friday.

The Couple's Retreat cutie is Marni, a former geek who finds out her brother is marrying her high school nemesis Joanna, played by the gorgeous Odette Yusman (The Unborn). Weaver vamps it up as Joanna's Aunt Ramona, a fabulously successful businesswoman who, coinci- dentally, had a senior-year rivalry with Marni's mother (Jamie Lee Curtis).

The star of such gritty dramas as Alien, Ava- tar and Gorillas in the Mist got to have some fun, dressing in sexy clothes and spitting out snooty one-liners. "I love playing larger-than-life char- acters," said Weaver.

"There's some- thing Auntie Mame-ish about Ramona. I identified with her, too -- she had so tried so hard to overcom- pensate for her lack of success in high school that she becomes out of touch with her feelings." Weaver is, of course, exaggerating -- she fared just fine, using her signature wit and charm.

"I think in the beginning, people were only my friends because they felt sorry for me," she said. "What I would try to do is make fun of myself before anyone else could. I managed to come out of the experience feeling smart and ready." What attracted the veteran actress to You Again was the message: Karma comes around. ‘‘It was interesting how Odette's character changes," said Weaver.

"She was a conceited little rat in high school, the way some very beautiful girls are." Is it better to be the ugly duckling? "Life often has a way of a way of tripping up people who were very dominant; I always think it's much safer to be a late bloomer," she added, laughing. "So for all the girls who felt like losers and for those who maybe pushed it a little, this movie is something for every generation to see.

"There's always a second chance in life, thank God."