Tori Spelling stars as Alex, a bride-to-be embroiled in a pansexual love triangle in C. Jay Cox’s Kiss the Bride.

by Lawrence Ferber

“I feel the safest when I’m with my gays,” Tori Spelling admits. And Spelling has felt very safe indeed throughout most of her career and life, from Beverly Hills, 90210 (she hopes to be part of its spin-off) to queer-themed films like Trick and the new Kiss The Bride. In the acknowledgments section of her bestselling memoir, sTORI Telling, she even wrote, “To gay men everywhere, I would be nowhere without you.”

The latest feature from Latter Days director C. Jay Cox, Kiss The Bride stars Spelling as Alex, bubbly bride-to-be of hunky nice guy, Ryan (James O’Shea). A wrench gets thrown down their aisle when Ryan’s old high school friend and former sex buddy, Matt (Philipp Karner), arrives. An openly gay man now living in San Francisco, Matt is determined to bring Ryan back to his side of the fence and send Alex packing.

Spelling filmed Kiss The Bride while pregnant (son Liam was born last March), and is currently shooting the new season of her Oxygen reality series with hubby Dean McDermott (it debuts in June).

I understand they had to come up with clever ways to disguise your pregnant tummy on set.

Yes. My wedding dress, I had to always keep the bouquet in front of me. Or a sweater over my arm. You want to be in the moment as an actor, and I always had to think about my tummy, which was distracting. My little trick, which probably didn’t work at all, was I would stick my butt out a little bit in the back and think it made my lower half go in.

How similar are you and your character Alex?

I really wanted that part because I felt like Alex and I have a lot in common. I loved all these layers to her personality. She’s seemingly the proper “good girl” from a good family. A schoolteacher. And then she has this naughty side and dirty sense of humor, she’s really fun and can let loose. I felt that was me in a lot of ways.

Have you ever discovered that a guy you dated turned out to be gay?

Yep. One of my first boyfriends ended up being gay. It was in high school; we were 17. People would say to me, “I think he’s gay,” and I’d be, “No, no he’s not gay.” Then we lost touch and later someone said, “I went to college with your ex, and did you know he’s gay?” Being in this crazy business, and he’s in it too, we reconnected, and now we’re good friends.

Do you feel sexuality is complicated?

It is. I truly believe you fall in love with the person and not the gender. That’s why I think the lines are blurred with these three characters. In so many ways they all fall in love with each other. The boys obviously have a past and have been in love. When Matt and Alex meet, on some level they have this strong connection. And [there are] so many ways she can open up to him that she can’t [with] Ryan. I feel they fall in love on a certain level, and if he wasn’t gay, maybe they would be together.

Is Liam sassy yet?

Oh, Liam is so sassy. I don’t even have to teach Liam to be sassy, he just is. He’s so funny, he’s a crackup and loves to make everyone laugh.

Are you going to warn him away from Suri Cruise?

Hey, if he wants to date Suri he can date Suri. I prefer Shiloh but that’s just my preference.

On your reality show Tori & Dean: Inn Love, you were ordained as a minister and officiated a gay wedding.

I did. And I was terrified! They had written everything out, all their vows, but I thought, “What if I screw this up? I don’t want to be held responsible.” In the end I was so happy I did it, it meant so much to me. And the greatest thing about it is—and I have been to a lot of weddings—it was such a different perspective. I could see the blissful looks on their faces and how in love they were, and it was just amazing.

So any shot the next season of your reality show will be based around a Tori Spelling gay wedding chapel?

That could be Season 4! Tori’s Chapel of Love. OK, now I have my next gig. Thanks!

Kiss the Bride opens April 18 at the Regent Showcase Theater (614 N. La Brea Ave., Hlywd.) For more information, go to www.kissthebridemovie.com.