Casey Chong looks at Cameron Diaz’s best films as the star makes her return to the screen…
It’s nice to see the long-missed Cameron Diaz ‘Back in Action‘ after an 11-year hiatus following her retirement from acting to raise her family. Her latest movie, streaming now on Netflix [read our review here], also sees her returning to the action-comedy genre, and with her acting comeback, now seems like an appropriate time to take a look back at her best movies worth revisiting if you haven’t done so lately…
There’s Something About Mary (1998)
There was a time when gross-out comedies were the best laughter coming from Hollywood. The Farrelly brothers are the go-to filmmaking duo here, both experts in said genre, and There’s Something About Mary is one of their best. The Mary in question played by Cameron Diaz in her perfectly girl-next-door, sweet-natured role that Ben Stiller’s Ted has been harboring his crush on her since high school. She’s charming and funny and it turns out she can pull off a hilariously deadpan performance, notably the iconic “hair gel” scene. Movies like this are hard to come by these days, given the ever-changing Hollywood landscape, but looking back at There’s Something About Mary reminds those who have seen the movie before about this raunchy comedy gold that the Farrelly brothers scored such a hit in the first place.
In Her Shoes (2005)
The 2000s saw Curtis Hanson exploring different genres beyond his psychological-thriller expertise from comedy-drama (Wonder Boys) to musical drama (8 Mile) and of course, romantic dramedy In Her Shoes. The latter focuses on sibling rivalry and the strained relationship between the buttoned-down Rose (Toni Collette) and her younger, wild sister Maggie played by Cameron Diaz.
Based on Jennifer Weiner’s 2002 novel of the same name, Hanson’s subtle direction eschews the conventional genre trapping of a chick flick in favor of a refreshingly poignant drama about two sisters with vastly different personalities. While Collette does a good job playing the struggling older sister who had enough of dealing with the constantly troublesome Maggie, it is Diaz who excels the most. Her character arc is first portrayed as a recklessly irresponsible person who takes things for granted before a significant turn of events forces her to change her mindset after working and living in a retirement community taking care of the elderly. One of her most moving moments revolves around the dyslexic Maggie attempting to read poetry to a blind English literature professor (Norman Lloyd).
Shrek (2001)
Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy, who play the respective ogre and the talking Donkey, may have been the highlights of the 2001 animated hit Shrek but let’s not forget about Cameron Diaz, who voices the seemingly damsel-in-distress Princess Fiona. Except that she turns out to be a strong-willed and resourceful princess – and she can kick ass too. Her voice performance here proves to be one of Diaz’s most entertaining roles in her career as she puts her comedy repertoire to good use. Her role has since become iconic and Shrek also benefits from poking fun at the fairy-tale conventions. The success of the first movie subsequently paved the way for three more sequels including Shrek 2, Shrek the Third and Shrek Forever After.
Being John Malkovich (1999)
What is it like being inside the head of actor John Malkovich? That’s the interesting question pondered in this surrealist comedy, which marks the feature-length debut of director Spike Jonze and writer Charlie Kaufman. John Cusack may have been leading the movie but it was Cameron Diaz, who plays the animal-loving wife gradually finds herself hooked on the concept of entering Malkovich’s mind through a dark portal beyond the tiny door. She even de-glamorized her usual mainstream look in favor of playing an uninteresting woman sporting frizzy hair and mundane-looking sweaters. Her subsequent character arc from a seemingly meek wife who prefers to spend more time taking care of the animals to a woman experiencing sexual awakening is one of the highlights that makes Being John Malkovich such a genre classic.
SEE ALSO: Being John Malkovich at 25: The Story Behind The Wildly Original & Thought-Provoking Drama
The Mask (1994)
Cameron Diaz was only 21 years old when he made her film debut in The Mask. The over-the-top zany comedy may have been Jim Carrey’s ultimate showcase for his signature rubber-faced schtick playing the titular character donning the green mask. And yet, Diaz manages to stand on her own as the sexy nightclub singer falling for Carrey’s character, imbuing enough sass and magnetic charm. She proves to be a natural in front of the screen and it’s ironic because she has no prior acting experience other than working as a model before being cast for the role. She is also more than just an eye candy as her on-screen chemistry shines through with Jim Carrey. The Mask, of course, put her on the Hollywood map and the rest, as they say, is history.
SEE ALSO: The Mask at 30: The Story Behind the Smokin’ Superhero Comedy
My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997)
The 1990s was a pivotal decade for romantic comedies when the genre still mattered. One of them, of course, includes My Best Friend’s Wedding. This iconic hit may have been one of Julia Roberts’ finest hours appearing in the said genre, flashing her usual megawatt smile and all. But the movie also features Cameron Diaz, who plays the beautiful blonde Kimmy and her character turns out to be Roberts’ Jules’ rivalry. The reason? The latter still loves the titular best friend played by Dermot Mulroney, who is about to marry Kimmy in a matter of days and she is looking to ruin his wedding. One of Jules’ plans includes trying to embarrass Kimmy during a karaoke session in front of everyone, resulting in Diaz’s hilariously off-key singing “I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself”. It was single-handedly the best scene in this movie.
Charlie’s Angels (2000)
Forget about the inferior Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and the less said about the ill-fated 2019 reboot the better. The real deal remains the first big-screen Charlie’s Angels movie, which remains McG’s best work, despite being his debut feature. His flashy music video-like direction fits well with the sheer cheesiness of the hit ‘70s show loaded with enough sex appeal played by Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu. All three play off each other well and share excellent buddy chemistry, with Diaz particularly stands out the most as one of the sexy Angels while Bill Murray shows up as a hilariously deadpan handler Bosley. The action is gleefully over-the-top, complete with stylized slo-mo shots and Hong Kong-style kinetic martial arts sequences. It’s the kind of a silly, check-your-brain-at-the-door action comedy and just enjoy the show.
Very Bad Things (1998)
Cameron Diaz seems to have a thing for black comedies from The Last Supper to Head Above Water and A Life Less Ordinary. Then, there’s Very Bad Things – a mean-spirited black comedy that marks the directorial debut of actor Peter Berg, best known for his role in The Last Seduction at the time. True to its title, the story follows a group of men celebrating their friend’s (Jon Favreau’s Kyle Fisher) bachelor party in Las Vegas before his upcoming wedding with Laura Garrety (Cameron Diaz). Things don’t turn out well after wild sex goes wrong in a hotel room and later, another immediate event that complicates matters further. Diaz’s character only becomes significant during the second half of the movie. She plays a highly demanding control freak who insists every detail of her wedding will go as planned regardless of the situation. It was easily one of her most fiendishly entertaining roles to date and credits go to Berg’s genre know-how direction for concluding her character’s journey with a cruel twist of fate.
Any Given Sunday (1999)
Oliver Stone’s stone-cold look at America’s pro-football profession in Any Given Sunday is as visually and narratively chaotic as the sports, which is made to match the sheer intensity of the game. The movie may have run a mammoth 157-minute length but it rarely flags, thanks to Stone’s hyperkinetic direction while employing every visual trick he can think of: lots of jump cuts, rapid-fire editing and mismatched film stocks, to name a few. The football scenes are thrillingly staged in a manner that makes you feel their sweat, pain and adrenalin rush. Stone also deserves praise for assembling a top-notch ensemble cast including Al Pacino as the burnt-out coach and of course, Cameron Diaz who effectively sheds her usual bubbly/girl-next-door persona in favor of a ruthless, no-nonsense team owner and general manager of the Miami Sharks.
The Last Supper (1995)
Cameron Diaz’s post-Mask stardom saw the beautiful blonde actress venture into an unlikely pitch-black comedy territory in the little-seen Stacy Title’s witty debut feature The Last Supper. This low-budget indie takes place mainly in a house, where a group of liberal-minded grad students (one of them includes Diaz’s Jude) invite selected guests for a lavish dinner. A dinner where they will poison the guests with arsenic-laced white wine if they do not like what they hear during a debate.
The movie isn’t afraid of debating thorny subjects from AIDS and homosexuality to misogynism and abortion. All five young actors who play the grad students, notably Diaz and Courtney B. Vance deliver great performances. The same also goes for the interesting cameos who show up as the dinner guests ranging from Bill Paxton’s xenophobic Desert Storm veteran-turned-truck driver to Mark Harmon’s sexist individual who has controversial strong opinions about rape, and Jason Alexander of TV’s Seinfeld fame playing an environmentalist.
Knight and Day (2010)
Knight and Day isn’t the first time that Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz paired together as an on-screen couple. They already teamed up nine years prior in Vanilla Sky but their love-hate chemistry fares better in this entertaining action comedy. Directed by James Mangold, the movie kicks off with a lively first half from the introduction of Cruise and Diaz’s characters to the numerous well-staged action set pieces. The second half of the movie may have been patchy in places but Cruise and Diaz’s constant banter and sardonic wits keep the movie moving at a brisk pace.
What are your favourite Cameron Diaz movies? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
Casey Chong
