In Praise of Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz has retired from acting--at least for now--and it's time to mourn, properly. A new version of "Charlie's Angels" will happen on Friday. It does NOT have Cameron Diaz. It does NOT have Lucy Liu, or Drew Barrymore. (Why bother?)

There was a phase--not long ago--when Ms. Diaz was basically the most powerful woman in Hollywood. She did movie after movie, and even when they weren't great, they still profited from her effervescent presence. In "Bad Teacher," for example, we had the rare chance to see her hurling a basketball at a small child's head, while berating that child for forgetting basic "To Kill a Mockingbird" trivia.

In "Charlie's Angels," famously, Diaz wanted to impress a young man, so she interrupted him. The man had said, "Hey, I picked up some tickets to--" And Diaz cut him off. "Tickets!" she squealed. "I LOVE tickets!"

In "The Other Woman" (which, yes, I paid for, I paid fifteen dollars for that experience), Cameron feels briefly upstaged by Kate Upton. But Cameron doesn't sulk for long. She summons Kate--and a sassy third friend, Leslie Mann--and the gang seeks (and wins!) revenge against Nicolaj Coster-Waldau, who has *not* been a gentleman, in several settings. "Don't get mad!" Cameron tells us. "Get even!"

It's worth noting, also, that Diaz is just an excellent actress, and we were sometimes allowed to see this in heavier fare, e.g. "Gangs of New York" and "Being John Malkovich." (Diaz won the "Malkovich" role in part because her friend, Catherine Keener, suggested her name.)

Every few months, I check the Internet to see if Diaz might have reconsidered retirement. Hope springs eternal. Regardless, we can appreciate what we have.

P.S. I'm considering an "In Her Shoes" rental soon. This gives us Diaz AND Toni Collette. In case you missed the release.....

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