It’s so good to see Cameron Diaz back in action
Cameron Diaz has made her acting comeback with the aptly titled action comedy Back in Action. While the film itself is distinctively average, it gave me so much joy to see one of my favourites on screen once again.
Diaz has not been in a movie since 2014 – when she was in The Other Woman, Annie and Sex Tape – as she took time away to focus on her family and wine business. I can’t believe it’s been just over a decade since her last film came out (it doesn’t feel that long at all). At one point, I thought she was retired forever so I’m glad she’s decided to come back. Better late than never!
It took her Any Given Sunday co-star Jamie Foxx to convince her to return to acting with the new Netflix comedy. In Back in Action, they play spies who quit that life and focus on raising their children after they’re presumed dead in a plane crash. After successfully spending years living the suburban family life, their past finally catches up with them.
Back in Action isn’t particularly good – it’s on par with Netflix’s other action movies – but the 23% rating on Rotten Tomatoes is way too harsh. I actually quite enjoyed it despite its flaws. Diaz had a great rapport with Foxx, there were a couple of hilarious lines, I loved seeing all the London locations and got a thrill out of seeing her kicking ass once again, even if some of the bigger setpieces had dodgy CGI. It made me realise how much I’d missed her!
Seeing Diaz in action gave me a healthy dose of nostalgia for Charlie’s Angels and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. Sure, they’re absolutely far-fetched and ridiculous, but as a teenager, I loved watching three women (Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore) take on the baddies and win. Barrymore’s chair stunt? The alleyway fight with The Thin Man? The sequel’s opening sequence with the mechanical bull? The best. I know that they’re dumb but I watched these films over and over as a teen and Natalie (Diaz’s character) was my fave. I wrote a piece explaining why I love them here.
While those are the most closely related to Back in Action, I have a few more Diaz faves – the heartwarming festive classic The Holiday, the romantic comedy The Sweetest Thing (“you’re too big to fit in here”) and of course, Shrek! I have all five of those films on DVD which goes to show how much I love them.
So I was truly excited to see Back in Action and that probably helped me like the film more than the average viewer. I could be annoyed that she’s not in a better quality project for her comeback but honestly, I was just so happy to see her. I can’t wait to see what she does next.
Back in Action is now streaming on Netflix
Yes, although no plot point went un-telegraphed, I found the movie to be fun. The cast definitely elevated the material.
Glad you agree – the cast were better than the material but I still had fun!