Happy Birthday Suit: Cameron Diaz

I fell behind on the Happy Birthday Suit(less) series.  Its days are numbered anyway, so to speak, since I'm only focusing on post-World War II film actresses who were "big" at some point in their career.  Even though she turned 40 over a month ago, Cameron Diaz has been in the news lately for her Terry Richardson photo shoot.  So, in a way, she's still celebrating.  Richardson's the guy whose work you've probably seen more often in the last year or two, who has this way of making celebrities look cheap.  Despite his abrasive style, Diaz has come off looking mostly hot and she wants to remind everyone how good she looks ... at 40!  As the saying goes in Hollywood, for women, 40 is the kiss of death for their careers and the parts start drying up.  It is a truth that, unfortunately, has generally held up over the decades.  There are exceptions, of course.  In her 60s, Meryl Streep is enjoying an exceptional second act in her professional life both artistically, commercially, and critically.  At age 45, Sandra Bullock pulled a hat-trick, opening two of the highest-grossing movies of the year on mostly her name, and then winning an Oscar for one of them.  But, sadly, those two lovely ladies are not the rule.  And, as far as the box-office goes, with more of a concentration on known properties (bestsellers, comic books, franchises, etc) and less interest in going to see a particular actor on opening weekend (aka known as "the death of the movie star"), it's not helping matters any.

There's Something About Mary's Hair

Diaz is one of the few working actresses, who has no problem landing big-budget roles that either place her in the driver's seat or make her one of the main components of the movie.  She's a curious case, though.  She never technically hit Julia Roberts or even Reese Witherspoon level of commercial success.  Those two ladies could open a rom-com like few others.  It's not that Diaz can't handle that genre, she just has to have a male star at her side who is equal to or close to her level of popularity to help the film along, or appear alongside a bigger female name.  She has had killer supporting/ensemble turns in My Best Friend's Wedding and There's Something About Mary, as well as some respectable grosses with the Charlie's Angels film franchise.  But, she headlined The Sweetest Thing in 2002 to unimpressive results on every level.

As Lotte in Being John Malkovich

She also distinguishes herself from the aforementioned by never being an Oscar winner, or even nominee.  She had a Golden Globe streak in the early 00s and turned out effective performances working with directors like Spike Jonze in Being John Malkovich and Cameron Crowe in Vanilla Sky.  She struggled with an Irish accent in Gangs of New York.  And her dramatic roles In Her Shoes and My Sister's Keeper failed to elicit much awards traction.  It seems that Hollywood doesn't really take her that seriously.  While she might pull a Sandra Bullock one of these days, for now, she appears to be coasting along on her affability and comic charm.

Bad Teacher is her biggest hit to date that she comes
closest to calling her own

I can remember when she came out of nowhere as Jim Carrey's female lead in The Mask (her first film!).  It's weird how time flies.  Will the kiss of death strike Diaz?  By now, it seems if she was going to win any awards, it would have already happened.  Her dramatic range isn't so wide, but in very specific instances, like Vanilla Sky, she's quite good.  Her main strength, though, is her comedic ability and just-one-of-the-guys personality.  It will be interesting to see how that will play out in her 40s.  Despite her bankability, she hasn't successfully opened that many films on her name alone.  In fact, only the recent Bad Teacher comes to mind.  But, even then, it was a bit of a fluke--a shrewd comedy that enjoyed the convenience of perfect timing.  And, with the death of the "movie star," it seems that without attaching herself to a proven literary property, she may fade sooner than we think, no?

Another thing she doesn't have going for her is the fact that she's not a mother, nor probably will go that route.  I think there is a good contingent of the human population that is, at the very least, subconsciously judgy of women who don't procreate.  They somehow disturb the natural order of things, which somehow makes them less likable.  Jennifer Aniston, another non-Mom, three years her senior, still has a healthy career, with no evenings as a nominee at the Dolby Theatre anytime soon.  It just may be she's not interested in long-term relationships, either, as she's pretty notorious for having rotten taste in men.  And many of the ones that have lasted for more than a hot-second have been supreme douche-bags (i.e. Jared Leto, Justin Timberlake).  From the public's view, it appears that she just wants to have a good time.  Which is fine.  I would love to see Cammie with a guy who truly appreciates her, though, and treats her well.

She's No Angel!

There is something irrepressible about Cameron Diaz, though.  Fun fact: Did you know that she has never shown taken her top off in a feature length motion picture?  Pretty shrewd considering that a lot people write her off for her looks.  However, back in the day, she did this S&M photo shoot with a shirtless male and another scantily leather-clad female.  Some of it was taped, and later released overseas entitled "She's No Angel."  It comes off like a ridiculous ZZ Top video by way of Marilyn Manson.  There are whips and chains.  Despite the grainy video, she looks amazing in fishnet stockings, with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, and you can kind of make out a goofy innocence she would later employ to great success in her film oeuvre   Her team has been mostly successful in suppressing a wide distribution of the video, though I'm not sure how detrimental it would be to her career now.  But, it certainly wouldn't have helped her cause to be taken seriously as an actress when she was first starting out, taking audible direction like, "Stronger," "Go, baby," and "hit it."  Of course, the photographer insisted on set that he wasn't interested in taking "centerfold" shots (while Diaz' tits protruded from her open-breasted leather "bikini").

Upcoming for Diaz: Gambit.  She snagged Colin Firth right after he won the Oscar for The King's Speech to star in the Coen Brother's adaptation with Michael Hoffman directing.  It filmed over a year ago with no 2012 US-release in sight.  Don't know what to make of that other than, Hoffman did direct Soapdish twenty years ago!  She is also filming Ridley Scott's The Counselor, a thriller dealing with drugs and the law, starring Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, based on a screenplay by Cormac McCarthy.  She is also attached to headline Agent: Century 21, which would have her caught up in the hijinks of an action-comedy centered on the Mexican drug war opposite Benicio Del Toro.  It sounds like it has potential; if it's good, let's hope it gets made.  After making Bad Teacher a success, she deserves to keep that momentum going.

Other 1972-born-actresses who turned 40 (or will) this year: Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Garner, Toni Collette, Leslie Mann, Sophía Vergara, Maya Rudolph, Thandie Newton, Amanda Peet, Elizabeth Berkley, Robin Tunney, Claire Forlani, Jenny McCarthy, Jennie Garth.

Cameron Diaz #2

Cameron Diaz #3