Cameron Diaz Interviews 3 - "The Sweetest Thing"

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She Is The Sweetest Thing

"The Sweetest Thing" is not your typical romantic comedy. Screenwriter Nancy Pimental mixed a girl road/buddy movie with a strong dose of slapstick humor and the search for the perfect man. Director Roger Kumble thinks the film takes the romantic comedy genre and dumps it on its head.

Cameron Diaz as the lead character, Christina Walters, was the first to be cast. Roger Kumble describes Cameron Diaz as a combination of Carole Lombard and Goldie Hawn and believes that only once in every third generation does an actress like her come along. Kumble says Cameron Diaz is "someone who is beautiful and is also incredibly gifted with comic timing."

Cameron Diaz (Christina)

Does making a movie about the dating scene make you happy you're not part of it any longer?

I think that for Christina and Courtney, it's a total decision of theirs to be out there and have a good time. They're not cynical about love, nor am I. They're not man haters. They're just all about right now. [They think], "We're not even going to worry about trying to make something work or worry about it. We just take care of ourselves, have a good time and eventually, one day, you guys will find one another." I definitely think everybody goes through that phase in life where they just like to have a good time and [then] you step into the next phase of life.

Is working on a comedy movie more fun than an action movie?

It’s so different. Comedies are actually really difficult to do. Action’s much easier. You have professionals that are making all the calculations for you and all you have to do is follow those calculations and ask the right questions. In comedy, especially in this kind of broad comedy where it’s a series of different shots that are put together to hit the laugh, you find yourself as a person who likes to make people laugh - you want to hear that laughter. You’re doing things that are eventually going to make people laugh but at the moment people are not [because] - 1) they can’t laugh because it’s on mic and 2) they don’t laugh because a lot of people don’t read the script that they’re working on. The grips haven’t read the script so they don’t know what’s coming next. There’s not that instant gratification of laughter, so it’s a totally different thing. As Christina Applegate says, "Try doing a sitcom for 13 years and imagine how big of a junkie you become for that laughter."

Did you ever live with a roommate?

No, I never had any roommates. Actually, I did live in Paris with a girlfriend of mine, and I remember I lived in Tokyo with a girlfriend. I stayed with different people as I traveled.

What was your experience like living abroad?

Oh God, it opened me up to the world. It gave me so many experiences that I would have never had in Long Beach. [I learned about] different cultures and how to survive on you own. Traveling by yourself to different countries when you’re not famous is totally different because there is nobody there to help you. You’re not on some sort of publicity tour where everything is set up for you. You have to figure it out yourself (laughter).

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

I see myself and I try not to judge it at the level that other people judge me at. When I look in the mirror it’s usually for work. When I’m looking in the mirror, I’m trying to put forward a character. When I look in the mirror for myself, I look at the things I like about myself and try to make them even more fun and even more likable for myself.

Have you heard people compare you to Carol Lombard?

A couple of people said that which was really nice. [It's] a great compliment. I was like "Okay, God, can I take that compliment, please?" I grew up with so many comedies; I love to laugh. --- by Rebecca Murray and Fred Topel

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