Even though the film is now 14 years old, I still consider There’s Something About Mary to be probably the best film Cameron Diaz has stared in. She’s played her career fairly safe since then, so it’s definitely interesting to see her star in a new R-rated comedy.
I can definitely tell in this film that Cameron Diaz is having a blast playing a very rude and potty-mouth woman, who has essentially no choice but “teach” a 7th grade class. There are definitely many laugh-out-loud moments within the film, mostly involved Diaz or (a somewhat underused) Jason Segel, who plays a gym teacher at the school.
So what doesn’t work for the film? Well, for starters, there is British actress Lucy Punch as a very ditsy (and some might say looney) rival teacher, who you pretty much want to see die a terrible death (which is OK, considering that she’s the antagonist. However, I’m pretty sure I would have hated her if she was friendly too). Justin Timberlake is also in the film, playing a new teacher Diaz’s character is pining over. His character is a bit of a dolt and you begin to wonder why Diaz’s character is taking so long to realize it (answer: because it would make the film 30 minutes long).
Other than those hiccups, I can still say that this was a funny and enjoyable film. It didn’t reach the previous highs of There’s Something About Mary, but it’s nice to see Cameron Diaz take a more edgy role for a change.
8/10
