But author Ronald Bass and director P.J. Hogan do exactly the other in My Finest Good friend’s Wedding ceremony, making Roberts’ meals critic Jules a self-satisfied jerk who needs to wreck the marriage of her greatest pal Michael (Dermot Mulroney) and his fiancée Kimmy (Diaz). The inversion solely works due to the complexity that Diaz brings to her nice-girl character. In one of many film’s standout scenes, Jules weaponizes her information that Kimmy hates to sing and suffers from stage fright. Jules takes Michael and Kimmy to a karaoke bar, and whereas the previous can’t management his pleasure over getting the possibility to sing together with his greatest pal once more, the digicam stays on the latter after Jules and Michael rush off. We see Kimmy frozen in worry, a worry that continues at the same time as she tries to recover from her nervousness and assist Michael in his enjoyable.
The normally indomitable Diaz has by no means seemed smaller than when a microphone will get shoved in entrance of her and she or he’s compelled to sing the Bacharach and David quantity, “I Simply Don’t Know What to Do with Myself.” She shrinks much more after response pictures of Jules. Diaz, like us, spots the slight grin on Roberts’ face that her plan is working. She additionally sees Michael barely disgusted that his bride-to-be can’t share in an exercise he loves.
And but, Kimmy troopers on, singing over shouts of “you suck” by fumbled strains and flat notes. The dedication ultimately wins over the group, they usually start cheering for one another even her off-key moments. And the following time the digicam cuts to Jules, it pans over to Michael, wanting now at Kimmy not with disgust, however with awe, totally impressed on the girl’s bravery and dedication.
As humorous and fantastic because the second is, it really works not simply because we see the bitter Jules hoisted on her personal petard. It really works as a result of Diaz doesn’t overplay Kimmy’s hand. Even when she’s gained again Michael’s affection and the group’s assist, Diaz doesn’t let Kimmy grow to be her: a placing, lovely, assured girl. She stays in character, and lets Kimmy’s face go flush, lets her generally hunch in embarrassment, lets a little bit little bit of the nervousness stay within the corners of her smile.
It’s an extremely complicated supporting efficiency, one which by no means overshadows the wonderful work that Roberts is doing along with her complicated Jules. In truth, it enhances Jules as a personality by making Kimmy an actual and susceptible individual, not simply an unbeatable sweetheart.
Being John Malkovich
Cameron Diaz is a consummate romantic comedy star, and she or he is all the time nice in them. Sadly, a few of her most ineffective performances have come when she makes an attempt totally different genres, none worse than her disastrous flip in Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York.
