By: Laura Bennett
At face value, Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx’s new Netflix movie Back in Action is a simple action adventure that doesn’t require much mental energy to enjoy.
What makes it more than that, is realising the significance of what was happening behind the scenes for the two leads as they put it together.
Matt (Jamie Foxx) and Emily (Cameron Diaz) are former CIA spies who retired when Emily fell pregnant with their first child.
Now 15 years into their marriage, they miss the excitement of their old life and an incident with their kids accidentally draws them back into the world of espionage.
Much like The Killers and Mr. and Mrs. Smith before it, Back in Action plays on the idea of having a secret life behind the humdrum daily drag we present to others – and that parents had an alternate life, pre-children.
For Cameron Diaz, Back in Action is her first movie since 2014’s Annie.
She told The Graham Norton Show that much of the reason she left Hollywood was to embrace the anonymity and (like her character Emily) move into a season of motherhood.
“I loved it, it was the best 10 years of my life,” Cameron said.
“I was free [to be] a mum, a wife, it was so lovely.”
Returning to acting came when Cameron realised that she didn’t want to give up the “privilege” it is to be an actor.
“If I just let this go away – all of this goodwill that I built over time and the passion that I have for entertaining people [and] being grateful for it – then I would be a fool,” Cameron said.
Meanwhile, her co-star Jamie Foxx ended up in an unexpected fight for his life while filming, suffering a brain aneurysm that resulted in a stroke.
During Jamie’s rehabilitation, a body double stepped in to cover some scenes, until Jamie could eventually return to filming.
“It’s so great to be on the other side,” Jamie told Entertainment Tonight.
“I was almost gone.”
While the chaos of that isn’t felt on screen, the duo’s personal contexts offer value to Back in Action it otherwise wouldn’t have.
If you’re a parent watching the movie, you can relate to Emily and Cameron as they shape their career around family life and try not to be boxed in by their kids.
You can understand how Matt and Jamie feel a need to protect their kids, and the acute awareness they have of the consequences of not being around to be their father if something happens at work.
Back in Action is light-hearted family movie-night fodder, but it’s also a great prompt to reassess your values around family and work and to remember you’re more than your job, or title as “Mum” and “Dad”.
Back in Action is streaming on Netflix now.
Article supplied with thanks to Hope Media.
Feature image: Movie promotional poster, used with permission
About the Author: Laura Bennett is a media professional, broadcaster and writer from Sydney, Australia.