Knight and Day
Directed by: James Mangold
Cast: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Dano
Running Time: 1 hr 42 mins
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: June 23, 2010
complete coverage of Knight and Day including TOP 7 Tom Cruise Movies
PLOT: An agent (Cruise), suspected of going rouge, involves an ordinary woman (Diaz) in his plot to rescue a young scientist who's made an amazing break through.
Welcome to another installment of He Said - She Said. This time around we have our "he" represented by Calhoun Kersten. Our "she" is the undefeated Morrow McLaughlin. Keep in mind this is an unscientific "undefeated" and Nick Allen, Jeff Bayer and most likely Kersten would disagree with the label. Actually, McLaughlin might as well.
As always, the He Said - She Said can contain plot spoilers, so read at your own risk.
She said:
It never fails to astonish me how much I enjoy it when Tom Cruise pretends that he's charming and affable. I love that. And since I'm the first one to hold an actor's crazy behavior in reality against them, it's definitely a sign of Mr. Cruise's natural talent that I still sit happily through his movies. He's wonderful in Knight and Day, perfectly matching Cameron Diaz's sexy goofiness in a character who stays mellow no matter what.
That was my favorite part--that Roy Miller only loses his patience once with June, even though he has ample opportunity to snap at her or get exasperated with her. Typically, I don't like movies about two sexy people who bicker their way in and out of perilous situations, because it's repetitive and tiresome and seldom well-written. Imagine my happiness when the writers decided against two short-tempered whiners and gave us genuinely enjoyable characters.
I gotta say, I really liked Knight and Day and I'd enthusiastically recommend it to anyone looking for classic Hollywood fun.
He said:
Einstein once said, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” A perfect example of this is the casting of Cameron Diaz in Knight and Day or any movie for that matter. I get it, she’s sexy but I’m still not laughing. No matter how many times studio execs tell me I should find her funny, I just can’t. That’s the downside of Knight and Day, just about any scene with Cameron Diaz. Seriously, I felt like the first 50 pages of the script called for Diaz to squeal in terror and nothing more. Lucky for her, Tom Cruise is back in fine form. See, I’m like Morrow, I have a rough time forgetting the couch-jumping incident or even the “glib” thing. But Cruise owns his crazy in this movie. He’s almost like a super-action parody of himself which makes for some fun viewing. Sure, none of it’s anything new for the genre or even Cruise, but for some forgettable fun, Knight and Day wasn’t half bad.
All in all, I have to say, I enjoyed Knight and Day for what it is. There weren’t too many parts that made me laugh, but I was entertained as a solid action movie fan.
She Said:
It's actually very liberating to hear you say that! It's not Cameron's presence or the fact that she spends the first half in full panic mode...it's her voice. I can't stand her voice. I love her laugh and her smile and her blue-sky eyes and her lovely face...but man, that voice. A lot of times she sounds like a fifteen-year-old dim-witted surfer girl and it does present some challenges when she's lost control of a machine gun and is spinning around in a hail of bullets, screaming her pretty head off.
I like her in some things, such as My Sister's Keeper and Charlie's Angels, but I could take her or leave her in Knight and Day. Again, it just blows my mind that I find myself saying, "Thank God for Tom Cruise, because he really made that movie a joyride!" Normally I'm saying things like, "Tom Cruise should probably go fall down a hole," or, "What the hell is up with Tom Cruise?"
Oh, and why are you referring to me in third person? Are we being fancy? Should we stick our pinkies up and talk in British accents? Here, hold on, I'll look down my nose at you...nope...just nostrils...wait...
He Said:
Oh don’t get me wrong, I’m all for being fancy, it just feels like we should be talking about something pretentious then, which, let’s be real, Knight and Day is not.
As for the fifteen year old voice thing, it’s funny that you mentioned that, because, well, I couldn’t agree more, but also, I’ve always wondered when she’d start acting her age. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got a Batman tattoo on my ribs so I’m not one to be throwing stones about acting one’s age, but she always seems like she’s trying to downplay the fact that she’s in her 30s. She showed signs of growing up when she actually agreed to play a mother in My Sister’s Keeper, but no dice after that one.
Hell, even Tom Cruise is subject to the whole “Really?!?” thing when I first saw the trailer. I mean, he’s almost 48 (yes, I IMDBed his birthday) and he’s still kicking ass and taking names? Good for him. I think that’s another part of the enjoyment I got out of Knight and Day is Tom Cruise at his age. I mean, I loved the first Mission Impossible as a kid and it still holds up for me, but that was 1996. The rest of the franchise is take it or leave it for me, but it’s been awhile since he’s taken the lead in an action flick and by God, the man’s still got it.
She Said:
I noticed something interesting: you're giving Tom kudos for not acting his age, but you frown on Cameron's immaturity? Come on, man! I have a batman tattoo on my soul, so I don't think either of us have much room to tut-tut someone else for whooping it up. Is it more agreeable for a dude to keep going way past his Hollywood expiration date, but not a chick?
I say nay! Nay, I say! As far as I'm concerned, Cameron can frolic and romp and have fun car chases until she's 90 years old. In fact, Betty White should definitely look into some sort of action adventure where she gets to be moderately bad ass without any risk of breaking her hip. The important part about Cameron continuing to have fun, I think we can both agree, means she should keep the talking and squealing to a minimum.
I'm glad that we concur about Tom, because I'm sure - as a millionaire mega-star - he's been worried sick about what you and I would think about his newest movie. All kidding aside, I think we're a fair representation of the status quo, and he REALLY needs to win back a few fans right now.
He Said:
I was thinking about this as soon as I sent it, so let me see if I can get back in your good graces. Tom Cruise is physically good for his age. I think the reason I give him a little more slack isn’t because he’s a man, but he’s put more time in. I mean, sure, he’s definitely done a ton of stinkers, but he’s also done some really good work. Cameron Diaz? When I try to think of things that I’ve enjoyed her in, it just makes my brain hurt. I’d like to see what she can do, but if that “accent” in Gangs of New York is all she’s got, I’m just not impressed.
This is the crucial part of the “analysis” where it becomes important to separate the actor from the role. In Cameron Diaz’s defense, I don’t think I did a good job of separating the two. The character of June should’ve been able to hold her on, but all she’s played for is pratfalls and “look at a girl fires a gun” jokes. I was expecting someone hardcore when June tells Roy that she fixes up old cars, but we don’t get to see much badass Cameron Diaz until the last half hour of the movie. But in my defense, I think it has just as much to do with my perception of Cameron Diaz as it does with Hollywood’s knack for writing suck-y (using my awesome English skills there) women.
Knight and Day suffers from plenty of problems, such as the treatment of June, but it definitely doesn’t lack excitement. Cruise is back in fine form and well, Cameron Diaz might do well to hold out for a Charlie’s Angels 3, or at least a better written or more hardcore character. Or maybe she should just leave it up to the big girls like Betty White? I’d be all for it.
She Said:
Excellent! So we've reached an accord, here. Tom can come back for Knight and Day 2, but Cameron Diaz is hereby replaced by Betty White. Someone get on that script pronto!