Editing Cameron Diaz (section)

===2012–2014: Focus on comedies===
In 2012 Diaz was cast in ''[[What to Expect When You're Expecting (film)|What to Expect When You're Expecting]]'', directed by [[Kirk Jones (director)|Kirk Jones]] and based on the [[What to Expect When You're Expecting|pregnancy guide of the same name]].<ref name="expectmovie">{{cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2011/07/matthew-morrison-joins-lionsgates-what-to-expect-when-youre-expecting-147512/ |title=Matthew Morrison Joins Lionsgate's 'What To Expect When You're Expecting' |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |publisher=[[Mail.com Media]] |date=July 15, 2011 |access-date=July 17, 2011 |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716221116/http://www.deadline.com/2011/07/matthew-morrison-joins-lionsgates-what-to-expect-when-youre-expecting/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Diaz, who filmed her scenes in a two-week period, portrays Jules Baxter, a contestant on a celebrity dance show and a host to a weight-loss fitness show, who becomes pregnant with her dance partner's baby.<ref name="Dicm">{{cite web |last=Eisenberg |first=Eric |title=What To Expect When You're Expecting Director Kirk Jones Talks Taking It One Step At A Time |url=https://www.cinemablend.com/new/What-Expect-You-re-Expecting-Director-Kirk-Jones-Talks-Taking-It-One-Step-Time-30973.html |publisher=Cinema Blend |access-date=January 19, 2013 |date=May 17, 2012 |archive-date=October 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011023122/http://www.cinemablend.com/new/What-Expect-You-re-Expecting-Director-Kirk-Jones-Talks-Taking-It-One-Step-Time-30973.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Upon release, the ensemble comedy received mostly negative reviews, but became a moderate commercial success with a worldwide gross of US$84.4{{nbsp}}million.<ref>{{cite web |title=What to Expect When You're Expecting |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr2814988805/?ref_=bo_tt_gr_1 |access-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-date=July 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727154926/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr2814988805/?ref_=bo_tt_gr_1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=What to Expect When You're Expecting |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/what_to_expect_when_youre_expecting/reviews/ |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=January 3, 2020 |archive-date=July 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730074127/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/what_to_expect_when_youre_expecting/reviews |url-status=live }}</ref> Diaz's other film that year was ''[[Gambit (2012 film)|Gambit]]'', a remake of the 1966 [[Gambit (1966 film)|film of the same name]] directed by [[Michael Hoffman (American director)|Michael Hoffman]] and scripted by [[Coen brothers|Joel and Ethan Coen]]. The film received overwhelmingly negative reviews,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gambit_2012/ |title=Gambit (2012) |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=May 9, 2013 |archive-date=April 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130410192728/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gambit_2012/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and performed poorly at the box office, grossing only US$10{{nbsp}}million internationally.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=gambit.htm |title=Gambit (2013) - International Box Office |website=Box Office MOJO |access-date=January 1, 2013 |archive-date=May 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521125029/http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=intl&id=gambit.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Diaz also voiced [[Sigmund Freud]] in ''[[A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman|A Liar's Autobiography]]'' (2012), a British animated comedy film that is a (deliberately) completely inaccurate portrayal<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/movies/graham-chapman-tribute-from-monty-python.html |title=Graham Chapman Tribute |newspaper=New York Times |date=June 26, 2011 |access-date=June 26, 2011 |last1=Cieply |first1=Michael |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629105242/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/movies/graham-chapman-tribute-from-monty-python.html |url-status=live }}</ref> of the life of [[Monty Python]] alumnus [[Graham Chapman]].
[[File:Kate Upton, Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann - 13863297875 (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Kate Upton]], Diaz, and [[Leslie Mann]] attending the premiere of ''[[The Other Woman (2014 film)|The Other Woman]]'' in 2014]]
Diaz's only film project of 2013 was [[Ridley Scott]]'s ''[[The Counselor]]'', co-starring [[Michael Fassbender]], [[Javier Bardem]], [[Penélope Cruz]], and [[Brad Pitt]]. In the thriller about greed, death, the primal instincts of humans and their consequences, Diaz plays a pathological liar and a [[Aspd|sociopath]], an immigrant who is now living the high-life after escaping a sordid past as an [[exotic dancer]]. While the film's reception was negative, her performance was praised as one of her best in recent years.<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes">{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_counselor_2013/ |title=The Counselor (2013) |publisher=Rotten Tomatoes (Flixster) |access-date=March 6, 2014 |archive-date=March 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306011331/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_counselor_2013/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In late 2013, she published a health book, ''[[The Body Book: Feed, Move, Understand and Love Your Amazing Body]]'', co-written with Sandra Bark.<ref>{{cite web |last=Diaz |first=Cameron |title=The Body Book - Cameron Diaz - Hardcover |url=http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062252746/the-body-book |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308183546/https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062252746/the-body-book |archive-date=March 8, 2016 |access-date=August 26, 2016}}</ref> It was no. 2 on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]] in March 2014.<ref name="news">[http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/body-book-author-and-actor-cameron-diazs-healthy-tips/story-fneszs56-1226883193177 'Body book' author and actor Cameron Diaz's healthy tips] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102848/http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/body-book-author-and-actor-cameron-diazs-healthy-tips/story-fneszs56-1226883193177|date=February 15, 2016}}, ''[[News.com.au]]'', April 14, 2014</ref> 

Diaz's first film of 2014 was the romantic revenge comedy ''[[The Other Woman (2014 film)|The Other Woman]]'' opposite [[Nikolaj Coster-Waldau]], [[Leslie Mann]], and [[Kate Upton]]. While ''The Other Woman'' received mostly negative reviews from critics, who felt that it settled for cheap laughs,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_other_woman_2014/ |title=The Other Woman (2014) |website=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=April 16, 2014 |archive-date=April 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415232115/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_other_woman_2014/ |url-status=live }}</ref> it opened atop the US weekend box office with earnings of US$24.7{{nbsp}}million across the three days;<ref>{{cite web |last=McClintock |first=Pamela |title=Box Office: Females Fuel 'Other Woman' to First-Place $24.7 Million Debut |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-females-fuel-woman-699198 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=April 27, 2014 |access-date=April 28, 2014 |quote=April 27, 2014 |archive-date=April 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429211009/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-females-fuel-woman-699198 |url-status=live }}</ref> it eventually made US$83.9{{nbsp}}million in North America and US$196.7{{nbsp}}million globally.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=otherwoman14.htmz/ |title=Box Office Mojo - Movie Index, A-Z |website=www.boxofficemojo.com |access-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-date=August 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811231120/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=otherwoman14.htmz/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Her next film release in 2014 was the comedy ''[[Sex Tape (film)|Sex Tape]]'', in which she starred with Segel again as a married couple waking up to discover that a sex tape they had made went missing, leading to a frantic search for its whereabouts. It ultimately became a moderate commercial success with a worldwide gross of US$126{{nbsp}}million.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3877&p=.htm |title=Weekend Report: 'Apes' Rules Again - Box Office MOJO |website=www.boxofficemojo.com |access-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-date=January 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121013533/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3877&p=.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=sextape.htm |title=Sex Tape (2014) - Box Office MOJO |website=www.boxofficemojo.com |access-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-date=January 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190121111036/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=sextape.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The role required Diaz to perform multiple scenes of nudity. On her decision to appear nude, Diaz said: "People have seen my butt. I've shown the top of my butt, the bottom of my butt. I'm not opposed to doing nudity, as long as it's part of the story. I'll do whatever has to get done if it's the right thing."<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a11254/cameron-diaz-interview-cover-story/ |title=Read an Exclusive Excerpt from Cameron Diaz's November Cover Story |date=October 12, 2014 |work=Marie Claire |access-date=October 24, 2018 |archive-date=October 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024192315/https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/a11254/cameron-diaz-interview-cover-story/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Her final film that year was the film adaptation ''[[Annie (2014 film)|Annie]]'', co-starring [[Quvenzhané Wallis]], [[Jamie Foxx]], and [[Rose Byrne]]. She took on the role of Miss Colleen Hannigan, the cruel control freak of the foster home where the titular character resides.<ref name="annie">[https://deadline.com/2013/06/cameron-diaz-signed-and-sealed-for-annie-to-play-miss-hannigan-after-sandra-bullock-passes-530646/ Cameron Diaz Signed For 'Annie' To Play Miss Hannigan After Sandra Bullock Passes]  Deadline, Retrieved June 27, 2013</ref> Upon its December premiere, ''Annie'' made US$133{{nbsp}}million worldwide, with Diaz's performance garnering polarized reviews; critics praising her effort, but ultimately calling it too "vampy",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/Annie-2014 |title=Annie Movie Review & Film Summary (2014) - Roger Ebert |first=Matt Zoller |last=Seitz |website=www.rogerebert.com |access-date=April 17, 2020 |archive-date=April 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200412010305/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/annie-2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> as well as "strident and obnoxious".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/annie-film-review-757491/|title='Annie': Film Review|first1=David|last1=Rooney|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=December 14, 2014|access-date=May 21, 2021|archive-date=May 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521160843/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/annie-film-review-757491/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Peter Travers]] of [[Rolling Stone (magazine)|''Rolling Stone'']] says that she "overacts the role to the point of hysteria".<ref>{{cite magazine |title='Annie' MovieReview |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=December 17, 2014 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/annie-20141217 |access-date=December 17, 2014 |archive-date=December 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219060527/http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/annie-20141217 |url-status=live }}</ref>