Bodily fluids take center stage in 'The Sweetest Thing'

The Sweetest Thing - R
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, Selma Blair
Directed by: Roger Kumble
Showing: Showplace East 11 Like the Farrelly brothers' 1998 gross-out hit "There's Something About Mary," "The Sweetest Thing" flaunts a booty-shaking Cameron Diaz, a 20-something protagonist chasing an unrequited love and relentless jokes about bodily fluids. But director Roger Kumble ("Cruel Intentions") is to blame for this "Thing," although the film oozes Farrelly-ness with a certain milky substance wrecking havoc and a certain body part getting stuck at a crucial moment. Although some of the jokes are rehashed, the movie is hilarious, thanks to almost everyone but Diaz, who ironically made $15 million for the film. Always scantily clad, Courtney (Christina Applegate) in particular supremely shines as Christina's (Diaz) best bud. While Diaz became infamous for wearing unique hair gel in "Mary," Applegate delivers the butt of "Things'"s most revolting jokes without losing the crassness of her bimbo-ish Kelly Bundy character from "Married with Children." In one scene, Courtney encourages jealous women in a club restroom to squeeze her fake breasts. Christina is a bit less outwardly vulgar. A 28-year-old single woman, she is searching for Mr. Right. She tries to set up newly single roommate Jane (Selma Blair) with a random guy at the club. The guy, Peter (Thomas Jane, who played Mickey Mantle in "61*"), rejects them, leading to a heated argument between himself and Christina. The chemistry between them shifts after she buys him a drink, but she declines to attend a hotel-based bachelor party with him. He leaves without giving her a number, but Christina doesn't forget about him so easily. With Courtney's prompting, they drive around California searching for him. The plot itself isn't highly stimulating, but some side characters provide additional naughty humor. Jane horses around with a boyfriend who dresses as a purple elephant for a children's hospital, and she worries about a stained dress that would put Monica Lewinsky's to shame. Even Peter's grandfather (Richard Denni) who wears a holey T-shirt that reads, "Who Farted?" outdoes Diaz, whose character bounces around for laughs, rather than spouting witty lines like Courtney. Diaz has already pleased eyes and inspired chuckles from "The Mask" to "Charlie's Angels." But in "The Sweetest Thing," the co-stars steal the show, albeit with toilet-bowl humor most appropriate for a 13-year-old.