I can’t think of a harder situation for a guest than being best known primarily as a comedic actor or actress and having to go on a national talk show to sell a drama.  Such was the plight of the always-entertaining Cameron Diaz, as she paid a visit to The Daily Show to promote “My Sister’s Keeper.”
Getting your “message” across in a Daily Show interview is always a risky proposition.  No matter what your agenda, the only guarantee that you will get the right promotion, is the giant poster of your film or book that adorns the back of the set.  Beyond that, any publicist who tells you different simply doesn’t watch the show.  The reality is, Jon goes where Jon wants to go, and that’s usually to the benefit of the show and the guest.  Now I’m not saying that getting your message through is impossible, especially if you are an attractive woman that would have rejected Jon in high school, or is an undeniable Shixa Goddess — credits that both could be attributed to Ms. Diaz.
The problem was, she just wasn’t properly prepared.  If you don’t know, in “My Sister’s Keeper” Cameron Diaz plays the mother of one child who is a leukemia victim and the other who was ostensibly born to be a compatible blood, marrow and organ donor to help keep her other sister alive.  When the second sister begins to resent that role, a legal battle ensues.  For any guest this would be a tough sell knowing that you are competing in the summer theaters with the likes of “Transformers” and “Harry Potter.”  Not that this type of film won’t find an audience as alternative fare, but Ms. Diaz couldn’t keep from harping on the fact that she and everyone who saw it were crying for days.  An admirable compliment for the cast’s performances, but deadly to those who a looking to pay money for a break this summer in the theaters.
Whatever happened to descriptions like “heartwarming,” “beautiful,” “moving,” and “honest?”  And you can never go wrong praising the acting of your fellow actors to fill time – something at least Jon Stewart took the lead on in mentioning Alec Baldwin’s performance.  Although he couldn’t resist commenting that the clip looked like the “saddest episode of ‘30 Rock’ ever.”
All in all some concerted prep was in order here and at the end of the day I can’t blame the performer, I blame the publicist or studio executive who booked her on the show and simply hoped for the best.  They got the worst.