Clearly there are some differences. Goldie Hawn is an Academy Award-winning star whose spark and frivolity sometimes concealed murkier undertones in her roles (as in Cactus Flower, Shampoo) but usually acted as a platform for her expert comic timing (Private Benjamin, Protocol). Cameron Diaz is known for her on-screen ebullience too, but she's garnered more praise for being a longtime box-office draw than an award-worthy thespian. You could also argue that Hawn is regularly more vulnerable than Diaz. And yet, plenty of parallels align their legacies.
First, let's compare their rather indefatigable energies. Goldie Hawn kicked off her career as a shimmying, giggling comic on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, using her caught-unawares persona to get away with classic double entendres.
In Charlie's Angels, which is officially a Bad Movie We Love, Diaz pummeled us with girly chutzpah (in the form of an earth-shattering booty dance) before employing the same panache to justify a patently vulgar one-liner. (Click to the midway point to get the booty dance and one-liner in question.)
Both actresses share a distinct ability to get serious in even the most ridiculously comedic moments. In Death Becomes Her, a possessed Hawn turns into a laser-fierce zombie with a hole for a torso. Oh, immortality! Such a chore.
In My Best Friend's Wedding, Diaz confronts the always-nefarious Julia Roberts with a sampling of Hawn's wide-eyed conviction. She's dead serious -- commandingly so -- but it's all in the name of a joyously smart and funny scene.
But perhaps the best (and funniest) work of both actresses occurs when they get to exercise dismissive self-righteousness. When Hawn and Diaz get cold and superior, they steal the show in ways that few other actresses are even allowed to attempt. In Overboard -- which remains the most underrated work in Hawn's filmography -- Hawn elevates a standard amnesiac role to flippant new heights. "This missing link person is not my husband!" (Click to 8:30.)
In Bad Teacher, Diaz can't be bothered to raise an eyelid or lower a middle finger as the scowling Elizabeth Halsey. Even in the trailer for this weekend's new comedy, she dismisses every do-gooder -- the roles she and Hawn usually play time and again -- with salable snark.
What say you, Goldie lovers and Diaz watchers? Chime in below.