Back In Action is a family-friendly and fun action movie that should appeal to a massive number of folks with a Netflix subscription. Starring Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, the film follows two spies as they get back into their jobs after taking over a decade off to raise their kids. Overall, the film is action-packed and hilarious – as you’d expect with people like Foxx and Diaz leading it. However, there was a running joke about baby oil that did surprise me considering everything that’s going on with Diddy right now. However, the director has clarified why the bit ended up in the film.
So, here’s how this baby oil bit began, in the movie that helped kick off Netflix’s 2025 schedule, toward the beginning, Diaz and Foxx’s characters Emily and Matt are talking about whether they should bring back “Monday Movie Nights With Mom” as a way for Emily to reconnect with their daughter Alice. Diaz’s character then recommends the Creed movies while talking all this out. In response, Foxx’s Matt says:
That’s a lot of baby oil.
Then, later in the movie, like scenes later, movie night comes up again. Alice rejects the idea, so Foxx’s character suggests that he and his wife just have a movie night instead. Diaz’s Emily follows that up by saying they could watch Creed 3, in response, Matt says:
To help, I’ll put some baby oil on, like Michael B.
According to Seth Gordon, who directed the movie, those lines were the Oscar winner’s idea. They weren’t scripted, they were ad-libbed, as the director told Business Insider:
That was an ad-lib Jamie did. It was hilarious.
Now, as mentioned earlier, these jokes don’t hit the same today because of the ongoing legal issues surrounding Diddy and his arrest last fall. Specifically, at one point, a report came out about his parties that claimed there were more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant found. So, yes, I was surprised when I heard the Back in Action joke considering how controversial and troubling Diddy and his parties have been.
According to Gordon, they didn’t talk about removing the jokes. He also explained that they shot the Netflix movie well before all the news about Diddy came out, and they didn’t think they needed to remove the joke because of it:
We shot that the prior year. The Diddy thing happened after picture lock. Also, I don't think that means you're not allowed to use the words baby oil again.
Notably, Back in Action makes no direct reference to Diddy. However, the joke was still surprising and it’s hard not to draw the connection. It was especially shocking considering the wild rumors that circulated last fall that were trying to make connections between Diddy’s arrest and Jamie Foxx’s medical issue and the joke Foxx made in his stand-up about the rapper. However, Gordon very clearly clarified that the bit in his action movie has no connection to the ongoing and controversial situation surrounding Combs as it was made before any of that happened.
Now, if you are looking to see Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz Back in Action, you can stream the film on Netflix.
