Director: Nick Cassavetes
Starring: Leslie Mann, Cameron Diaz, Kate Upton, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Taylor Kinney, Nicki Minaj
Movies like The Other Woman are the types of movies that usually get flak from the critics, but draw big audiences to the theaters. The stuffier critics will turn their noses and point out the obnoxious characters, cheap jokes, and unrealistic situations in which the characters find themselves. The audience sometimes just wants a fun movie during which they can kick back, enjoy themselves, and not have to think too hard. Let me tell you, you don’t have to think too hard about The Other Woman, but does that make it a bad movie?
Kate (Mann) and Mark (Coster-Waldau) live in a nice big house with a massive dog and seem to have it all. What Kate doesn’t know is that Mark just started seeing Carly (Diaz), a successful hotshot lawyer. Guys like Mark can’t keep their affairs hidden for too long. He gets his schedules mixed up and has to cancel on Carly citing working issues as his reason for bailing on her. She decides to show up at his house in a sexy plumber costume to change his mind. Much to her surprise Kate answers the door, and Carly realizes that Mark is a married man. When she realizes that she is the mistress in this situation, she vows to stop seeing Mark as she doesn’t want to be attached to that label. Oddly enough Kate keeps appearing in Carly’s life wanting to become friends with her. Instead of being mad and scornful at each other, they bond over the fact they were played by the same man.
Kate catches Mark on the phone flirting with another woman and confronts Carly about it. Carly swears she stopped seeing Mark, and the two of them realize there must be a third woman involved in Mark’s life. They head out on a reconnaissance mission to spy on Mark when he is “on business” down in the Bahamas. It’s not long before they spot Mark lounging on the beach with the much younger Amber (Upton). Kate and Carly confront Amber about Mark’s cheating ways, and the three of them join forces to get back at the conniving man who has deceived them all.
Cameron Diaz seems to be the face and center of the movie, but I think this is just a marketing ploy as she is a bigger name than Leslie Mann (This is 40, Funny People) or Kate Upton. The story really centers on Mann’s character as the wife with Diaz and Upton as the “other women” in Coster-Waldau’s (Game of Thrones) life. Diaz isn’t stretching herself as we’ve seen her in countless movies like this before, but I do appreciate the fact that her character is ready to leave her boyfriend behind and move on when she finds outs he is a married man. Mann is the reason to see this movie. She is absolutely hysterical delivering a majority of the comedy in the film. She is excellent at all of the physical comedy bits that are thrown at her character. I have been a fan of hers for quite some time now as she pops up in the movies of her husband, Judd Apatow. Additionally, I was pleasantly surprised by Kate Upton. She was not nearly as bad as I expected from a Sports Illustrated cover model. She plays someone referred to as “The Boobs”, so it’s not like she’s playing a huge range in terms of character development. However, while her character is dumb and a bit naïve, she is still fun without being annoying. Upton is not the only random casting choice in the movie. Don Johnson pops in for a couple of scenes as Diaz’s dad and I suppose I should mention Nicki Minaj, who plays Diaz’s assistant. Minaj comes across exactly how you would think she would. I really wanted her to open her mouth more as her voice can be a bit grating at times when it’s so closed off. Maybe I’m getting a bit too technical for The Other Woman.
I was quite surprised to learn that Nick Cassavetes directed the movie as he has never attempted a broad comedy like this before. He has chosen a variety of genres and stories to tackle, like The Notebook, Alpha Dog, and My Sister’s Keeper, which also starred Cameron Diaz. The film does have its funny moments, but could have been a bit tighter with a better script and under the direction of someone more experienced with comedy. Since the film is light, fluffy, and entertaining, it makes for a good “girl’s night out type” of movie. However, it doesn’t bring anything new to the “female friends getting revenge” genre that was done much better in movies like 9 to 5 or The First Wives Club.
Is it worth your trip to the movies? It succeeds at what it sets out to do, but doesn’t really strive for anything more than that.
RATING: 3 out of 5 Ticket Stubs
Good review Paul. I didn't care for this one much at all. The problem I had was that the characters weren't all that sympathetic to me, not even Leslie Mann's character. Sure, I felt bad for the fact that her hubby was cheating on here, but she was so loud, over-bearing and annoying, that I got tired of her act real quick.
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