The Other Woman

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Leslie Man, Nicolaj Coster-Waldau, Kate Upton, Don Johnson, Taylor Kinney, Nicki Minaj, Victor Cruz
Directed by: Nick Cassavetes
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Romance
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: A woman (Cameron Diaz) is shocked to learn her perfect boyfriend (Nicolaj Coster-Waldau) is married, and reluctantly teams with his wife (Leslie Mann) to get revenge.

Review:

Tim: I have to admit, I'm shocked that I liked The Other Woman. It looked like yet another generic, unfunny romantic comedy pandering to women who like to turn their brains off and watch a movie (I'm not condemning women in general, because there are many more who actually like to think about the movies they are watching). What I found in this movie was a surprisingly funny, entertaining experience. This movie is well worth checking out.

Part of the reason I entered this film with some dismay is that it just looked like a generic, well-tread story- a woman finds out her boyfriend is married and seeks to get revenge. However, there's much more to it than that. First off, the woman reluctantly teams with her boyfriend's wife to get revenge. This is mined for every comedic moment possible. And, the movie takes it one step further and adds a third unknowing girlfriend (the movie really should have been called The Other Women. The movie generates great laughs by pairing these three very different women together in an unlikely bond to get revenge.

The film is helped by the cast. Cameron Diaz has made a lot of terrible movies over the last decade, but this is one of her stronger showings. She does have a few scenes were her acting seems suspect, but for the most part, she delivers a fun, funny performance. I was impressed with her here. Leslie Mann was a great addition to the cast because she's both hilarious and completely relateable. Diaz works as the rich, powerful businesswoman, and Mann is terrific as the ordinary, average housewife. These two couldn't be more different, and it was great fun seeing them navigate that bizarre relationship. Some of the film's funniest moments come from these two and their humorous interactions. The movie also adds Kate Upton as yet another girlfriend. I have to say I wasn't a fan of this move in general. First off, Upton is a sad, pathetic actress. She has no talent at all. The movie circumvents this by making her a complete moron. I suppose women might find the beauty-with-no-brains cliche funny, but it just felt forced. Every time Upton opened her mouth, I cringed at her butchering of the dialogue.

Nicolaj Coster-Waldau was a great addition as well. I'm a big fan of his work on "Game of Thrones" and it was fun seeing him as this cocky, charismatic cheater. He played the role wonderfully because you quickly dislike his character, but you can see how he'd make women fall for him. He balances the role perfectly because you need to dislike him but not completely and totally hate him. He pulls it off. Don Johnson was fine but has far too little to do. Nicki Minaj felt like stunt casting, and besides a funny moment or two, she shows miniscule acting ability. Still, the cast as a whole was a big differentiator for this movie.

I have to say that the movie was surprisingly funny. I found myself laughing out loud a number of times. Some of it was more highbrow humor, but some of the funniest moments were pretty crass ("I'm going to see if our toilet can take a punch"). As odd as it sounds, this movie reminded me that comedies are supposed to be funny. That's really hard to pull off, and far too many comedies roll out of Hollywood that simply aren't funny at all. I hate sitting through a comedy where I don't laugh once, but that has almost become the rule, rather than the exception. The Other Woman bucks that trend by telling a funny and memorable story that is quite entertaining.

Now, to be fair, the movie has its flaws. It too often strays back into generic romantic comedy territory. While it has a number of funny moments, quite a few jokes fall flat. The story gets a bit bogged down in the middle. Kate Upton ruins most of the scenes she's in. These flaws are obvious and real. That being said, the movie does enough right that I'd consider this a solid, good comedy. It certainly surprised me.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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