“The Other Woman” is not a perfect movie by any stretch of the term, but it delivers something promising for movie audiences: a strong female–driven comedy.
The film opens with a montage of Diaz’s tough lawyer character, Carly, with her new studly boyfriend, Mark King (played by Nikolaj Coster–Waldau of “Game of Thrones”), in early dating bliss. The relationship is too good to be true until Carly finds out that Mark is actually married with a wife named Kate (played by the ever–charming Leslie Mann). The unknowing mistress’ discovery of the ignorant wife leads to a surprising friendship and a series of funny attempts at revenge on the man they’re with whom they're both sleeping.
Despite the fact that the driving factor in the friendship between Diaz’s Carly and Mann’s Kate is that Carly is sleeping with Kate’s husband, their friendship is the real love story here. Carly teaches Kate valuable lessons about “crying on the inside, like a winner,” and Kate’s compassionate qualities help Carly open up in a way that she clearly never has before. The actresses’ chemistry carries the film through its sometimes inconsistent script and strange cinematography.
Minor characters Amber and Lydia, played by Kate Upton and Nicki Minaj, respectively, may not be expertly acted, but both roles serve their purpose as entertaining cameos. Up–and–comer Taylor Kinney also plays a minor role as Kate’s brother and Carly’s actual love interest, and proves that he might be worth more than the crap writing he gets on NBC procedural “Chicago Fire.”
There’s a smartness to the movie that might be overlooked by many audiences and lost in the film's general silliness—the idea that a woman who sacrificed her life for her husband’s success has more to lose than dignity when he’s found to be unfaithful. Leslie Mann’s calculated performance as a woman who goes from the verge of nervous breakdown to a woman both capable and independent is an impressive performance, indeed, and attests to the still–present complexities of a woman’s role in society today.
The film is far from perfect, though. It suffers from consistent unevenness, struggling between addressing the serious disintegration of a marriage and the petty (although arguably deserved) revenge antics of the main women. It’s a comedy with misplaced aspects of a dramedy and a too–on–the–nose soundtrack to ever be considered great, but you shouldn't regret seeing it, if only as fun escapism. The movie’s strongest suit is the sheer hilarity of the physical comedy between Mann and Diaz. They broach the type of female slapstick comedy that “Bridesmaids” delivered to us two years ago. The film’s ultimate triumph is that it succeeds in entertaining even though, on paper, it probably shouldn’t.
See if you like: “Charlie’s Angels,” “Legally Blonde”
Grade: B+
