Several years ago Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton starred in a hit movie titled The First Wives' Club. This movie explored the impact of husbands who cheated on their wives. Now we have The Other Woman, a movie that handles basically the same theme, but this time out stars Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton. It is not nearly as funny or emotionally impactful as the First Wives film but is entertaining just the same.
The film starts with Carly (Diaz) dating Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). They seem to be the perfect couple as they match in temperament and passion. One day Mark tells Carly he can't keep a date with her because his housekeeper called and his home in Connecticut has a plumbing problem.
Carly decides to surprise Mark and show up in Connecticut. When she gets there she is shocked when a woman answers the door. She states she is Mark's wife Kate (Mann). Carly is totally embarrassed and heads back to New York in disgrace. The next day Kate shows up at her workplace and wants to talk about the situation.
Later in the film a second woman is discovered. Her name is Amber (Upton) and she is also involved with Mark. She becomes the third friend in the group and they all plot their revenge - together.
The movie is supposed to focus on Carly and her actions but in truth Kate, as played by Mann, steals the show. She is the true comedienne of the group both with natural comedic timing and a knack for physical comedy. Upton plays the dumb sexy blonde to perfection, and Diaz is left to struggle to keep up with her co-stars. Both Diaz and Mann are to be commended for sharing the screen with the luscious Upton.
The humor seems a little forced in this film with too much emphasis being placed on bathroom humor literally. Most of the good jokes were shown in the trailer and very little new was left to be found in the full film.
Nicki Minaj appears as Carly's assistant Lydia and looks great in the role. She does, however, have a way of swallowing her words so that what she says is mostly unintelligible. She would have been more impressive if you could have understood her.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and sexual situations.
The Other Woman is not a bad movie; it just isn't as good as it should have been. There was so much potential for comedy that is missed, and so many emotional moments that could have been included. What you are left with is a movie that entertains but is soon forgotten.
I scored The Other Woman a cheated 5 out of 10.
-- Jackie K Cooper