Tuesday, May 20

The Other Woman


The Film Fatales know revenge is a dish best served with a side of funny. 

The Other Woman. 2014. Rated PG-13. 109 minutes. Starring Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Kate Upton, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Directed by Nick Cassavettes.  

After discovering her boyfriend is married, Carly soon meets the wife he's been betraying. And when yet another love affair is discovered, all three women team up to plot revenge on the three-timing S.O.B. (IMDb) 



Nicole: You know when you see a trailer and you're convinced that it's been packaged to show you every single good part of the movie? I was so sure that was going to be the case with The Other Woman. I'm glad to say I was wrong. Uber feminists may be up in arms, but I really enjoyed this tale of revenge a la femme.  

Elizabeth: I consider myself to be a feminist and yet sometimes I can enjoy a politically incorrect storyline. But three women without cellulite coming together to plot against a two-timing dog….well, I think Hollywood must have killed millions of brain cells on this plot. Excuse me while I go burn someone else’s bra. 


Nicole: Hey! Get out of my dresser drawer. What starts out as a somewhat unoriginal plot (alluring husband cheats on unsuspecting, devoted wife with high-powered attorney) quickly turns into something you'd never imagine. And, most of that is to the credit of Leslie Mann (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, This is 40), who plays Kate, the much-wronged, cheated-on party. She's put everything into her marriage to Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau of Game of Thrones), including putting off having kids so he could focus on his career...except what he was really focusing on was juggling other women on the side.  

elizabeth: I do like Leslie Mann and would love to see her go up against Melissa McCarthy in anything comedic. But I would imagine that playing some wishy washy wife would have uber feminists up in arms. Isn’t it time that that type of role be put into the vault of roles that insult the intelligence of women? And are we to see Kate Upton play Richard the Third in Shakespeare in the Park soon? 


Nicole: That would be a huge stretch... Cameron Diaz plays the other woman, Carly, who accidentally reveals Marc's adultery to Kate. And, instead of Kate and Carly going apeshit and tearing each other's hair out, as you might expect, they do something sillier...they become besties. Slumber party-having, hair-braiding, secret-sharing besties...which sounds positively women's lib reducing, but is actually fun to watch play out. Mann and Diaz share great on-screen chemistry as two women united in one goal: to bring the man who wronged them to ruin. But that plan isn't fully fledged until they realize that he's been cheating on both of them with Amber (supermodel Kate Upton), your typical blonde bombshell airhead with a twist...she has a conscience.  

elizabeth: Dear Universe: I think now would be the right time to strike me down with a really dreadful migraine. Give it your best shot. I triple dog dare you. 

Nicole: Know what's good for a self-righteous headache? Taking a chill pill. Now, can I get on with the synopsis without the diatribe? Hmm? While Kate's brother Phil (Taylor Kinney of Chicago Fire) tries to talk some sense into the trio, his advice falls on deaf ears. The three cook up a series of plots to make Mark's life unbearable, and too much hilarity (albeit it crass, ridiculous, and juvenile, but satisfying to watch because he's a scoundrel who deserves his just desserts). There's some hemming and hawing and a plot twist or two before they achieve their desired goal, naturally. But the journey is enjoyable, mostly because of Leslie Mann's acting choices. I have to say, this part in another actor's hands might not have been so funny. She has a very unique way of delivering a line that lent well to this part. Some may say it was an over-the-top performance, but it's slapstick comedy, folks, not high art.  


elizabeth: This sounds like every dreadful and sophomoric comedy that men have made over the years. Paging Adam Sandler.  We are women; we don’t have to be crass and juvenile. That is why God created men. She wanted a chance to show off her sense of humor.  

Nicole: But why should any type of humor be relegated to one sex versus another? Some of the best female comedians work blue. Funny is as funny does. I know a lot of female reviewers are opposed to everything about this film, claiming it set the women's movement back a notch. I'm a card-carrying feminist, and I enjoyed the movie. The two don't have to be mutually exclusive. I guess that makes me a bad feminist. Excuse me while I go rescue my bra from the flames. 

One half of the Film Fatales gives THE OTHER WOMAN

The other half of The Film Fatales gives it

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