Film Review | The Other Woman

Carly (Cameron Diaz) thought she had everything: the right job, the right house, the right guy, until she meets Kate (Leslie Mann) – her boyfriend’s wife. After coming face to face with reality, Carly’s world is turned upside down in the most bizarre turn of events as she finds herself befriending Kate – not in a, “keep your friends close, but your enemies closer” kind of way, the “BFFLs / sorority sisterhood” kind of camaraderie. And if things aren’t any weirder, Amber (Kate Upton), yet another mistress added to the mix like salt to the wound, joins this odd friendship and unites with Kate and Carly in the attempt to take Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) down.

The Story

This film is a mature version of 2006’s, John Tucker Must Die. As Cameron Diaz puts it, it’s a “celebration of women” instead of a reboot of Mean Girls. Unlike JTMD, The Other Woman takes a different approach to the nature of how women interact, view and relate to each other when a man is their common denominator. The writers put the stay-at-home woman, the working girl and the young-naïve-chic in the same ‘room’ – perse – and have them work together rather than compete against each other. It’s a collaborative film with loads and loads of comedic flare.

What the story does best is collaborate the different personalities of the characters and allow them to enhance each other’s characteristics rather than have them heading into a head-on collision. The dynamics between the different characters propel the humour embedded into this film. There’s not one moment where you’re not gasping or laughing from start to finish, I seriously have never laughed so hard in my life!

The Cast

Cameron Diaz is an outstanding lawyer who is at the height of her career. Diaz’s portrayal of a hardworking woman with ties that she decides to cut or tighten is incomparable. She was confident, (at times) unforgiving, and yet caring and loving enough to make Carly relatable and – at times even – comical.

Leslie Mann outshined everyone by far in this film. Not only the loyal stay-at-wife, but she was also the main source of comic relief. Although Kate was mainly the funniest character with her ongoing word-vomit and drunken escapades, she was also a good source of contemplation. As Kate reflects on her marriage and the sacrifices that she made to make it work, you feel just as sad and angry as she does when she finds out that her husband was a lying-cheating-monster.

Kate Upton is the younger woman in this film and lifts the dynamics up a notch as her character becomes the final addition to this twisted hand of fate. Amber, though naïve, is also sporadically insightful and gives the film that sisterhood-like factor as she’s added to the picture. Upton did a great job of portraying a young, but not completely stupid mistress. She brought a strength to the character that we don’t usually see in characters that are supposed to be the “dumb-one” in the pack – kudos to both Upton and the writers.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is just as funny as Mann in this film. He is all at once truly charming and truly devious, which makes Mark both lovable and detestable. He had great chemistry with Diaz as well, giving audiences a real sense of Mark’s true nature of being an expert con artist both in his professional and personal life.

Overall, The Other Woman has you laughing from start to finish. There are moments where your stomach will have a break from all the stitches you’ve accumulated from one scene to the next, but right after you’ve recovered, another burst of comic action happens in front of you. ANYONE can watch this film. Yes, it’s one for the ladies, but I think guys will get just as much out of this film as any girl sitting next to them. GO SEE IT.

sL Star Rating: ★★★★★

Next on sL: X-Men: Days of Future Past