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| Poster Description: Carly (Cameron Diaz) looks resigned and trapped as a beaming Kate (Leslie Mann) wraps her arms around her middle from behind and hooks her leg around her. Amber (Kate Upton) leans on Carly's shoulder, smiling up at her. The film's tagline is, "The oddest friends are about to get even." |
The Director: Nick Cassavetes
The Cast:
Cameron Diaz – Carly Whitten
Leslie Mann – Kate King
Kate Upton – Amber
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – Mark King
Nicki Minaj – Lydia
Don Johnson – Frank
Taylor Kinney – Phil
Certificate: 12A
Released in UK cinemas: 23rd April 2014
The Plot:
Life is going well for Carly Whitten (Diaz, Knight and Day). She is a successful lawyer, and she has a gorgeous boyfriend, called Mark (Coster-Waldau, Game of Thrones). She aims to cheekily surprise Mark on his return from work – only to discover he is married to Kate (Mann, This is 40). What’s worse, he’s dating Amber (Upton, The Three Stooges) as well. But while Carly tries to forget the whole mortifying episode, Kate refuses to let this go. They’re both angry, so they do the right thing and get even with the conniving man-slut.
The Review:
I was recommended this film by my sister, who insisted The Other Woman was nothing like any romantic comedy I would ever see – and she was right. I did not expect to love this film as much as I do.
As Carly, Diaz sheds her well-worn bimbo persona (hello, Charlie’s Angels) and owns every scene. Likewise, Nicki Minaj – yes, that Nicki Minaj – flits in and out as Carly’s sassy assistant, guaranteed to crack a smile with her many pearls of wisdom about relationships. If Minaj ever gets tired of rapping, acting could easily be an alternative career for her.
Mann excels in her role as the wife, who struggles to deal with the deeds of her wayward husband. In no particular order, Kate gets drunk and vents her fury on her husband’s office with a golf club. She is the most relatable character – because who can resist Nikolaj Coster-Waldau? He plays Mark perfectly as a complete narcissist, who just can’t seem to curb his appetite, nor does he want to, and it is so much fun to watch Carly, Kate, and Amber destroy him. Meanwhile, Kate’s Great Dane, Thunder, steals the show with his antics entirely.
While this is going on, the trio’s friendship is at the forefront of the film. It is infuriatingly rare to see a movie where women work together instead of fighting against each other over a man. The comedy may be at the expense of our characters and their very different personalities –Kate failing to cry “like a winner,” like Carly tells her to do, as well as their initial reaction to Amber, who is gorgeous if a little ditzy – but it isn’t done cruelly. These characters feel real, and even the slapstick looks plausible in its hilarity. What’s more, the inclusion of Kate’s brother and Carly’s dad in their plot to bring down Mark is the icing on a brilliant cake.
This film came out 6 years ago, which begs the question of why aren’t there more like this? The Other Woman has everything, unexpected belly-laughs, positive female friendships, men supporting women, a cute dog, and a selfish man-child getting his just desserts.
The Verdict: 5 STARS OUT OF 5
Sources:
The Other Woman poster
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2203939/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
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