“A LAUGH-A- MINUTE
REVENGE
COMEDY”
Review by Alyn Darnay
Directed by: Nick Cassavetes
Written By: Melissa Stack
Cast: Leslie Mann, Cameron Diaz, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Kate Upton, Taylor Kinney, Nicki Minaj
Ah, sweet revenge! Who doesn’t dream of getting it now and then? Even better, why not watch it happen just for the pure joy of it? For that matter what’s a year without at least one comic revenge film? It’s rather like Spring-cleaning, you know it’s coming, it has to, but you never know when exactly.
This year it came a bit early, and in the persona of a perky little actress named Leslie Mann, a funny dynamo of a woman who eats up the screen with the energy of a young Robin Williams. And, I guess if you’re director Nick Cassavetes, all you can do is just wind her up, stand back, and let her go, she’ll make your mediocre film work better than few other actresses can.
This harmless revenge comedy is not exactly a laugh a minute tome, but thanks to a talented cast, some inspired physical comedy, and a script that is sometimes bitingly funny, it turns into highly watchable escapism. A guilty pleasure if you will.
Here’s the storyline:
After accidently discovering that her husband (Coster-Waldau) is cheating on her, a flaky suburban housewife (Mann) teams up with ‘the other woman’ (Diaz), a lawyer upset by the lies that led her into the affair, and together they plot mutual revenge. But first these two sworn enemies must find that they have a lot in common so they can become best friends forever. Then, when the two women learn of another affair (Upton), all three women join forces to take down the cheating, lying, three-timing SOB.
If it sounds familiar, it is, but it’s still fun to watch, as long as you’re not too demanding. There are definitely echoes of “The First Wives Club†and “Working Girl†here, but that seems to be all Hollywood is willing to send our way these days. At least here you have the pleasure of watching two out of three fun loving actresses having a ball with a light romantic comedy. Cameron Diaz, who is no stranger to comedy, just a stranger to being funny, is definitely getting better at it, and the combining of her with Leslie Mann works beautifully, it’s a yin and yang that seems just right. Ms. Upton, is beautiful to look at and thankfully keeps her mouth shut for the most part, and Mr. Coster-Waldau is another bit of eye candy, though he can actually handle some of the comedy.
However, where is director Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook) in all this? His touch seems to be missing. You can see all of the actress inspired improvisation in this film, where was his hand? I expected better from him, but his last film (Yellow) was lacking also.
My Take, if you like wild, but conventional action and laughs, “The Other Woman†has enough naughtiness to keep you watching all the way to the predictable end.
Rating: 3 Stars (out of 5) “The Other Woman†is Rated PG-13, 157 Minutes.