There are two types of film critics. The first type critiques all films from the same point of view and with the same set of standards, irrespective of its intended audience or genre. Let’s call this the “static” school of film criticism. The second school of film criticism – the “dynamic” school – considers each film as part of one or more distinct categories (low-budget indie, blockbuster tent pole, serious drama, mindless comedy, etc.) which offers a much better assessment of how “good” or “bad” a movie is. A static film critic will judge Anchorman and The Hurt Locker by the same set of standards. A dynamic critic, on the other hand, would judge Anchorman almost solely on its ability to make the audience laugh, while The Hurt Locker would be judged on its cinematography, acting and ability to build suspense.
The Other Woman will likely sharply divide critics depending on whether the reviewer is of the static or dynamic mindset. As someone who falls into the latter category, I can say that while it’s nothing groundbreaking, The Other Woman is a genuinely entertaining comedy which will satisfy the general movie going audience at which it is aimed.
Carly Whitten (Cameron Diaz) is in the prime of her life: high-paying job as an attorney, beautiful apartment and her choice of gentleman suitors. But, when she meets Mark King (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) all the other guys fade away as their relationship quickly becomes serious. The only speed bump is that Mark is married to Kate (Leslie Mann), a fact he forgot to mention to Carly. When Kate comes to confront Carly, the two end up bonding over their shared hatred for the man who lied to both of them.
When Carly and Kate discover that Mark is two-timing (or three-timing?) them with yet another girlfriend, Amber (Kate Upton), they confront her and enlist her in helping to hurt Mark physically and financially. The three of them set out to make Mark’s life hell while forging a friendship from the most unlikely of beginnings.
The movie’s most hilarious moments come from Leslie Mann who gives a performance that rivals anything Will Ferrell has done. A comedy treasure for nearly two decades, Mann has just recently found mainstream attention via Judd Apatow’s Knocked Up and This is 40. Mann’s natural comic timing and sense of humor make her one of the funniest actors working today. Kate is broken, hurt and not all that bright and Mann plays her with just the right balance of anger and doe-eyed optimism. Diaz has her moments to shine, but this is Leslie Mann’s show from beginning to end.
On the down side, director Nick Cassavetes really wastes what might have been a much better script by Melissa Stack. Cassavetes seems to want The Other Woman to play like a sappy teen drama starring Chris Klein instead of the quick-witted and off-colored comedy that Stack crafted. The movie runs one hour and 45 minutes, but nearly 20 minutes of the runtime consists of pointless musical interludes where the story stalls, bringing the action to a complete halt. Cassavetes also bounces around the film’s pacing so we never know if one day or two weeks has elapsed between scenes. But, when it comes time to let Mann make the audience laugh, Cassavetes mostly stays out of the way and for that we should be thankful.
The Other Woman is a silly comedy and nothing more. As long as you know that going in, it’s pretty likely you’ll enjoy yourself.
Grade: B-
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