The Other Woman, 2014.
Directed by Nick Cassavetes.
Starring Cameron Diaz, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Leslie Mann, Kate Upton and Taylor Kinney.
SYNOPSIS:
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.
Whatever happened to Cameron Diaz? Such a brilliant talent, beautiful and pleasing, why has the actress made such bad career choices in terms of her films? When she “stormed” into our lives in a busty red dress, using a local newspaper in a desperate attempt to shield her from the rain before sweeping Jim Carrey off his feet in 1994’s The Mask, the world was her oyster. But despite some excellent work in the likes of Being John Malkovich and Gangs of New York, Diaz has found herself stuck in vortex of unfunny comedies and critical backlashes.
The Other Women, like Sex Tape (the star’s latest vehicle), is sadly another in a long-line of never-ending misfires that will annoy more than win over many who have started to become disillusioned by her career trajectory. In no uncertain terms, this “comedy” is a disaster from start to finish, without any hint of amusement or cohesive narrative, horrendously wasting the talents of its cast and filmmakers.
It’s not all Diaz’s fault mind, but both she and the equally talented Leslie Mann are so outrageously wasted here that even a decent paycheck couldn’t break their fall. In addition, you have to feel for Kate Upton too: given her “big break” here, she is asked to do nothing but run in a bikini and wear low cut tops, which even though she has made her living doing such things it all feels cheap and tacky.
This is the lowest form of comedy on film: full of inconsequential characters, ridiculous developments and motivations, and full of all the usual comedic bits that seem the norm these days that this is like a greatest hits of everything that’s bad in comedy. It’s a film that reeks of desperation: it wants nothing more than to recreate the vibes and originality behind Bridesmaids, but where Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo’s film had smarts and laughs to spare, The Other Woman is the polar opposite. There’s a good “girl power” in here somewhere, but such is the insistence on cheap laughs and lazy storytelling that it is buried deep. A man given female hormones so his nipples get bigger and lactate? Please.
On every conceivable level, The Other Woman fails miserably. Lacking in any spark or inspiration, this so called comedy is an atrocious effort that deserves to get lost in DVD bargain bins up and down the land. Both Diaz and Leslie Mann are so much better than this drab effort, and one hopes that soon enough both will be rewarded with something akin to their talents. This, however, isn’t one to be proud of. Disastrous.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ / Movie ★
Scott Davis
Originally published October 16, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
