Trifecta: THE OTHER WOMAN

by Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

When I think about how I met the fantastic women in my life, girlfriends who hold me down, have my back, or are just plain fun to hang with, I realize I either was born into them, met them in the trenches of bad jobs or through the joy of blogging, but I certainly can’t say I’ve ever made a friend by sharing the same man.

But that’s the premise of director (actor) Nick Cassavetes’ comedy The Other Woman, starring Leslie Man as Kate the suburban wife with no kids, who goes from devastated to devious in response to her cheating husband. Carly (Cameron Diaz) is the stylish, serial dating lawyer, who unwittingly becomes the mistress of Kate’s husband, and Amber (Kate Upton) is a super hottie, yet super sweet, ingénue, who knows she’s dating a married man, but is told his wife cheated on him first. The villian and bonding mechanism of the piece, Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) is just so darn good looking, you almost understand why he’s gotta spread it around.

Can I tell you the movie is more than what you see in the trailers? No, not really, it’s a pretty predictable ride, but it’s a good ride all the same. I am glad that the writer, Melissa K. Stack, does not have the two women bond too quickly. Carly resists being friends with Kate for a while. She thinks Kate’s kooky and can’t understand why she’s stalking her; especially since she’s already explained that she didn’t know Mark was married and is no longer seeing him. Carly’s best advice to Kate is either be “French”, which means turn a blind eye to the infidelity and continue on with life as is; or pretend all is fine, while you “get your ducks in a row”, then leave. Kate’s not ready for either option, she’s in I need a friend mode, and Carly is it, whether she likes it or not.

I think what really works about The Other Woman more than the female sisterhood that happens between the 3 women, is Leslie Mann herself. She’s very watchable and pretty in a comedic pixie kinda way. I wish she’d do a TV show, she’s could really carry the lead in an off-the-wall series. Actually, the first time I truly took noticed of this actress, was in Knocked Up and I hated her, mainly cause I hated the movie. But when I saw the sequel, This is 40 (click for T&T post), I loved her and the movie. Then I saw her in The Bling Ring (click for T&T post) and was really hooked.

The other thing that stands out about The Other Woman – no, not Kate Upton’s knockers or Nicki Minaj’s passable performance as Carly’s hair changing assistant – it’s the costume designs! Particularly Carly’s wardrobe. I lusted after everything from her effortless chic office attire, to her covetous beach sweaters, to all the pretty white outfits and a stunning long sleeve, gathered cuffs, red dress. Her clothes stole the moment in every scene. When I got home I Googled the costume designer, to find out it’s none other than Sex And the City’s Patricia Field!

All in all, #TheOtherWomanMovie is a great girl’s night out pick, that should do well as it’s up against 3 testosterone driven flicks also opening April 25th: Brick Mansions (See T &T Blog Contrib Monique’s Celebrity Dish), Locke (Tom Hardy is back) and Blue Ruin (Looks harsh).