5.5/10

Interestingly enough, the film that i had the least interest in was the one that ended up winning the best weekend film. That’s not to say that The Other Woman is a great film by any means, but it has it’s charms. It stars Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton as three women being played by the same guy. Mann in particular gives her best performance in her limited filmography. She plays Kate King with the kind of humorous sadness that this film s…hould’ve entirely been about. The Other Woman is supposed to be a story about the power of feminism, but it never fully commits to that power to give us the courageous film that we could’ve gotten. Diaz in particular is such a robotic character that it’s hard to ever get any kind of read on her emotions. She goes through the whole film explaining how she doesn’t need a man, only to be interested in a new man 5 minutes later. She tries to be the tough, independent female, but she is terribly miscast. Upton is in her 3rd film, but none of that acting lessons are paying off in this film. She brings nothing more to the typical bimbo with breasts, and the movie’s 2nd half suffers greatly for it. With all of the issues i just mentioned, you are probably wondering what about his film i enjoyed. It does deliver in comedic schtick. I found myself laughing during this film the most i have in months. Leslie Mann has certainly learned enough about comedic timing from starring in her husband Judd Apatow’s flicks. She is the sole reason why this film succeeds in the casting department. I also dug seeing Don Johnson playing the father no one has ever had. He portrays Diaz’s father, and specifically gives her some jaw dropping advice when Diaz suspects her boyfriend is cheating on her. He says “To put on something sexy, go over and get laid”. What father says this to his daughter at any age? He also has a completely unbelievable hook up by the end of the film, but i am not going to spoile that for you. The Other Woman’s first act sets the bar pretty nicely for where the film should go. It’s unfortunate that the 2nd half of the film gets gobbled up in too many story lines moving at once. The viewer will often have to stop to reflect on where the characters are at that point. The revenge scene with the boyfriend is severely ridiculous. I wish i could tell you more, but i know a few people who plan on checking this out. I only recommend this film to the ladies who are planning a girls night out. I think they can relate to some of what goes on in the film enough to appreciate it. The men will win because their women will appreciate that their guy isn’t like the nimrod in this film. Enjoy it ladies, and remember to thank your favorite film critic