Under-used comedic powerhouse Leslie Mann had heretofore been eclipsed by her comedy-dynasty-ruling husband, Judd Apatow. Then along came 2014’s “The Other Woman.” While this mediocre farce about cheating husbands is not overly special, Leslie Mann certainly was. Talk about underrated; with “The Other Woman,” Leslie Mann had arrived.
Also, a new comic duo was born. Teaming up with established comedy-heavyweight Cameron Diaz in the straight-man role (straight man is the acting term for the earnest one in a comedy duo), Mann and Diaz are a serious funny-team.Sleuthing
Carly Whitten (Cameron Diaz) is a Big Apple lawyer in a passionate romance. Celebrating their eighth-week “anniversary,” she suggests to lover Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) that he meet her dad (Don Johnson). That might be a bit hasty. Mark avoids meeting dad, continually. He’s married, of course. Carly finds out, and, like the tough lawyer she is, cuts him off at the knees.
Now, Mark’s non-working wife, Kate (Mann), is an apparent ditz who feels very strongly she should go to “brain camp,” and also take the memory herb Ginko Balboa. Mark: “No honey, it’s ‘Ginko Bi-LO-ba.’ It’s not the Rocky movie.” When Kate’s world gets turned upside down by Mark’s cheating, she stalks Carly for answers.
At first, Carly’s not having it. But soon they’re deep into a womance. (I had to look up the opposite of a “bromance.” I found “bra-mance,” and “womance.” Let’s go with womance). They bond. And so begins the classic situation: While the man is off philandering with impunity, the womenfolk pool their intuitive talents and smoke him out.
Payback, Performances
The trio uses standard cinematic female revenge methods: On the ladies’ “Cheater Chore Calendar” we find laxatives, powdered estrogen in his coffee, toothbrush-used-as-toilet-brush, and Nair in the shampoo bottle. All of which are a prelude to some serious damage involving Mark’s ill-gotten financial Bahamian holdings.
As mentioned, while normally in the clown role, Diaz holds down the fort as straight-woman while Mann clowns. Rapper Nicki Minaj as Carly’s secretary scene-steals across the board: it’s more like scene-hoovering due to sheer force of personality.
Exceedingly curvy swimsuit model Kate Upton, in her movie debut, having clearly been cast for her curves, isn’t really an actress yet. But she’s definitely got potential; she’s believable. In fact, it’s this surprising believability that establishes the fact that the womance trio of The Law, The Holy Matrimony, and The Phenom Bod (all blondes, by the way) can take down any fool man. Not a blonde joke in sight. Ok, maybe the ginko balboa joke is a blonde joke.
Coster-Waldau, as bad husband Mark, is a German Denis Leary lookalike. And while he looks the part of a classic rake, he also manifests a decent talent for “taking the hit” and playing the fool. The scene where a particularly heinous form of female-fury torture necessitates Mark to ditch his Armani suit-pants on a bathroom floor and arrive home wearing a pair of skinny jeans, is a sidesplitting howler. Not to mention the manic clutching at the last vestiges of his dignity in a towering (and very satisfying) crash and burn à la “The First Wives Club.”
All Mann
Ultimately, though, “The Other Woman” showcases Leslie Mann. Her comedy forte is wallowing in the throes of humiliation. She anchors us in the reality of it, and then extends it way over the top. That’s great comedy. She also plays a mean drunk.It must be said that there needed to be a Razzie award for “The Other Woman” for most clichéd background music in a motion picture. The girls put on ninja costumes to spy, and what gets played? The theme from “Mission Impossible.” And that’s just for starters.
Other than that, “The Other Woman” is a fairly hilarious womance comedy. You’ll laugh even if you don’t want to. Raise a glass to Leslie Mann. It’s truly surprising there wasn’t an explosion of movies in the wake of “The Other Woman” featuring her.
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