Going into this comedy, I expected to see an adult version of John Tucker Must Die.  However, the idea that teenage girls in high school would team up to get back at the same boyfriend is a much more believable plot than the friendship that is developed in The Other Woman.

Carly (Cameron Diaz) has finally found the perfect man to settle down with.  Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is handsome, charming, and successful.  Only one problem…he’s married!  A shocking surprise for Carly when she makes an unexpected visit to Mark’s home and comes to find his wife, Kate (Leslie Mann), answering the door.  Eventually Kate realizes her husband is a two-timing, no wait, THREE-TIMING cheater.  That’s right.  Mark has a busty, blonde-bombshell on the side as well.  Queue super model and now “actress” Kate Upton for her Baywatch-style slow motion run.   In almost no time at all, the three women become besties and plot to take down the lying scum bag.

For the most part, we have seen this similar story-line before.  I do appreciate the attempt at originality in The Other Woman, but it’s difficult to stay fully engaged when you don’t care about the characters.  It’s clear that first time screen-writer, Melissa Stack, favored her character, Carly.  Cameron Diaz is the only reason I wanted to see this film through.  She is the only normal and smart woman in the movie.  There still could have been more development in her character, but seeing as how the other two women drove me completely nuts; Diaz is a breath of fresh air.  In fact, I would have rather just followed her small romantic story-line with Kate’s brother (Taylor Kinney).

It should come as no surprise that Kate Upton has not grown into her full acting potential, if she has any that is.  Each time she delivered a line, it was as if she had to think twice afterwards to make sure it came out correctly.  Although, I will admit, she is gorgeous. All you guys who get dragged along to see the movie will have some nice eye candy to help endure this disaster.

What I didn’t expect was how unbelievably bothered I would be by Leslie Mann’s character.  She was the reason I wanted to see The Other Woman in the first place.  Honestly, there were moments where I almost didn’t blame Mark for cheating on her…almost.  Why did they have to make her such an annoying and half-witted wife?  As if smart and successful women don’t get cheated on ever.  Kate’s only redeeming quality is that she is sweet.  Other than that factor, it is hard to root for her.  Her character is weak, a crybaby, and fails at producing any genuine jokes.  Her attempt at a “funny” repetitive ramble comes off pointless and dragged out.   And to think that she would have no friends of her own, that she would need to resort to her husband’s “other women” is just sad.

If most of the film was more about seeking revenge on a womanizer, The Other Woman could have been a decent fun comedy.  However, wasting the first half of the film on these three women trying to bond and confirm what they already know: Mark is a cheating bastard, does no favors for this inevitable flop.

The potential was there.  Had the film provided different characters and maybe a better central focus, it could have followed in its clever and humorous predecessors, The First Wives Club or John Tucker Must Die.   In a movie about girls uniting together to get back at the man that’s wronged them, these two films managed to give audiences laughs, a yearning for revenge, and maybe what was truly missing from The Other Woman, a heart-felt friendship.

Rating: 1.5/5

The Other Woman hits theaters April 25.

 The Other Woman Trailer HD

Originally posted on RedCarpetCrash.com