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Wednesday, August 13, 2014

The Other Woman Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Jami Ferguson
Cameron Diaz leads a knockout cast in this irreverent comedy about love, lust and the laws of karma. New York attorney Carly Whitten (Diaz) is nobody’s fool. So when she accidentally discovers that her too-good-to-be-true boyfriend Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is married, she’s less than thrilled. Not only that, she and Mark’s wife Kate (Leslie Mann), learn about yet another mistress (Kate Upton)! Before long, however, the betrayed beauties have become unlikely pals who’ve decided to teach their three-timing man a lesson. The more the trio learns about Mark, the worse he seems, and the more fun they have without him!

Film (3 out of 5 stars)
Carly (Cameron Diaz) is a high powered attorney who has not been very invested in many of her previous relationships.  She often nicknames her boyfriends, rather than using their actual name when speaking about them. With no long term potential, they don’t really need names.  Finally, Carly meets a guy she does have a genuine interest in and a wonderful relationship begins.  Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is handsome, sweet, funny, kind….and MARRIED.  Mark left out the married part but Carly pays a visit to his home one day and is greeted by Mark’s wife Kate (Leslie Mann).

While Carly was ready to write off Mark for good, Kate appears at Carly’s office wanting to know if her instincts are correct, that her husband is in fact cheating.  Why Carly didn’t out him at the door, I don’t understand, instead Carly pretended she had the wrong house. Kate pursues Carly looking for answers.  She wants to know details about the affair.  Carly very reluctantly provides information after Kate bribes her with dinner and claims to not have any friends to talk to.  Kate has given up her career to be a housewife and doesn’t know what to do with herself and what to do about her marriage.

Kate and Carly become unlikely friends, only to learn there is a second mistress.  Both Kate and Carly have been cheated on.  Mark has a younger, hotter mistress Amber (Kate Upton).  This is where they lost me a bit.  I can somehow buy into the fact that a wife and mistress became friends under these unusual circumstances.  When they confront Amber and she immediately wants to be friends and get revenge.  I don’t think the young beautiful woman would take the news that well and frankly she would probably be the one to stay with him and live the lie. The trio of friends is set on making Mark sorry he cheated.  They soon realize Mark is not just a liar; he’s a thief and has set his wife up to take the fall.  It’s up to Carly, Kate, and Amber to set things right and make Mark pay for his crimes.

To make this movie work, you have to believe in a few unlikely details.  If you live in a world with unicorns and leprechauns then it you can also believe someone would cheat on Cameron Diaz.  From there you can easily believe that her and Leslie Mann can team up with a model and outsmart a financial criminal.  For me, I don’t have to believe in any of those things to enjoy the movie.  This was one of those brainless chick flicks, in a good way.  You don’t have to think much (if at all) and if you have ever been amused by Leslie Mann’s brand of comedy, you’ll probably like this film.  It wasn’t Oscar worthy, it was entertaining. The film often, and heavily at the end, resorts to physical comedy.  Again, typical of Leslie Mann’s brand of films, you’ll laugh if you enjoy bodily function humor and slapstick style injuries.
Video (4 out of 5 stars)
The Other Woman is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in a 2.40:1 ratio. The film offers both cityscape and beach front views.  Colors are rich and accurate with an attention to detail.  In both the bright outdoors, and dark interiors the film looks good. No major video complaints.
Audio (4 out of 5 stars)
The Other Woman's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix offers a weighty presence in crowds and is more than sufficient for a rom-com/chick flick.  Dialogue is intelligible and consistent throughout.  For a dialogue driven film, that’s most important in my book.  Don’t test your surround sound, but you shouldn’t have major complaints, not will you notice anything spectacular.  A solid and appropriate audio presentation.
Extras (1 out of 5 stars)
I’m amazed to see such a short list of extras.  I was sure a film of this type would be loaded with commentary and making of featurettes.

The Blu-ray contains the following extras:
  • Deleted/Alternate Scenes – Over nine minutes of deleted/alternate scenes.
  • Gag Reel – Three and a half minutes of goofs.
  • Giggle Fit – Over five minutes of Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann trying to get through their lines.  This actually did make me laugh more than the film itself.
  • Gallery – one minute filler.
  • Theatrical Trailer
Only the deleted/alternate scenes are exclusive to the Blu-ray.
Summary (3 out of 5 stars)
It is definitely a stretch to call The Other Woman uproarious.   In my opinion, it’s not even laugh out loud comedy but it is entertaining.  Leslie Mann carries the film for Cameron Diaz who is just along for the ride.  As with most chick flicks and romantic comedies, they don’t need to be great films.  It’s a good film, and that’s good enough for me.  I will add this to my rom/com section – probably re-watching only annually.  It won’t get placed anywhere near films like Pitch Perfect, which I tend to watch monthly (and sometimes daily). 

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