The Other Woman Blu-ray Review
Aaron Walker
August 17th, 2014
THE OTHER WOMAN is a new female-led comedy in the ilk of BRIDESMAIDS or THE HEAT with the twist of being essentially a revenge-comedy a la THE FIRST WIVES CLUB (1996). After doing reasonably well at the box office THE OTHER WOMAN arrived on Blu-ray this week. So what’s the deal with this newest adult-comedy and is it worth your time? The cast is certainly inspiring with Cameron Diaz, who remains incredibly popular (though I still think her best work was THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY), Leslie Mann, Kate Upton (yes, the swimsuit model), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and featuring Don Johnson and Nicki Minaj.
THE OTHER WOMAN begins as the story of a new relationship, with powerful attorney Carly (Diaz) meeting Mark King (Coster-Waldau), a seemingly nice man who even remembers their 8-week anniversary. Diaz and Coster-Waldau have a crackling chemistry that really brings the story into focus as during the opening montage we see their relationship bloom and during which we see Carly soften from the rough exterior she usually projects. But then we find out that Mark is actually married to Kate (Mann). The two women couldn’t be any more different. But when Carly shows up at Mark and Kate’s house after Mark lies to cancel a date, the focus of the movie subtly shifts to also cover Kate’s perspective. She desperately loves her husband but comes to realize that he has not been faithful and is not likely to change.
Not knowing where to go or to whom to turn, Kate begins to cling to the woman who has been sleeping with her husband, though it does take a lot of cajoling/stalking behavior. But both Carly and Kate bring strength to each other, and Diaz and Mann have a wonderful chemistry that plays both incredibly funny and authentic. The same can’t be said for the third woman in this tale of betrayal but I don’t think they cast Kate Upton for her acting skills. She fits the role without doing anything especially well. Instead, the acting chops come primarily from Mann’s performance. There’s something about her delivery and the way she inhabits a role that makes her mesmerizing to watch.
Speaking of Mann, she’s one of the most criminally under-utilized comedienne’s active in Hollywood today. I know you’ve seen quite a few films with her but it’s staggering how few roles she has actually had in the past five years that did not involve her husband (Mr. Judd Apatow) and she gets an opportunity here to show her own comedic prowess. Most of the time when she’s on screen (and ALL the time when she shares the screen with Diaz) the world feels like it’s balancing on the edge of a knife and pops with electricity.
Sadly, the performances can’t save THE OTHER WOMAN. The truth is it could, and should, have very easily fallen into the line of ‘all the other adult comedies’ that have been released over the past 10 years. Honestly I think I would have liked that more than the final product. The filmmakers decided to go for a PG-13 rating here, which is fine but results in a few weird moments where characters are dubbed over (cursing maybe?) but they didn’t match the voices to the scene. I’m assuming it has to do with the rating but I suppose it could just be sloppy filmmaking. Either way it’s distracting and disappointing because it feels like it was just on the cusp of being one of the great comedies of the year. In the end THE OTHER WOMAN is just a bit disappointing, a fun (if not very original) ride that feels like it’s just on the cusp of being something really memorable.
THE OTHER WOMAN BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: (1080p Widescreen 1.85:1) The video presentation of THE OTHER WOMAN is surprisingly crisp and bright, immersing us in the drab-grey world of NYC as well as showing great contrast in styles.
Audio: (English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio) THE OTHER WOMAN is very nicely mixed and presented with an immersive 5.1 audio track that really carries the narrative .
Deleted/Alternate Scenes (09:48) Available with a play-all button, these scenes are primarily setting up Mark’s character and it’s fairly simple to see why they were cut. Scenes include: Hotel Hallway; Xanadu; Pool Freakout; “You’re Wilting”; Mark’s Office Lobby; Lydia Snoops; Shopping in My Own House; Mark Epilogue;
Gag Reel (03:32) THE OTHER WOMAN features the first decent gag reel I’ve seen in a while with lots of laughter to go around.
Giggle Fit (05:18) One of the outtake scenes from THE OTHER WOMAN is featured here as the filmmakers left the camera rolling.
Gallery (01:03) A slideshow of stills from THE OTHER WOMAN.
THE OTHER WOMAN Blu-ray also comes with a DVD copy of the film and an ultraviolet digital copy (that also wowks with iTunes).
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