I really wanted to like The Other Woman because so few comedies, or any movies for that matter, establish strong female characters and allow them to be as strong and wild as most male movie characters.  Lately, though, thanks to gross-out movies in general and Bridesmaids in particular, any comedy involving women has to be crude and offensive, especially in the employment of toilet humor.  This movie falls into the same trap.

This film reminded me a little bit of 9 to 5, a 1980 comedy few millennials seem to have seen about an abusive boss being kidnapped and held captive by three company secretaries who want to teach him a lesson.  That movie, at least, was funny.  Here, three women have been deceived and lied to by a handsome guy and they decide to exact revenge.  The three women are Leslie Mann (the wife), Cameron Diaz (mistress # 1) and Kate Upton (mistress # 2).  These women bond together over their shared experience, combining their collective and not inconsiderable girl power to humiliate the cad (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau).  The women are gorgeous and the revenge is sweet, so what’s the problem?

The problem for me in Nick Cassavetes’ film is that it takes itself too seriously.  It’s supposed to be a comedy but the laughs are not just minutes apart, but quite a few minutes apart.  The one big comic sequence involves explosive diarrhea, which, I can say from humbling experience, is just not funny.  If the Leslie Mann wife character weren’t so neurotic, perhaps some humor could have been mined from the material. Or maybe if the supporting characters had some juice . . . but they don’t.  Nicki Minaj and Don Johnson have what amount to cameo roles with few decent lines and no dramatic or comedic payoff.

Chick flicks — and The Other Woman is most assuredly a chick flick — can be great if they’re done well.  This one tries, but wallows in seriousness instead of celebrating its potential for rebellion.  Leslie Mann is overbearing, Cameron Diaz is artificially tough and Kate Upton smiles and bounces prettily, particularly on the beach.  While the scenery is fabulous the script rarely escapes or overcomes its own platitudes. Nice ending, though, which should appease the guys in the audience who want to see some blood.  ☆ ☆.  13 May 2014.