The Other Woman (2014 film)

On January 16, 2012, it was announced that 2007 Black Listed screenwriter Melissa Stack was hired by 20th Century Fox to write an untitled female revenge comedy, which Julie Yorn would produce through LBI Productions.[7] The film's script was described as the original idea from the 1996 film The First Wives Club, but with younger leads.[7] The film's title was revealed to be The Other Woman on November 13.[8] In January of the following year, Nick Cassavetes signed on to direct the film.[9]

In November 2012, Cameron Diaz was in talks for the lead role.[8] Diaz's representative also revealed that actress Kristen Wiig was under consideration for the wife role.[8] In March 2013, Leslie Mann and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau were in talks to join the film, and Diaz was confirmed for her role.[10] The following month, Kate Upton, Taylor Kinney, and Nicki Minaj, in her feature film debut, joined the film.[11][12][5] Don Johnson was cast in June as Diaz's character's father.[6]

The Atlantis Paradise Island, used as a filming location

In March 2013, the shooting was set to begin late-spring or early summer 2013 in New York City.[10] Later it was told that the production would begin in May 2013.[5] Principal photography began on April 29, 2013,[13] and filming was completed by August 27, 2013.[14] Much of the filming took place in parts of New York,[15] including Long Island, The Hamptons, and Westhampton Beach.[16] From July 18 to 23, filming took place in New Providence, where Nassau, The Bahamas, was used as the filming location.[17] The Atlantis Paradise Island was also used as the shooting location.[18] Isola Trattoria and Crudo Bar at Mondrian Hotel in SoHo, Manhattan, was used for the scene in which the women meet for a celebration toast at the end of the film.[19]

The Other Woman's music was composed by Aaron Zigman, who was reportedly set to score the film on May 31, 2013.[20] The film featured songs from various artists including Etta James, Ester Dean, Morcheeba, Cyndi Lauper, Britt Nicole, Patty Griffin, Lorde, Keyshia Cole and Iggy Azalea.[21]

The Other Woman opened at number 1 in North America on April 25, 2014, in 3,205 theaters debuting atop the weekend box office with earnings of $24.7 million across the three days.[26] The film grossed $83.9 million in the United States and Canada and $112.8 million in other territories for a total worldwide gross of $196.7 million, against a production budget of $40 million.[2]

The Other Woman was released on DVD and Blu-ray on July 29, 2014.[27] The Blu-ray edition features a gag reel, giggle fits, a gallery and deleted scenes.[28] In the United States, the film has grossed $9,592,336 from DVD sales and $4,163,463 from Blu-ray sales, making a total of $13,755,799.[29]

As of June 2020, The Other Woman holds a 25% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 164 reviews with an average rating of 4.24/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Other Woman definitely boasts a talented pedigree, but all that skill is never fully brought to bear on a story that settles for cheap laughs instead of reaching its empowering potential."[30] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 39 out of 100 based on reviews from 35 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[31] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[32]

Justin Chang of Variety said, "Beneath the wobbly pratfalls and the scatological setpieces, there's no denying the film's mean-spirited kick, or its more-than-passing interest in what makes its women tick."[34] The Hollywood Reporter's critic Todd McCarthy said: "It would have helped if director Nick Cassavetes had something resembling a sure hand at comedy."[1] Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club gave the film grade C−, saying "All of a sudden, a spotted Great Dane squats in the middle of a Manhattan apartment and out plop several gleaming, glistening CGI turds. It's one of those cases where a Hollywood movie inadvertently summarizes itself in a single shot."[35] Michael Phillips of Chicago Tribune gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying "Line to line, it's fresher than any number of guy-centric "Hangover"-spawned affairs, despite director Cassavetes' lack of flair for slapstick."[36] The Boston Globe's Ty Burr gave the film one out of four stars and said, "It's 'The First Wives Club' rewritten for younger, less demanding audiences, or a '9 to 5' with absolutely nothing at stake."[37] Stephanie Zacharek of The Village Voice said, "The Other Woman doesn't give these actresses much to do except look ridiculous, if not sneaky and conniving."[38]

Michael Sragow of Orange County Register gave the film grade C, saying that the film is "a coarse, rickety comedy."[40] Richard Corliss wrote for Time magazine that "All three women are less watchable and amusing than Nicki Minaj as Carly's legal assistant Lydia."[41] Film critic Stephen Holden of The New York Times said that the film is "so dumb, lazy, clumsily assembled and unoriginal, it could crush any actor forced to execute its leaden slapstick gags and mouth its crude, humorless dialogue."[42] James Berardinelli of ReelViews wondered, "Has it come to this for director Nick Cassavetes?", comparing his career negatively to that of his father, John Cassavetes. Berardinelli elaborated, "what a comedown to find him in charge of such an unfocused, unfunny, scatologically-obsessed 'comedy.'"[43] Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.Com gave the film two out of four stars and said, "While "The Other Woman" raises some thoughtful questions about independence, identity and the importance of sisterhood, ultimately it would rather poop on them and then throw them through a window in hopes of the getting the big laugh."[44] Wesley Morris of Grantland said, "No one knows which takes are funny and which aren't. More than once, all three women, especially poor Upton, are caught looking like they don't know what they're doing."[45]

Bilge Ebiri of the magazine New York said, "You can't shake the feeling that in a just world, all these women – even Kate Upton – would have better material than this."[46] Connie Ogle of The Miami Herald gave the film three out of four stars and called the film a "goofy, ridiculous, with more gross-out humor than is strictly necessary but still funny. It falls into the category of Girlfriend Films – as in, go with your girlfriends and leave your date/partner/spouse at home with the PlayStation or the NBA playoffs."[47] Colin Covert of Star Tribune gave the film three out of four stars, saying "It's an escapist women's empowerment comedy like many others, but elevated by the simple virtue of being, for most of its length, very, very funny."[48] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post gave the film one and a half stars out of four, saying "A movie as generic and forgettable as the sofa-size art on its characters' walls."[49] Linda Holmes wrote for NPR, calling the film "a conceptually odious, stupid-to-the-bone enterprise ..."[50] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times advised guys to "Step away from the vehicle, because The Other Woman is out of control and intent on running down a certain kind of male."[51]