Interesting! I tend to get annoyed with a lot of movies but I actually enjoyed this one. It's Sunday morning, I was looking for something light and that's exactly what I got. Yet, as lighthearted and fun as I found the movie, I also thought it was well made and thoughtful. I thought the characters had depth and the issues the plot presented were thought-provoking and worthy of discussion. Here’s why:
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>>The storyline was so atrocious. Yeah, sure the wife and the mistresses can be good friends. Like that would happen in real life. And the whole putting laxative and estrogen in his drinks and the explosive diarrhea? Really? Is this Dumb and Dumber? It just seems so juvenile. <<
I can see why you would think the story seems far-fetched but it’s really not. I can recall at least two occasions when I saw something similar reported on the news. In each case there were actually many more than three women involved including at least one ex-wife. In one case, the guy had married more than one of the women. Upon finding out about each other, the women became friends, located other victims then worked together to expose the guy who had scammed and cheated on them. This movie doesn’t seem to be based on any of those cases but they may have given the screenwriter the idea.
>> Not to mention the horrible acting jobs by Kate Upton and Niki Minaj! I cringed every time they both had a line in the movie. <<
I thought the movie was well cast; everyone did a good job portraying their character. At first, I thought Niki Minaj seemed too glammed up for her role but then I remembered the character works in a big deal New York law firm. It would not be unusual for assistants and secretaries to be as glammed up as the lawyers and clients. Besides, the character seemed to be more of a friend than an employee to Carly. Perhaps Niki got the role to broaden the movie’s appeal; reach a larger audience but even if that's the case, I think she did well.
I can say the same for Kate Upton. Amber, her role, was that of a sexy, young, innocent, naïve girl who just wants to have fun and has no problem using men’s attraction to her to get what she wants. She’s willing to date a married man but easily falls for his story about a cheating wife and being on his way out of his marriage. I found her totally believable in the role.
>> How about Mann actually about to forgive her husband? Really? The man had at least 3 affairs and was hiding money behind your back. Just plain ridiculous. <<
Kate has given up everything for her marriage. She has no job, no kids, no friends of her own, and now not even the marriage she thought she had. What will she have if her marriage ends; what will she do? She depends on her husband for everything. She could lose it and was already starting to even before she found out he was cheating. The way she acted in Carly’s office shows she’s overwhelmed. Thinking about staying makes complete sense. She desperately wants to believe he’s changed then she is reminded of all they’ve shared, years together, the memories, how far they’ve come, their comfortable and affluent lifestyle, and, apparently, a good sex life. It’s not as easy as it may seem for someone in her position to let all that go and turn her back on the possibilities. Carly told her to make a choice. For a moment, she thought she might be able to move past Mark’s affairs. It happens. You'd be amazed how many women stay in marriages knowing full well their husband has long-term, ongoing extra-marital relationships. I don't get it either but it does happen.
>> Cameron Diaz just looks old and Leslie Mann is just plain annoying. <<
Wow, that sounds rather harsh. Did you consider the possibility that was intentional? I’ve already mentioned Leslie’s character Kate and all she was going through but let me add, when someone is not their own person and is living in someone else’s shadow, they can be particularly annoying and desperate. I think Leslie did a good job getting that across.
As far as Carly, Cameron’s character, she wasn't supposed to be the hot young thing; that was Amber. That point was made a few times so I'm sure she was made up to look the part. Carly's a beautiful, successful woman who has dated a lot of men for a lot of years but still she hasn't found the right guy. She's not looking for a married man (though she does hook up with a guy she just met and doesn't know; what did she expect?). As soon as she finds out Mark is married, she backs off and didn’t even (intentionally) tell his wife. It takes maturity to do that. She’s the opposite side of the coin to Kate’s character but she understands her. Carly has the career and the life but she has no one with whom to share it. At one point, they reference this when one of them says together they are the ‘perfect woman’. The point though is there is no perfect anyone. Our choices and sacrifices do not always lead to where or what we want. We’re always in the midst of figuring things out – even when we think we have worked it all out anything can happen to make us realize there are no guarantees. In Carly’s case, she’s possibly just realizing she’s not the big prize she used to be. Mark cheated on her with Amber who is, in a lot of ways, a younger version of Carly. In spelling out Kate's options, she knows they're her options too.
Also, it should be noted, while the three women are very different and in different stages of their lives, there are similarities too. Their differences point to the fact that Mark is just a serial cheater; he’s not looking for any ideal woman. It's not about the woman at all or about what she may be lacking; he'll cheat on and with anyone (except maybe Dana, lol. Then again, that was a man). In regards to their similarities, the women have at least one thing in common, Mark. Befriending each other isn't unrealistic. They did, after all, end up with the same guy, in the same situation; and he, in turn, with them.
>> The end office room scene was just plain dumb. Walking into a glass wall and have it come crashing down. Just didn't seem funny at all. <<
The glass scene may seem a bit of a stretch but someone else posted a good point – (along with a few other scenes) it shows how far Mark has come from where and who he was (a confident, successful, cocky man) when we first met him in the beginning of the movie. All the main characters transform in some way.
I was surprised at how entertaining this movie was. I wasn't expecting it at all. As it turns out I liked everything about it (except the dog) including the visual look of it: the set design, lighting, costumes, locations, etc. Often movies are shot in alternate locations to save money but it's distracting because it's so obvious they're not where they claim to be. For the most part, this movie was shot (I think) in the locations where it was set or, at least, they did a good job making it appear that was the case.
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