When three women discover they’re romantically involved with the same man in The Other Woman, they band together to plot their revenge.

Manhattan attorney Carly Whitten (Cameron Diaz) is dating charming businessman Mark King (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and plans to introduce him to her father Frank (Don Johnson). When Mark cancels due to a supposed emergency at his Connecticut home, Carly surprises him—only to discover his wife, Kate (Leslie Mann), answering the door. Humiliated, Carly flees. The next day, a shaken Kate confronts Carly, who insists she had no idea Mark was married. Despite an awkward start, the two women form an uneasy connection.

As Carly and Kate grow closer, they realize Mark is seeing yet another woman. Following him to the Hamptons, they meet Amber (Kate Upton), a young model he has also deceived. After revealing the truth, the three women unite and begin plotting revenge, targeting Mark with a series of increasingly outrageous pranks. Along the way, Carly grows closer to Kate’s brother Phil (Taylor Kinney), while the trio’s bond deepens through their shared mission—though lingering feelings and mistrust occasionally threaten to derail their alliance.

The women soon uncover that Mark has been embezzling money, using Kate as a front to shield himself. When he travels to the Bahamas, they follow and gather proof, learning he has continued his pattern of deceit. Back in New York, Carly, Kate, and Amber confront Mark together, exposing both his infidelity and financial crimes. With Carly’s legal guidance, Kate turns the tables—returning the stolen funds, securing a divorce, and leaving Mark ruined. His downfall is swift and humiliating, as the women watch him lose everything he tried to control.

I passed on seeing The Other Woman when it came out in theaters in part because of the poor reviews. In hindsight, maybe it was the right decision at the time, because revisiting the film earlier this month, I appreciated it for what it was doing. Sure, it’s not an Oscar winner, but I’m not expecting all films to be award winners. For films billed as comedies, I just need them to do the job of entertaining me and making me laugh. This one had me entertained from start to finish—when I laughed, I really laughed. It has to be doing something right when I’m not reaching for my phone or turning on my laptop.

The idea that a married woman would become friends with the woman her husband is having an affair with may seem absurd on paper. But in The Other Woman, it really works. Once you add another woman he’s sleeping with, it ups the comedic hijinks as the trio plots their revenge. Neither Carly nor Amber knows that Mark is married to Kate, but that’s because he deceives them under false pretenses. At the end of the day, this is really a film about female friendship and both Kate and Carly discovering their inner selves.

Where Carly is a lawyer and Amber—Upton was the prototype before being cast in the film—is a supermodel, Kate is the typical suburban wife who quit her job because of Mark. When she learns that he’s cheating on her, it’s no surprise that her entire world falls apart. Leslie Mann approaches the character with the right balance, never going too far over the top. But there’s a universe where the role could have been played by Kristen Wiig. The Bridesmaids star would have brought a completely different personality to the part, and The Other Woman wouldn’t have been the same.

Comedies are subjective. A lot of things have to come together for them to work, but once The Other Woman gets going, it really gets going. It’s one thing to say and do funny things in front of the camera, but it still needs a level of realism and authenticity. The toughest part, of course, is buying into the two—eventually three—women becoming friends. But once the film reaches its found-family groove, everything starts gelling together and it becomes smooth sailing. Would these characters really do such things? That’s exactly why the revenge comedy aspect works so well.

In terms of fashion, the trio each has a distinct style in The Other Woman, designed by costume designers Patricia Field and Paolo Nieddu. Carly’s look varies throughout the film, ranging from designer pieces to chic originals. As for Kate, she appears as though she stepped out of the 1950s with her privileged wardrobe—think Stepford Wife—but after the affair is revealed, the strain begins to show in her appearance. Amber, meanwhile, comes across as the all-American girl next door.

Seeing as it’s been over a decade since The Other Woman was released, it’s unlikely we’ll be getting a sequel. But I love how the film ends with all three women remaining in each other’s lives—maybe not in the way they expected when everything began, but still.

In the end, The Other Woman is a solid, entertaining comedy that succeeds because of its cast and commitment to the bit. It may not reinvent the genre, but it knows exactly what it is and delivers where it counts.

DIRECTOR: Nick Cassavetes
SCREENWRITER: Melissa K. Stack
CAST: Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Kate Upton, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Nicki Minaj, Taylor Kinney, and Don Johnson, David Thornton, Victor Cruz

20th Century Fox released The Other Woman in theaters on April 25, 2014. Grade: 3.5/5

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