March 28, 2024

At the movies with ‘The Other Woman’

My sister and I were talking about the new movie “The Other Woman.” She told me how her boyfriend didn’t want to see it because it’s a “chick flick.” I gave her a strange look, thinking, “Has he seen a trailer for the movie?” But before I could say anything, she told me she showed him a trailer, and now he is dying to go. For those who have not seen a trailer for this movie, it has Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Kate Upton in a bikini, and, to say the least, she is remarkably beautiful.

I would be lying if I didn’t say this was a major selling point for me as well, but, of course, you still have to see the movie. Monday night, I saw the movie and loved it. Valle Drive-In had the movie this past weekend. Capitol II Theatre will be stacking the movie with “Amazing Spiderman 2” for next week, so check out the Capitol II Facebook page for the new showtimes.

It goes without saying, you wouldn’t have to go too far to find someone who loves a great love story to see this with. “The Other Woman” offers the best kind of love story Hollywood can offer us — something real. Many romantic comedy films have created a clear-cut answer to all the problems in each character’s life by adding a metaphorical warm blanket for the viewer to cuddle up with.

The trio of ladies in the movie made this a movie for the spectrum of viewers. Leslie Mann is a mess of a woman struggling to keep her perfect world together. Cameron Diaz is the hot and sexy lawyer with a killer instinct that either completely frightens guys or completely draws them in with her aggressiveness. Upton, in this film, is every man’s dream mid-life crisis relationship.

I know many people, after seeing the trailer, will become argumentative about the reality behind this movie, but after six months of working here, I realized it’s just a given that people will argue with me.

I have been picked on, lost relationships and friendships over my passion for arguing about the worth of a woman. The greatest lesson that I have learned about women is that by herself she can only do so much, but when combined with one or two other women, with a different set of skills and personalities, much can get accomplished.

The best proof of this is my good friend, Lucinda Sinclair. When I first met Lucinda, it didn’t take long to realize that life just got a bit more interesting, because honestly, being friends with her everyday is a new adventure. It wasn’t until I saw her in a group of girls that I realized everything that I have ever thought about her was an understatement because her individual personality strengthens to unbelievable measures.

The amazing thing about this movie is that it never got dull. The beginning of the movie comes off as a cliché chick flick, but when Carly, played by Diaz, goes to visit her father to vent about her current failed relationship, you’ll have an “Oh my God, is this real?” moment when the father is revealed.

I know that I will get picked on mercilessly about liking this movie because of the “chick flick” classification, but I found in becoming a fan of this stereotypical genre of movie that the form truly has developed, and the storylines have been gaining a bit more reality. I know girls will love this movie, and I know guys will be skeptical about seeing it.

A fun fact about this movie is it was shot when Upton turned 21, and the scenes filmed in the South Hamptons were part of her birthday party thrown by her co-stars, Mann and Diaz.

I am truly excited about movies for next week. The Valle Drive-In will have a special showing of the movie “Godzilla” tonight. The idea of the new Godzilla movie being shown at Valle Drive-In sounds like an adventure that is nothing short of epic. Capitol II couldn’t have picked up their new movie at a more perfect time, following the 2014 NFL Draft with the film “Draft Day” starring the legendary Kevin Costner.

Staff writer Zach Johnson may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 425, or at zjohnson@newtondailynews.com.