The Other Woman (2008 TV Movie) User Reviews

Answer to Questions

[choward-13 · 5/10 · 19 July 2009]

The problem with this movie is it didn't follow the book too well. The point of the book was that Nicole was so brazen, to just walk up to the wife and say she was going to steal the husband. And, when the wife told the husband, he was laughing about it, and she thought "Damn, he's interested." This movie had all the stalking and breaking and entering garbage. It just wasn't a book about that kind of thing... it was about knowing you were married to a man that would cheat because he had cheated with you. I also thought that the two women were somewhat reversed. Jill was sort of plain in the book, or at least felt plain. And Nicole was beautiful... trampy.. but truly beautiful. A young Vanessa Marcil. Not that thing in the movie. And Josie B. was too glamorous. I wanted to like this, because the book is really quite good.

The trial Derek won was the trial he was involved in that we never really got to see much of. It is not a trial of the women married to his senior partner.

Oh, and also the book never had the love interest for Jill. That wasn't what it was about.

The Other Woman-Beyond Peyton Place *1/2

[edwagreen · 4/10 · 9 June 2010]

There is simply too much going on here. A part-time journalism teacher is married to a high-powered attorney. A young law intern is cunning, sly and vicious. She is really going after the attorney. She even has the audacity to tell the wife that she will marry her husband. To add to this mess, our wife took the attorney away from his first wife. They had a 16 year old who is plenty to handle.

If this isn't enough, our lawyer works for a fat, balding man who has an eye on the intern as well. His wife is best friend with our attorney's second wife. When the boss turns up dead, his wife reveals 30 years of abuse and she is the killer!

The ending is a real surprise. Since when does that intern, a vicious tramp, wind up with our hero.

I guess the film is trying to depict various kind of abuses, but what a poor job it does.

Too Much and Not Enough

[Stoshie · 4/10 · 29 October 2019]

The version of this movie I saw on LMN was titled "Joy Fielding's The Other Woman". While I understand the movie was taken from Fielding's novel, I'm surprised she allowed her name to be attached to it.

There was just too much going on in the movie, with subplots left unresolved in the end, resulting in an unsatisfying mess of a movie. We have a murder, and we know who did it. But what happens to the murderer? We never find out. There is a missing son, who is found, in somewhat surprising circumstances. So how did he end up the way he did, and what happens with him next? No idea.

Then there is the main plot, which ends abruptly, leaving the viewer clueless as to what the full resolution, the complete end result of what happened, is. Part of that lack of resolution is not knowing what happens with the stepdaughter, since circumstances around her change drastically.

Adapting novels for movies is always tricky, since books can delve deeper into characters and subplots than movies have time to do. Better movies carefully choose what elements of a book to include, and what to leave out. While I haven't read the novel this movie is based on, it seems the screenwriters tried to stuff everything from the book into the movie. Then, given the limited run time they were allowed to give the movie, they just gave up, and ended it abruptly.

I never expect much from these kinds of movies, but this one was worse than most.

More plot holes than volcanic rock!

[simonebuvez · 1/10 · 25 February 2009]

I normally wouldn't even bother reviewing a movie like this, but it was so horrible, people just have to know. It's difficult to point out specifics without spoiling the plot, but suffice it to say, the screen writing, direction, and acting were horrible. I kept waiting for the elements to tie the whole story together at the end, which didn't happen.

Further, the character "development" was terrible. How could such a doofus of a husband be married to a supposedly smart, accomplished woman? By the way, she exhibited little of this intelligence and wit she purportedly possessed. What was the point of the daughter and her boyfriend? To spy on the husband at the end? That just didn't make sense. Nicole was a joke, overacted, pathetic. It didn't make sense that the husband was supposedly such a brilliant, clever lawyer, but didn't realize Nicole was so "off." Why didn't Jill tell him about the glass? What part did the glass play? Ugh, there's just too much wrong with this movie to go on.

Suffice it to say, I'm glad I "pay for" the film and sit through the commercials!

commenting on the other woman TV movie 2008

[wi3andr · 16 November 2008]

i watched the TV movie: the other woman last night. i wanted to see the names of the actors that played in it. when i looked on the internet movie data base, i noticed that it didn't have the names of some of the actors such as: Derek, Stan, and Stan's wife. how come? the outcome of the trial says that Derek won the case. does that mean that Stan's wife got the death penalty, or did she get life imprisionment? whatever happened regarding her son Cole? what happened to Jill? did Jill and her former friend start seeing each other again? it looks like this movie could have had another 30 minutes to it in order to answer all my questions huh? joy fielding, could you help me out with these questions, and does your novel have more of an complete picture of the movie that was on TV? thanks.

Watching paint dry is more exciting

[david_kravitz · 1/10 · 20 December 2008]

In the space of just six days I have seen (arguably) the best film of 2008 (Changeling) and the worst (this one). Where to even start? A nonsensical plot was matched by some very poor acting. Loose ends everywhere and four actresses using the same peroxide bottle that made them difficult to tell apart.

The main story concerns a bimbo who tells a wife she is going to steal her husband. There are side issues such as another wife murdering her husband and a daughter, who just mumbles her lines, with boyfriend problems and a mother who appears in just one scene (I think) for no good reason. Many of these stories are left unresolved at the end and you wonder just what the film was all about.

Then there is the acting. The daughter who mumbles her way through is matched by the rest. I do not know any of the actors or actresses from other parts but I presume they may come from cheap daytime soap opera.

As I write this, my apartment is being decorated. Watching the paint dry on the walls is more exciting than this film. Could someone at IMDb explain its rating for this film?

Would have worked if the other movies that are similar had not been seen

[jordondave-28085 · 5/10 · 15 May 2023]

(2008) The Other Woman DRAMA/ THRILLER

Based on the Joy Fielding novel made-for-tv movie directed by tv famed actor Jason Priestly of 90210. This film starring Josie Bissett as housewife Jill sacrificing her career job to settle down with husband Derek. But during his boss's house party, Derek's young internship/ secretary informs his wife in advance that she's planning to steal her husband away from her, and the rest of the film dwells on how she does that in a made-for-tv kind of way. The "other woman" as the title indicates is Lauren played by MacKenzie Porter who does whatever it takes to steal her husband away from her which is what we the viewers had already seen a hundreds of times before except that the movie felt very long. Priestly also has a small role in this too as one of Jill's friends.

Surprisingly good...

[MarieGabrielle · 8/10 · 19 November 2008]

I enjoyed this film, and the theme actually has a surprise twist at the end, which makes the story intriguing and suspenseful.

Jason Priestley deserves mention for direction here, I have seen a few of his other recent projects, and he connects well with the audience in a cameo role as news reporter. Josie Bissett is very good as Jill Plumley, a woman who at first believes she is married to the perfect man. An attorney and loving father (she thinks) portrayed by Graeme Black.

At first the story involves an intern at her husband's law firm, Nicole (well portrayed by a devious Lisa Marie Coruk.) Jill's husband is being pursued by this annoying woman, and at first it isn't clear as to why. There is a peripheral story with the senior partner of her husband's law firm, and a troubled relationship with his wife.

All in all a very well-presented, suspenseful Lifetime movie. Well worth watching. 8/10.

The Other Woman

[mily-uribe · 8 July 2008]

Jill was a journalist that left everything behind to start a life with her husband Derek, a husband that left his wife and daughter to be with her, now Jill is a University teacher and Derek is in the best moment of his career as a lawyer in one of the best firms in the city, everything is perfect until one day Nicole, an intern in the law-firm introduces her self to Jill and says "I'll marry your husband", since that day strange things start happening to Jill, but David, her husband doesn't see anything strange in Nicole.

Will Derek found out the truth about Nicole? Or Jill will have to pay for what she did in the beginning?

Funniest Movie Ever!

[terriwilliams-83085 · 10/10 · 8 May 2022]

Watch it monthly. Everyone of my friends think it's so cute! Leslie Mann steals the show. Great one liners to be used in real life. Light hearted, cute and perfect for a gfs night in!

Bad, bad, bad movie

[guilfisher-1 · 16 November 2008]

This movie irritated me quite a lot. Plot is so familiar you guess the ending in the first few minutes. And the leading lady, played by Josie Bisset was as annoying to watch. Wearing so tight jeans you could see her, you know what. Blouses so low it revealed, well not that much. And walking around wearing the same outfit almost throughout the movie. But the real problem is her hair. Most of the times you wanted to hand her a hair brush and tell her to brush her hair out of her face. She looked unkempt, almost dirty. Even when her hair was pulled back, seldom, there were strings hanging down in her face. Most of the time her bleached blonde hair was over one eye giving her a Hitler like look. It annoyed me that much. This lady needs grooming badly. Lisa Marie was another to much hair actress, if you want to call waking around pouting most of the time acting. Too much hair for someone her age. That lady needed a haircut. And poor Jason Proestley, whom I like as an actor, didn't have much to work with, script or actresses.

This was a loser film with loser performances and women that should act and look their age. GET SOME GROOMING AND BRUSH YOUR HAIR OUT OF YOUR FACE.

Appearances Can Be Deceiving When It Comes to Toxic Masculinity

[lavatch · 8/10 · 16 September 2019]

"Joy Fieding's The Other Woman" was an especially well-crafted made-for-television film. At first glance, this appeared to be a standard film about a femme fatale (Nicole), who is trying to break up the happy marriage of a famous defense attorney (Derek) and his wife (Jill), a former investigative journalist. But by the midpoint, the film turns into an interesting whodunnit with good suspense and character development.

The narrative is presented primarily from the perspective of Jill. At the outset, she trusts her husband, knowing that his intern intends to replace her in his life. But there is another plot strand about Derek's boss Stan, the head of the law firm, that slowly supersedes the femme fatale narrative.

We can see glimpses of Stan as sleazy when he accepts sexual favors from Nicole, and, in return, she is allowed to work as Derek's intern. But there are deeper family secrets about Stan: he has been a longstanding wife batterer. Even on the minor pretext of losing a card game, Stan will beat is long-suffering spouse Bonnie. Stan was estranged from his son Cole, who eventually became a priest. Was Cole privy to the abuse of his mother while growing up?

The film was especially well cast with an ensemble that seem perfect for each of their roles. Such secondary characters as Bonnie, her daughter Lisa, Derek's daughter Lauren were all well-performed. Jason Priestly provided excellent direction in this fast-paced film.

The dramatic arc of the film revolved around our changing impressions of Derek, a lawyer who practices without scruples and a husband who callously discards his wives for newer models. During his current trial, he refers to the defendant as "my client," as opposed to a person with a name. Derek's daughter Lauren slowly comes to see her father as amoral and a fraud.

The most memorable line in the film was when the battered Bonnie asks Jill, "Are we so different?" This question gives Jill pause, as she and her step-daughter move to take control of their lives in the face of adversity of toxic masculinity.