WHAT MEN WANT – A Review by Cynthia Flores
What Men Want is the loose remake of the 2000 film What Women Want that Mel Gibson starred in. This time the gift of hearing minds is flipped and bestowed on a woman, Alison “Ali” Davis (Taraji P. Henson) after drinking a potent concoction given to her by a funky fortuneteller named Sister (Erykah Badu) and hitting her head on the dance floor of a club.
At first, she’s terrified by the access to any man’s inner thoughts until she realizes that she can use her newfound power to her advantage. You see, she’s constantly boxed out by her male colleagues at the good old boy’s sports management company run by Nick Ivers (Brian Bosworth). She is passed up for a well-deserved promotion simply for being the only female sports agent there and not having an NFL or NBA client. So with her newfound gift and the help of her long-suffering assistant Brandon (Josh Brener), she’s determined to land the soon to be NBA’s #1 draft pick Jamal Barry (Shane Paul McGhie) by any means necessary. Even, if she has to pretend to be married to her new guy Will (Aldis Hodge) without him knowing. He’s a kind, widowed father to a young boy named Ben (Auston Jon Moore). All this to impress and get past Jamal’s crazy overbearing father Joe “Dolla” Berry (Tracy Morgan), who is convinced his love, attention, and protein drinks are what have made his son the great player he is today. During all this Ali has to deal with her friend’s upcoming wedding and what she hears her fiancé is really thinking.
There’s more soul searching in this film than you would think. Ali thought that the strong, bulldozing, take no prisoners demeanor that she learned from her single father Skip (Richard Roundtree) who owns his own boxing gym was a plus all this time. That it would be lauded if she were a man but when she reads her coworker Kevin’s (Max Greenfield) mind, she finds out that he actually thinks “If you were a man that behaved this way you would just be called a Dick.”
What Men Want is a better film than the one that inspired it. It’s funny, smart, and a real crowd pleaser. It has one of the most hilarious sex scenes between Ali and Will that I’ve ever seen. I almost choked on my soda watching it because I was laughing so hard. This is a perfect date night film that both men and women will want. Please stay through the credits because there are extra scenes with Erika Badu as “Sister” doing readings with the rest of the cast. I give this film a solid A rating. Enjoy.
Directed by Adam Shankman
Written By Tina Gordon, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, Jas Waters, Tina Gordon
Rated R
Selig Rating A
Running Time 1hr 57min
Comedy
Wide Release February 8th
Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Kristen Ledlow, Josh Brener, Richard Roundtree, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Erykah Badu
The Selig Rating Scale:
A – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
B – Good movie
C – OK movie
D – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
F – Good that I saw it on the big screen but wish I hadn’t paid for it.
