Prismark10
Before his well publicised meltdown in 2006, this was as good as it gets for Mel Gibson as an actor. A romantic lead, a little bit of crooning like ol blue eyes and a few dance steps like Fred Astaire witout resorting to any violence. It is such as shame the story wa so humdrum.Gibson is a womanising lothario, Nick Marshall. An arrogant advertising executive who has made it big, the underlings at the firm especially the females get short shrift. The ad agency wants to target women as they think it is losing ad business for the female market. Marshall's boss hires Darcy Maguire (Helen Hunt) who is brought in from the outside as Marshall's superior to specifically target the female ad market which causes Marshall some distress.After a mishap in the bathroom when Marshall electrocutes himself, he finds that he can read women's mind. At first he is dazed and confused but soon learns that he can use this skill for his own advantage. Both for professional and personal reasons. He steals Maguire's ideas and gets a major account but soon repents.This film could had been so much better. The gimmick feels stretched and the film's pacing drops in the middle. It is amiable enough but actually wastes its cast that includes Alan Alda, Marisa Tomei and Bette Midler.
Dalbert Pringle
Yeah-yeah. I know that laughs and "comedy" were the intended goal of this film here, but, all the same, aren't us men supposed to be the "shallow" gender of the 2 sexes? I mean, aren't we? Like, maybe I've been all wrong about the female gender, all along - 'Cause if women really do want what this movie says that they want, then what women want seems to be exactly what men want. Which is, sad to say, fairly predictable stuff. And, so, with that in mind, I'd say that this movie pretty much renders women as being just as shallow, if not more, than us men.I find it really amazing that not only was "What Women Want" directed by a woman, but half of the screenplay credit goes to a woman, as well. With the shallow, pretentious, and petty way in which women are portrayed in this film, I was certain that not even one single woman had been consulted in any way, shape, or form to find out what they really want.Anyways - In a non-specific gender nutshell, here's "What Women Want" is all about - Mel Gibson, that big-mouthed bigot, plays Nick Marshall, a vain, womanizing S.O.B. (Hey! You know, that sounds an awful lot like Mel Gibson just playing Mel Gibson to me) One fine morning Nick gets all of his brain-circuits fried, big time, when he falls into a bathtub full of water while in the midst of blow-drying his pretty-pretty hair.One could only hope that being electrocuted in this fashion would kill Gibson/Nick instantly. But, no, unfortunately, it doesn't. And, so, for the sake of the movie, what electrocution does to Nick, instead, is it enables him to hear the thoughts of women. (Now, does that make sense to you?) Naturally, being the slimy prick that he is, Nick uses this amazing ability to his full advantage (of course, who wouldn't?) by manipulating women as best he can. Especially his new female boss, played by Helen Hunt, who just happened to land this very job position that he (being the scoundrel that he is) figured was solely entitled to him.Anyhow - To make a long story, short - If you can believe it, or not, there's actually a "romance" of sorts that transpires in all of this thought-reading nonsense that is even more far-fetched than you can ever imagine.In conclusion - If what women want really is this movie, then, all I can say is, THEY CAN BLOODY-WELL HAVE IT!! - 'Cause, being a man, I sure as hell don't want it! No way, Jose!
stephenpaultaylor
As many of the reviews have said, this movie had so much potential that was all squandered. It could have been "comic gold" if the concept were in the right hands, but sadly this was not the case. The movie was too long. The beginning was fast-paced and humorous, but in Act 2 it became slow, tedious and predictable. The end is also completely and totally predictable. This is all quite unfortunate because the premise is great. The "mind-reading" scenes were too few. This was supposed to be the core idea of the movie. Therefore, we shouldn't just have a small smattering of "mind-reading scenes". This should have been a stronger element. If this movie was made by Woody Allen or Wes Anderson, something truly great and hilarious might have been produced, but this turned out to be a big, sappy, gooey mess. Gibson shows us he can dance. That was a plus. The movie also looked good and had a few decent editing sequences (the scene where he gets electrocuted, for example). However, it does feel (by the end) rather superficial and empty. It could have been an intriguing dissection of gender and gender differences, but it ends up presenting men and women in black and white terms. There were a few nice scenes. The movie wasn't all bad (which is why I gave it five instead of one). The scene where Mel breaks down while watching a woman being emotional on TV, for example... or dancing like Fred Astaire. It was also nice to see the toddler from Growing Pains all grown up (and actually acting quite well!). Overall, I would have to suggest avoiding this one. It's exhausting. If they cut out half an hour, cut down on the subplots, made the film much funnier and if it wasn't so predictable and "Hollywoody" this could have been something special. Oh well.
