Understanding the male mind is one of the biggest challenges that a woman faces in her lifetime. How often do we wish we could see inside the mind of a man in order to have better relationships, get ahead in life and have all around tranquillity?
In What Men Want, this ability to hear men’s thoughts becomes a reality for Taraji P. Henson. Directed by Adam Shankman, the film follows Ali Davis (Henson), a successful yet guarded and competitive sports agent who, due to her gender, is constantly held back from opportunities to get ahead. A twist in fate leads her to be able to hear men’s thoughts, which naturally, she uses to her advantage.
To summarise the film, it’s essentially this generation’s raunchy and unfiltered female version of the 2000 film, What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. However, despite being fairly similar in plot, What Men Want proved to be a hilarious tale, perfect for when you need a good laugh.
Taraji P. Henson seems to be often typecast in romantic comedies like this, portrayed as a ball-busting, high achiever, with control issues. Her character Ali Davis is almost a splitting image of Lauren from Think Like A Man, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. This portrayal of a highly successful woman playing in a man’s world often results in lots of humour and laughter predominantly because it’s still almost unnatural to think that a woman is capable of being a top senior executive holding the same level of power and control as her male counterpart.
The stereotypes were rife in the film with the depiction of chauvinistic men holding Ali back from what’s due to her as well as the portrayal of Ali’s friends as alcohol and gossip loving housewives with a penchant for wild parties. A girl’s got to have her ‘girlfriends’ to let loose with after all, right?
The characters in the film were all tailored specifically to entertain and provide viewers with personalities that they can identify with. The inclusion of Tracy Morgan was a fantastic touch, bringing in his own brand of comedy to the film. Then there’s the addition of Kellan Lutz and Aldis Hodge to provide the typical eye candy in the film.
From my description above, it’s pretty obvious that What Men Want is your typical run of the mill romantic comedy, making it tough to truly provide an in depth review of the film. The narrative was predictable, the characters were stereotypical and the pacing was similar to most rom-coms. Nevertheless, the film was a delightful watch, much to my surprise.
In watching the film, I found myself laughing almost the entire way through and the many heartfelt moments illustrating the power of friendship and trusting relationships was endearing. Of course, it helped that Taraji P. Henson is a brilliant actress as well.
If you’re looking for a feel good film that will have you laughing the night way, What Men Want is now out in cinemas. Perfect for your Valentine’s weekend.