“What Men Want” Feels Familiar
By Mary Katherine Nix
“What Men Want” is a feel-good rom-com that director Adam Shankman calls a “reimagining” of “What Women Want,” but 19 years later in the era of the Me Too movement.
“What Men Want” delivers a standard but entertaining chick flick that brings a comedic touch to the relevant, hard-hitting topic of gender bias, but it feels like we’ve seen it all before.
Main character Ali (Taraji P. Henson) is expecting a well-earned promotion to partner at a big shot sports agency. When her male counterpart gets it instead, she confronts her boss who reasons, despite representing clients like Serena Williams, she hasn’t landed anyone from the “big three” sports leagues: NBA, NFL, or MLB. When he goes on to say she should “stay in her lane,” Ali sets out to land the NBA’s №1 draft pick, Jamal Barry (Shane Paul McGhie) so her boss won’t be able to deny she earned it.
After drinking a special “tea” from a psychic, and drunkenly hitting her head on the dance floor, Ali wakes up with a special “gift” of being able to hear men’s thoughts. Ali uses her power to gain the upper hand over the males in her agency. Surprise! It comes at a cost.
The film has everything a good rom-com should, a new romance with bartender Will (Aldis Hodge), hilarious one-liners usually coming from Ali’s nerdy and devoted assistant (Josh Brener), and empowering messages about the struggles of being a black female in a male dominated workplace. But somehow, the girl-power message seems to fall short at times. Yes, it has its “you go girl” moments where you can almost hear the females in the audience reflecting on their experiences with gender bias. But these moments are fleeting and seem overpowered by less-than-sexy sex scenes and fart jokes.
At its core, “What Men Want” is a story we have all heard time and time again. The main character magically obtains a power, this power is the cure they’ve been looking for and all their dreams land perfectly in front of them like a child walking through Disney World. Just when you think Ali has landed a buzzer beater, all her lies catch up to her, her friends are no longer on the sidelines cheering, and just like that Disney World is just a commercial on T.V. But you knew that was coming.
So then comes the self-reflection and moral growth where Ali realizes she only ever thinks about what she wants, and becomes a better person. Queue the happy ending.
“What Men Want” has come a long way from 2000s misogynistic “What Women Want” starring Mel Gibson, reflecting the progress of how women are viewed today. But the film doesn’t sugar coat things. There is still progress to be made with gender bias in the workforce and “What Men Want” demonstrates it in such outrageous ways, you can’t help but laugh.
The R — rated movie is playing at most theaters in Austin including AMC Barton Creek, Alamo Drafthouse and Regal Cinemas. Ticket prices range from $7 to $10.
Taraji P. Henson brings Ali to life with spunk and originality. Even if you can’t relate to her, you’ll relate to her experiences. And if you can’t relate to either, you’ll root for her.
RATING: 3.5 stars
