What Women Want (2000)

You won't be disappointed!

Excellent but underrated film

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

It's 2017, and let's face it, by now the world is filled with Mel Gibson haters, following the perception of anti-Semiticsm that went all too viral and several real world incidents of bad behavior. "What Women Want" takes us back to a point in Mel Gibson's career in which he had established himself as a top rated leading man for 20 years. Except for some roles in which Gibson had portrayed a more manic type personality - the "Lethal Weapon" series, in particular - movie goers would have considered him an actor for dramatic roles. In "What Women Want," however, Mel Gibson emerged in the year 2000 - the some year in which he starred in a very dramatic role in "The Patriot" - as a rather brilliant comedic actor. Gibson's casting as an ad executive who epitomizes male chauvinism before an accident involving electrocution enables him to "get inside" women's heads, which leads to a newfound empathy for the sake of all women, scores as "genius" for both Gibson and director Nancy Meyers. A rather incredible supporting cast has been assembled, starting with Helen Hunt, fresh off an Oscar winning best actress performance in "As Good as It Gets." Because some viewers will focus on how great the first half of this movie is, the second half will tend to get dismissed as being perhaps a little too sentimental and ultimately and eventually predictable. OK, perhaps that gives the first half of the movie a "10" score; the second half, at worst, deserves a score of "8," and that averages out to a "9" in my book. Performances are dead-on great, and the soundtrack, which also helps promote Mel Gibson's dancing talent in one scene that pays tribute somewhat to the era of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, is superb. "What Women Want" could be the movie that "women want," but this guy says everybody "needs" this most enjoyable movie and WILL WANT to view it a second time (at least).

What Women Want (2000): Dir: Nancy Meyers / Cast: Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei, Bette Midler, Lauren Holly: Effective comedy about understanding genders. Mel Gibson stars as a creative executive. His mother was a showgirl so he has always been surrounded by women. He is demoted at work in favor of Helen Hunt who immediately sets upon advertizing for women. He arrives home to find his daughter and boyfriend huddled on the coach. He dances in a drunken stupor until he accidentally electrocutes himself in the bathtub. The suicidal aspect halts the humour but the biggest issue regards the unexplained mystery of the whole incident. Gibson does a wonderful job reacting to the voice thoughts of women and then using it not only to his advantage, but also to gain greater understanding. Hunt is not the typical romantic interest either. Supporting roles are cardboard including Marisa Tomei as an ex- girlfriend who must live with a lie. Bette Midler also appears although more would have been great. Lauren Holly was at her best in Dumb and Dumber, but here she is merely done in by a cardboard role. Directed by Nancy Meyers who made the miserable remake of The Parent Trap. Thankfully she doesn't stoop that low here. She has fun with the gender theme in this film. Strong theme regarding communication, which is the key in finding out what women want. Score: 7 / 10

This was the most fun I've had movie-watching in at least a year. It had me laughing, talking to the characters (mainly "Oh, no!" and "Watch out!"), and eager to see what would happen next. I guess it's true that women are difficult for men to understand because what we're are thinking often contradicts what we're saying. What DO women want? The casting was wonderful, the acting was superb, and the direction was perfect. I heard that Tim Allan had been considered for the lead role. He would've been a great choice, but so was Mel Gibson. Bravo to one and all! Now how about doing a similar movie with a woman hearing men's thoughts, hmmmm? Just as Shirley Temple helped distract grateful Americans from the Great Depression, we need more comedies like this to distract us from equally-distressing things.

...this one's quite good."What Woment Want" (2000) is about a chauvinistic executive (Mel Gibson) who accidentally receives the power to hear women's thoughts, which is both scary and enlightening (and funny). Helen Hunt plays his romantic insterest while Lauren Holly is his ex-wife and Marisa Tomei his one-night stand. Ashley Johnson is also on hand as his daughter, who is shocked when she sees her distant father showing signs of really caring.The ending gets a little too mushy, but "What Women Want" is consistently entertaining throughout. It's basically a story of redemption -- a chauvinistic man learning the error of his ways in a fun way, and changing.The film runs 127 minutes and was mostly shot in Chicago with some senes in the Los Angeles area.GRADE: B+