Review of What Women Want (2000) by Filipeneto — 11 Jun 2021

Personally, I think this is one of the best romantic comedies I've ever seen. Fun and contagious, it's one of those films that wasn't made to be a work of art or to win prizes, but to amuse, entertain and have a good time. And it's effective at that.

The script begins with the introduction of Nick Marshall, a misogynist womanizer who works in advertising. He thinks he is the biggest male around and considers himself a lucky man in the relationship with the opposite sex, although he doesn't particularly consider him out of the way. However, everything changes with the arrival of a new boss, Darcy. She is the agency's new creative director and will be tasked with capturing a market share that Nick can't take advantage of: female consumers. While doing some silly experiments with women's products, trying to figure out how to work with them, Nick gets an electric shock. The next day... voilà! He can hear women's thoughts, and the new and unknown world of the female mind is at his mercy!

The film is excellent in every way. Of course, the story's premises are imaginative and credibility isn't even an issue because it's something so clearly invented that such a question doesn't even arise. The pace is quite fast and events continue as Nick tries to deal with his latest skill and discovers that, after all, women don't think he's as amazing as he thought. The relationship with his daughter is also convincing and well-used in the film.

The cast is expertly dominated by Mel Gibson. The actor is funny, pleasant and competent in the role he was given. He's perfectly capable of taking the film through to the end, but he manages not to overshadow the brilliance of Helen Hunt, with whom he co-stars wonderfully, in a collaborative effort full of chemistry and good spirits. In a secondary but very witty character, the beautiful Marisa Tomei also does an excellent job. I also liked Ashley Johnson's work, but she has little to do, and the character demands little from the actress, in my opinion.

Technically, it is a discreet film, which leaves the story told the space it needs to shine and develop, capturing our full attention. The cinematography works very well, and all the filming work was exquisitely well done, with competent use of color and light. The costumes, unsurprisingly, adapt wonderfully to the characters and the way they develop. The soundtrack works well, and features an excellent song by Meredith Brooks called **** which is still a hit today.