Review of What Women Want (2000) by Kai82 — 31 Dec 2021

A comedy that works well because of Helen Hunt and Mel Gibson. I think today a movie like this would not be made as there would be an uproar. However I can clearly see why other dislike this as while good is not a masterpiece and could do more with the idea.

The movie follows Nick Marshall who is a chauvinist and works in an advertisement company. When he is expecting to be promoted he is surprised that his boss instead will hire Darcy McGuire. She is tasked to improve the advertisement towards woman.

This is a field where he has no experience. For Nick this is a shock and even more his estranged daughter stays with him as his ex-wife is on the honeymoon with her new husband. Thinks start to get momentum when he accidentally archives the ability to read woman's thoughts.

I stop here to avoid spoilers. The story is good and the humor works well. I was entertained and would rewatch the movie. As remark the focus is more on humor than on handling serious issues but it does get the last thing done too.

By today's social justice standards it would start an angry woke mob. The idea itself is excellent. Each of us man has wondered how woman think. There are often fundamental differences. Like the still true cliche that woman often do not point out what is wrong.

Instead they want that man come on the correct conclusion on their own. I have experience with this with a female friend who talk about this with me and I said her that her boyfriend will never come to this conclusion if she did not say this directly.

Was right and she thanked me. A comedian once translated this: If your girlfriend is angry, you ask her if anything is wrong and get the answer “Nothing is wrong” than it means there is something terrible wrong and you have to find out what you did wrong as soon as possible.

Back to the movie review. The idea is used well to be enjoyable but not in such a great level to be remembered as cult classic. I think the cast made this better and I can see it failing without. First there is Mel Gibson as Nick Marshall.

He delivers the character excellent and is fully believable. With Helen Hunt you can basically do no wrong. As Darcy McGuire I say the same as for Mel Gibson. She fully delivers. Then there is Ashley Johnson as Nicks daughter Alex Marshall.

Great performance by here. Other than those the rest also made no missteps. The humor like I said works well enough to make this enjoyable. Overall I would recommend this movie for the idea and humor.

It might not be a cult classic but works well enough to entertain.