What Women Want

Starring: Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei, Alan Alda, Ashley Johnson, Lauren Holly, Judy Greer, Sarah Paulson, Loretta Devine, Bette Midler
Directed by: Nancy Meyers
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Romance
2000

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary:
After an accident, a chauvinistic ad executive (Mel Gibson) can suddenly hear the thoughts of every woman around him.

Review:

Tim: Despite the fact that the premise of What Women Want is completely absurd, I still found the movie to be thought-provoking and enjoyable. While this is certainly not an instant classic, it is a well-directed film, and I'd consider it a good movie. The cast especially helps this movie end up better than it easily could have been.

Let's start with the fantasy elements. After a weird accident that looks a lot like your normal electrocution, a man can suddenly hear the thoughts of every woman around him. Why would this be? Why would he hear only women's thoughts? This is never explained (because it can't be- the concept is ridiculous). It's even taken to extreme lengths, when he apparently can also hear the thoughts of female dogs (what about squirrels? or insects?). This is the biggest challenge of the film- convincing the audience to buy this absurd premise. Now, this obviously requires a great suspension of disbelief, but it is worth it. I just went with the story and bought into it, despite the fact that it makes no sense. Fantasy can be fun, and director Nancy Meyers does a fairly good job of setting this up, so for the most part, I could go along.

What helps is that this is a really fun concept. What would it be like to hear the thoughts of the opposite sex? Men and women certainly think differently, and it would be pretty fascinating to be able to tap into those thoughts. The high concept idea might be ridiculous, but it makes for a pretty interesting story.

The cast really helps this film out. Mel Gibson is quite good in the role, although he has a tendency to over-act throughout this film. He is very believable as a chauvinistic, self-centered ad executive. What's amazing is the transformation he goes through as a result of this power. It's obvious when he uses it to his own advantage, but the change he makes as a result of hearing women's thoughts was pretty powerful. He sells that change, so the audience can buy it. He was quite good. He does have a good partner in Helen Hunt. I've always liked Hunt a lot, and have been surprised that she hasn't had a bigger career. She's very likable here, and easy to believe as a tough but intelligent ad executive. She gave the very good performance, bringing real warmth and brains to the role. She and Gibson work quite well together.

I really liked Marisa Tomei in a small supporting role, and Alan Alda is always fun to watch. Judy Greer gave a quiet but powerful performance, and is involved in one of the film's most touching scenes. Sarah Paulson was fine, and I liked seeing Lauren Holly here, although she has almost nothing to do. Ashley Johnson is pretty good as Gibson's daughter. The cast as a whole is impressive, and they work well together.

What really made me like this movie is its underlying message. While it's fun to see Gibson wreck havoc by hearing the thoughts of women, the real power of the film comes when he uses that ability for good. Women have had a hard time in life, and this movie shows that, to a certain degree. The real message of the story is that when you slow down and actually listen to people- whether you can read their minds or not- allows you to identify with, and start to care about them. Gibson's character transforms from someone who uses and loses women to someone who can appreciate them as a fully human being- people with thoughts and fears and hopes and dreams. In a culture that makes women objects, it is great to see a film that treats them as real human beings. It's sad that people need to be reminded of that, but this film does a great job of it. We need more movies like this.

So, while this film is flawed and it takes a great deal of effort to look past the pretty far fetched premise, doing so allows you to see a fairly powerful, memorable story. While the ending is a bit too cliched for me, I still really enjoyed What Women Want and consider it a solid, entertaining film that has much more substance than most romantic comedies.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



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