What Women Want

[Laurie L]

I skipped work on Friday to see this on opening day and I'm glad I did. This is Mel Gibson's first romantic comedy and I hope it's not his last. Some of the scenes where he puts himself through the daily grind that a woman suffers had me laughing out loud. Fellow women I know have said to me several times that a man would throw himself in front of a bus if he ever had to wear pantyhose, high heels, or wax...and Mel proved them right. The inner dialogue of what women think is priceless and dead-on. Men should see this film and take a notebook along because it has one simple truth...women in general are easy to please if they come across the right man. Gals if you take a man to this film be prepared for one question after it's over..."Is that really what you're thinking?" Then get ready to defend yourself and women all over the world for those thoughts that make you blush. It's all worth it though if he feels like a heel afterwards and takes you out for a nice dinner...lol.

[jamesglewisf]

I'm glad to hear this is good. I really want to see it, and since my wife loooooves Mel baby, I'm sure we'll get to see it.

[Yoda]

I saw this last night (Monday)...went to this new Super-Theatre - it was pretty good. The theatre had maybe another 20-25 people or so there (enough to be considered semi-crowded)...

I laughed a few times (I rarely let out a really big laugh at the theatres), but still really enjoyed myself. It did seem that the writers knew what they were talking about.

Predictable, but still a lot of fun.

[jamesglewisf]

I saw this one today. I thought it was very funny. It was a good romantic comedy.

[thmilin]

I'm looking forward to seeing this. Looks like they're playing around more with Helen Hunt and pulling her out of her stressed mother mode a little. And, Mel's known to have great chemistry with his coworkers and with women in general so I'm sure he pulls the good stuff out of both Helen and himself. He's a wicked, funny, cute fella and where his Lethal Weapon films played around with the light romantic comedy with Rene Russo, it's good he gets a chance to do it full tilt.

[moviegirl]

I thought this movie was decent until the end. I don't like the way it ended at all--anyone with me on this? It seemed like they were trying to find a way to tie it all together, and it failed. Mel did a good job though. I liked the whole situation between him and his daughter.

[Yoda]

Yes, I agree - the ending was akward and stupid in a sense. I hate to say it, but it's a comedy: it's okay to use a formulaic (spelling?) ending! You don't need to reinvent anything...just stick a 100% happy, everybody-lives-happily-ever-after ending onto the end of a funny movie and you can't go wrong.

[thmilin]

i enjoyed the movie but it really wasn't terribly hilarious to me.

SPOILERS!!
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I liked when he tried on the stuff in the box but thought it was too much for him to do the Frank Sinatra dance around the house. It was flawless, perfect, beautiful, brilliant, but it had no place whatsoever. it was a, "hey look what Mel can do! He can sing and dance and do Frankie!" moment.

I like that they introduced the theme of hearing ... and actually listening. That he notices the quiet/suicidal girl, that there's a sense women have all these worries and just want someone to understand and listen and that for the most part they are WORTH listening to.

[Zephyrus]

Originally posted by thmilin
I liked when he tried on the stuff in the box but thought it was too much for him to do the Frank Sinatra dance around the house. It was flawless, perfect, beautiful, brilliant, but it had no place whatsoever. it was a, "hey look what Mel can do! He can sing and dance and do Frankie!" moment.

Actually thmilin I disagree, I think it was well suited for the film. It served to reinforce Mel's character, to portray him as "smooth", thinking he is God's gift to women. I loved the dance!

Overall it was a good movie, a little predictable (aren't they all?!) but still had me in stitches a few times. Luckily I've got it on VCD, so I'll be able to take a notepad and take some notes about women and what they think :D

[Yoda]

I'll have to agree - I do the same kind of thing sometimes. Who of us hasn't tried, albeit pathetically, to act smooth when no one is around? Not often - but just once.

And, of course, Zeph's reason makes sense to me.

[DoomsDay]

Best part is when Mel impersonated Sean Connery, that was the BEST part in the film.!

[Yoda]

Ditto - he was great at it. Overdone, but not TOO much. :)

Welcome to the forums, by the way! ;)

[Zephyrus]

Don't think it was overdone, I actually ythought it was an overdub of his real voice :)

And yeah, Chris, I've certainly done the "smooth" routine on my own :D Hey its fun!!

[thmilin]

i actually didn't think the sean connery thing was overdone. i felt that fit and was cute and sexy ... come on, mr. connery is hot, and mel gibson's cute, put them together and ... heaven! but that dance routine still isn't justified to me ...

[Laurie L]

I actually liked the dance routine. It was a fitting compliment to Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra. Plus, it completely fits with the excellent soundtrack of the film with the old standards.

[jamesglewisf]

I saw Mel interviewed on one of the late night shows. He actually asked Sean Connery's permission to do that--not because he was required to, but because he felt like he should. He did it on the TV show also. That was definitely him.

[thmilin]

yeah, i knew that was mel. he still sounds like mel, inside the sean connery ...

Laurie, i know, i know, and i loved that oldies music theme, it was great, and i want the soundtrack ... and it was a wonderful tribute, and he did it beautifully ... he can do song and dance and would be great in a musical, if done right.

i just feel that it was a totally self-conscious filmic element that woke me up out of my suspension of disbelief. it belongs more to a musical than to a regular comedy ... it just felt out of place.

and believe me, i've studied a lot of musicals. part of my film studies.

[alwaysabout]

I must admit, from the first moment I heard Mel Gibson is in yet another film where he plays his own charming self, I was skeptical of his ability to deliver the goods. It can be seen in his recent appearances in 'The Patriot' and 'Ransom' that Mel¡¦s looks are no longer comparable to a fine Bordeaux which ages well. However, I was pleasantly by his latest performance in 'What Women Want' and as the title of the film suggests, Mel Gibson proves his ageless charm to be irresistible as ever. 'What Women Want' is the second directorial feature film of Nancy Myers. Her debut feature 'The Parent Trap' was mediocre but prior to her directing, she was better known as both a producer and a screen writer with films like 'Father of The Bride'.

The story of 'What Women Want' centers on Nick Marshall (Gibson), a divorced advertising executive who is ambitious and chauvinistic. He is irrepressibly charming and a natural leader amongst men but despite his uncanny womanizing ability, his understanding of the opposite sex is both outdated and patronizing ¡V nobody's perfect!

Nick is on the verge of getting promoted to the top job in his advertising agency in Chicago but all seems well until he is stepped over from newcomer, Darcy Maguire (Helen Hunt ¡V 'Cast Away' and 'As Good As It Gets') whose feminine approach to advertising is what the company business needed. One night, Nick returns home to experiment new feminine beauty products, in hope to achieve a creative breakthrough. In what I think is a memorable scene, Nick undertake a crude and consequentially hilarious attempt at practicing female beauty rituals. Nick embarrassed and disillusioned with his experiment, has a domestic accident which leaves him unconscious and when he wakes up, he finds himself able to hear the private thoughts of women. Shocked by the revelation of how his female acquaintances despise his chauvinistic character, he enters a state of confusion and insanity. His desperation draws him to visit his forgotten shrink who ironically is a woman. The shrink (delightfully played by Bette Midler but sadly only a cameo role) enlightens Nick on the endless potential of his newly acquired gift. The film kicks itself into fourth gear as we witness Nick re-embracing his masculine attitudes with a, now limitless, advantage. At work, he exploits Darcy without her knowledge to gain brownie points within the agency, in what begins as a predictable wind-down to the film with an all-so gratuitously corny finale.

Marisa Tomei deserves a special mention as Lola, the aspiring yet neurotic cafe waitress who, being one of Nick¡¦s conquests, became a circumstantial and unfortunate victim of the main plot. Tomei was surprisingly outstanding in her role and subtly stole my affection. What a fairy tale ending it would have been if Nick and Lola had gotten together!

The character of Nick Marshall seems to be tailored made for Jack Nicholson and like Nicholson, Gibson shows he too has this abundant extrasensory charm. To my recollection, Mel Gibson must be the only Hollywood tough guy who has successfully transformed his onscreen macho persona to comedic roles. Proving himself to be light years ahead of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and even Bruce Willis. But this is perhaps not a surprise because since the 'Lethal Weapon' series, he has always fused light comical touches to his acting and has never been as wooden as his counterparts. Gibson deserves to be heartily congratulated for pulling off such a fine job and I will not be surprised that whenever Mel feels the need to buy another horse for his 20,000 acre ranch in Montana, he will end up participating in another one of many films as a cloned version of Nick Marshall

In conclusion, I must confess I was entertained by 'What Women Want', despite it is quintessentially a 'chick-flick': a category of popular culture I try to consciously avoid like Sanrio's 'Hello Kitty'! Although the film is utterly predictable, it is a fine piece of commercial entertainment with solid performances all round. Even as a member of the male audience, I am forced to admit: maybe chick-flicks are not that bad afterall?

[Zephyrus]

LOL alwaysabout, that was a good review, I actually enjoyed reading it! ;)

[7thson]

Incidentlly: WTH do women want??????!!!??? :D :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: ;)

[Austruck]

Wow, 7thson, you're resurrecting five-year-old threads to ask an age-old, answerless question?

So, exactly how much HAVE you had to drink tonight? ;)

[7thson]

So, exactly how much HAVE you had to drink tonight? ;)

Busted.....:) not much ...yet...



I think I know what women want though. They want to be understood and respected...just like Men. :) That and men to be men and not worry about what women want, but what they want and to be confident and take care of themselves and you. That or I could be way off base.....Either way I need to leave work, I am still here and posting between computer work, I had to build 10 systems today and the day is long. Good thing I had a six pack in the fridge for such days;) (I did not pop the first cap till I was closed, and I am walking home, it is only 2 blocks.)

[Ðèstîñy]

Incidentlly: WHAT do women want??????!!!??? :D :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: ;)

Your timing, man. OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH NEVER MIND!!! :D

[Austruck]

I'll say this much about what women DON'T want: We usually DON'T want you to "fix it" when we mention a problem we have. Sometimes we just want to mention it!

My husband still hasn't figured this out, and I've told him point-blank: "I don't want you to fix this -- I just want to vent about it and have you nod." Doesn't matter -- he still tries to fix it.

Engineers! Worse yet, male engineers! :)

[Ðèstîñy]

Yes, it seems more times than not, in my experience, if you ask for help, it takes a lifetime to get it, but if you say that you can do it yourself, they jump right in.

[Austruck]

Yes, it seems more times than not, in my experience, if you ask for help, it takes a lifetime to get it, but if you say that you can do it yourself, they jump right in.

LOL! BINGO! I still have to open my driver's side car door by rolling down the window and reaching outside and letting myself out (because I asked him to fix it six months ago).

But he's "fixed" my computer and made it unusable whenever I've left it running without being password-protected.

[Ðèstîñy]

LOL! BINGO! I still have to open my driver's side car door by rolling down the window and reaching outside and letting myself out (because I asked him to fix it six months ago).

But he's "fixed" my computer and made it unusable whenever I've left it running without being password-protected.

Woohoo, I'm not alone! :p

[7thson]

So it is true: Us Men cannot win no matter what , either we butt in when we shouldnt or we stay quiet when we should stick up and help. Cool, I got it now. BTW, when it comes to computers I have no problem "butting out"...;)

[nebbit]

I want world Peace http://bestsmileys.com/peace/1.gif

[7thson]

I want world Peace http://bestsmileys.com/peace/1.gif


Me too, but those damn women keep getting in the way...;)

[spielboy]

Alot of women don't know what they want - how is a guy to know if they don't?!
But you see, that's the woman perogative, she can change her mind!

[linespalsy]

The fair sex may not always know what they want (neither do I), but they often know what they don't want. I remember seeing a preview for this movie with a one; her response was "I don't want to see that piece of crap."

[fionalin7]

when women give all of herself to the men, they usually take you for granted, but when we dont show some care to them, thats the time when they run after you. i dont understand guys....

[hotmamabrew]

This was a great light hearted romantic comedy. I really enjoyed it.

[Gideon58]

Loved this movie...really liked the premise and I don't think Mel Gibson has ever been sexier onscreen. Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei and Alan Alda were great too.