''What Men Want'' is a 2019 American
romantic comedy film directed by
Adam Shankman
Adam Michael Shankman (born November 27, 1964) is an American film director, producer, writer, dancer, author, actor, and choreographer. He was a permanent judge on season 6–7 of the television program ''So You Think You Can Dance''. He began h ...
and starring
Taraji P. Henson
Taraji Penda Henson ( ; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. She studied acting at Howard University and began her Hollywood career in guest roles on several television shows before making her breakthrough in '' Baby Boy'' (2001). Sh ...
,
Aldis Hodge,
Josh Brener,
Erykah Badu,
Richard Roundtree and
Tracy Morgan. The film is a loose remake of the 2000 film ''
What Women Want.'' The plot follows a woman who – after drinking a potent concoction given by a shaman – gains the ability to hear men's inner thoughts. The screenplay was written by Jas Waters and
Tina Gordon Chism
Tina Gordon Chism is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. She began her writing career writing the films '' ATL'', and ''Drumline''. She made her directorial debut in the 2013 film '' Peeples,'' which she also wrote''.'' In 2019, she ...
.
The film was released in the United States on February 8, 2019, by
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
and
BET Films. It grossed over $72 million worldwide. Like ''
What Women Want,'' it received mixed reviews from critics, although Henson's performance was praised.
Plot
Ali Davis is a successful
sports agent in
Atlanta who feels
boxed out by her male colleagues. When she is passed over for a promotion at Summit Worldwide Management, her boss Nick explains that she does not connect well with men. Determined to succeed in a man's world, Ali announces that she will sign up-and-coming basketball star Jamal Barry.
After getting drinks with her father, Ali flirts with the bartender, Will. They have sex at his home, where Ali encounters his young son, Ben and sees a wedding photo. At a photo shoot, Ali stands up for her client but angers Joe "Dollah" Barry, Jamal's father and manager. At her friend Mari's bachelorette party, Ali is introduced to Sister, a psychic. To help Ali "connect with men", Sister gives her
"fey lougawou" (Kalanchoe pinnata) tea to drink. While dancing with her friends at a club, Ali is knocked unconscious.
Waking up, she
hears the thoughts of her doctor. Ali and her assistant Brandon realize that she has gained the ability to hear men's thoughts. They track down Sister, who convinces Ali that her power is an asset. Using her newfound ability, Ali learns about a poker game attended by her fellow agents and Joe. She shows up uninvited but impresses Joe, and is invited to join Summit's meeting with Jamal. Ali saves her coworker Kevin's pitch to Jamal and Joe; Kevin later confronts Ali, and reveals that he had voted to make her partner.
Discerning that Joe does not trust a woman without a family, Ali passes off Will and Ben, who have come to return her misplaced driver's license, as her husband and son. When Ben reveals that his mother is dead, Ali invites them all to an
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
game, where – unbeknownst to Will or Ben – she uses her "family" to further impress Joe. On a double date with Will, Mari, and Mari's fiancé James, Ali hears James' thoughts, and also hears that Will only has thoughts for her. They have sex, with Ali using Will's thoughts to fully satisfy him.
The Summit office is shocked to discover that agent Ethan has quit and signed Jamal himself, withdrawing him from the NBA draft to play in China instead. Nick berates Ali, stating that the only reason he will not fire her is because she is a black woman. He reveals her family charade to Will, who tells Ali to stay away from him and Ben. At Mari's wedding, Ali hears James' thoughts and, angrily dismissing Brandon's attempt to intervene, she drunkenly announces that James slept with Mari's cousin. She also reveals that her friend Ciarra's husband is cheating on her, and a brawl breaks out. Ali is again knocked unconscious.
Ali wakes up at the hospital, realizing she can no longer read minds. With her father's advice, Ali reconciles with Brandon and her friends. She finds Jamal, who explains that he does not want to go to China, and Ali tells him to follow his heart. Jamal decides to stay, and becomes the first NBA draft pick. Ali is promoted to partner, but quits to start her own agency with Kevin, as well as Brandon, finally making him an agent. Ali asks Will for another chance, and he agrees. The three of them go for a walk as Ali reveals more plans for her agency.
Cast
;Cameo
Production
In 2017, Paramount announced that it was fast-tracking a remake of the 2000
Nancy Meyers film ''
What Women Want''. On November 14, 2017, it was announced that
Taraji P. Henson
Taraji Penda Henson ( ; born September 11, 1970) is an American actress. She studied acting at Howard University and began her Hollywood career in guest roles on several television shows before making her breakthrough in '' Baby Boy'' (2001). Sh ...
would star in the lead role. On February 2, 2018,
Adam Shankman
Adam Michael Shankman (born November 27, 1964) is an American film director, producer, writer, dancer, author, actor, and choreographer. He was a permanent judge on season 6–7 of the television program ''So You Think You Can Dance''. He began h ...
signed on to direct the film.
Max Greenfield and
Tracy Morgan were later added to the cast.
Brian Tyler composed the music in the film. The soundtrack released on
Lakeshore Records
Lakeshore Entertainment Group, LLC is an American independent film production, finance, and former international sales and distribution company founded in 1994 by Tom Rosenberg and Ted Tannebaum (1933–2002). Lakeshore Entertainment is headquart ...
features a string of hits by 1990s
Hip-hop and
R&B acts, such as
Bell Biv Devoe,
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa (also stylized as Salt 'N' Pepa or Salt 'N Pepa) is an American hip-hop group formed in New York City in 1985, that comprised Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper). Their debut album, ''Hot, C ...
,
TLC,
En Vogue and
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...
.
Principal photography began in Atlanta in March 2018 and ended in June 2018.
Release
''What Men Want'' was released on
Digital HD
A digital copy is a commercially distributed computer file containing a media product such as a film or music album. The term contrasts this computer file with the physical copy (typically a DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, or Ultra HD Blu-ray disc) wit ...
on April 23, 2019 and on
Blu-ray and
DVD on May 7, 2019.
Reception
Box office
''What Men Want'' grossed $54.6 million in the United States and Canada and $17.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $72.2 million, against a production budget of $20 million.
[
In the United States and Canada, ''What Men Want'' was released on February 8, 2019, alongside '' The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part'', '' Cold Pursuit'' and '']The Prodigy
The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...
'', and was projected to gross $18–20 million from 2,912 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $6.6 million on its first day (including $1.25 million from Thursday night previews). It went on to debut to $19 million, finishing second behind ''The Lego Movie 2''. In its second weekend, the film grossed $10.9 million, finishing fourth, and then $5.2 million in its third weekend, finishing sixth.
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, and an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Admittedly uneven but easy to like, ''What Men Want'' proves a gender-swapped remake can work – and the odds are substantially improved with Taraji P. Henson in the lead." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on reviews from 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an 82% overall positive score and a 69% "definite recommend."
'' The Hollywood Reporter''s Justin Lowe praised the film's pacing and jokes and said it featured a "predictably satisfying conclusion."[ Sonia Rao of '' The Washington Post'' gave the film two out of four stars, calling it a "so-so gender-flipped remake" and praising Henson's performance, while adding, "It would make a perfectly fine airplane movie. Or maybe save it for the bachelorette party."
Helen O'Hara of Empire wrote "The storytelling is a little loose, but as a workplace comedy with a side-line in romance, this earns its laughs thanks to the immensely game Henson and a stellar supporting cast."
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave it 2 out of 5, was critical of the script, "Henson looks ready to come out firing on all cylinders, but the comic cowardice of What Men Want leaves her shooting blanks." Variety's ]Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for ''Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...
compares the film to the original, saying that it was based on the idea that women are smarter than men believe, but the premise of the remake is that men are as bad or worse than the stereotypes, which he doesn't object to but says it "holds a distinct disadvantage as comedy" and that as a result the overheard thoughts lack "the snap of comic surprise".
See also
* List of Black films of the 2010s
The following is a list of black films that were released in the 2010s. Black films listed here are generally associated with the peoples from the African diaspora; the cinema of Africa is distinct from this topic (see list of African films). Lawr ...
References
External links
Official website
*
{{Tina Gordon
2019 films
2010s fantasy comedy films
2019 romantic comedy films
American fantasy comedy films
Remakes of American films
American romantic comedy films
2010s English-language films
Films directed by Adam Shankman
Films produced by Will Packer
Films scored by Brian Tyler
Films set in Atlanta
Films shot in Atlanta
Paramount Pictures films
Paramount Players films
Gay-related films
Will Packer Productions films
Magic realism films
Films about telepathy
2010s American films