Rating: Summary: See it with your girlfriends, but spare your boyfriend Review: What can I say? Ladies will most likely love this movie, and men will most likely not. Funny, romantic, but ultimately sexist and insulting, "What Women Want" is not the movie you should suggest on your first date. Cheer it on with your girlfriends, but spare your boyfriend or husband this "relationship test" and watch "When Harry Met Sally" instead. Mel Gibson plays a charming yet chauvanistic man who suddenly finds he has the ability to read women's minds. At first overwhelmed, Mel uses his gift for his own personal gain, yet gradually he learns to understand and love women, and in the end he is stripped of his undesirable male qualities and falls for the film's "every-woman", Helen Hunt. Gibson's subtle performance provides the only personality in this entire film, keeping it from becoming a dry, sexist political statement. This includes a beautiful dance number to Sinatra which recalls Estare and Crosby (this scene was entirely Gibson's idea). The other performances, including Helen Hunt's, all fall along the lines of "the universal woman" vs. "the universal man." Basically, all the women Gibson interacts with are the same woman, just at different stages in her life. All the men are deceitful, uncaring, or clueless, save for gorgious hunk Gibson who "changes". Fans of this movie might claim that Gibson's highly chauvanistic character lends some balance to the male-bashing, but they fail to realize that healthy men and women are offended by both. Consider: not only does this film's "perfect man" look like Mel Gibson, but he can read minds as well. Not even the real Mel Gibson can meet those standards. The "romantic" ending of this film has Gibson kissing the heroine right after she fires him. Our hero. I find it funny that the trailers for this movie showed some derrogatory scenes against Arab women which were cut from the film (pre-Sep 11) for obvious reasons. It highlights the basic nature of this film.
Rating: Summary: Chauvinist turns compassionate Review: Nick (Mel Gibson) is a male chauvinist in the clearest sense. A top dog in an advertising agency, Nick finds out that the boss has hired Darcy (Helen Hunt), a brilliant advertising person who has gotten plenty of money with her work and expertise. While working at home with women's products, Nick gets electrocuted and the next day hears women's thoughts. Eventually using this to his advantage, he steals ideas/thoughts from Darcy to get credit. The movie is full of some funny, some serious situations and thoughts. Eventually, Nick turns compassionate, and feels guilty toward taking advantage of Darcy with his mind reading. One advantage came by hearing one girls thoughts of suicide and preventing her from doing that. Different kind of Mel Gibson movie, but his humor at times, reminds me of Riggs from the Lethal Weapon Series. Except for some sexual situations and cursing, the movie is not too bad.
Rating: Summary: What I want...an end to mel gibson movies! Review: Yes I am reviewing another Mel Gibson movie,and yes,it's not worth the silicon it's recorded on! Every once in a while a film will come out that really will make you want to hunt down the cast,crew and backers,and inflict pain on them.This is such a film!Truely awful from beginning to end,if you really must buy this,don't watch it,just use it as a coaster or something,for your own sanity!
Rating: Summary: Spoiled by the end Review: This started out as a descent movie. As other reviews state, it is a fun watch. Fun that is, until my wife asked me what I thought the message was going to be. When the end came, the message was clear: Women cannot do wrong. Just look at what they think (all thinking pretty much the exact same). Men (shown with Gibson's character) cannot do right. This movie was a fun movie, but much too 1-dimensional to need such a strong, Hollywood cliche message (those are for the 2-dimensional movies). Lose the agenda and it would have been a good movie right up until the end.
Rating: Summary: Does not deserve the star Review: How can a movie be so awful even with Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt as the lead characters? It wasn't funny. I couldn't sit through it. Even Mel Gibson wasn't enough to hold my interest through this poor excuse of a movie. Awful.
Rating: Summary: Great movie! Mel Gibson steals the show! Review: I saw rhis movie quite some time back at a friend's house and I really loved it. It's funny, serious and romantic. Mel Gibson is fantastic in it and so is Helen Hunt. Together they definitely steal the show. The girl who plays Gibson's daughter is also really good. Gibson is a guy who works in a company that makes womens' cosmetics. He is divorced, but his life is going fine until Helen Hunt joins their company. She gives each of the men a box containing girl stuff like a waxing kit, lipstick, pantyhose...etc. They are told to come up with something when they see what women want. Gibson then goes to visit some girl and some stuff falls on him. After that he can hear what women are thinking and that turns his life around. It's really amazing and worth watching in a theatre and paying for the DVD!
Rating: Summary: Chick flick Review: Need I say more? A delightful and talented cast get thier paychecks and keep thier popularity in check, by doing a cutsie date movie in between thier serious roles. Mind reading is not a new idea, but it certainly has potential for interesting situations on the big screen. It falls short in this department though, despite the cast's charm. It does'nt surprise me that this movie was pretty much put together by women, because it certainly reflects a chick flicks common traits: Only verbal communication (no action in any scene), every person is extremely clean cut with no flaws (whether it be the body, dressing style, etc.), all camera shots are in settings as clean cut as the people, there is'nt any emotional turmoil other than broken hearts (no one gets cancer, is on heart medication, etc.), usually they have a lot of cutsie kid shots (Like children singing in a school play), etc, etc. But before the feminists hunt me down, let me say that I do enjoy an occasional chic flick, as long as there is some reality involved, or there is a lot of comedy. What Women Want is not a movie I would pay to see, but it is fun enough to watch when you're at home on a rainy day.
Rating: Summary: Star power can't save romanitc comedy Review: I didn't like What Women Want very much, but it's only fair to say that this boxoffice hit entertained a lot of moviegoers, as well as a number of critics. Sometimes a reviewer, like anybody else, finds himself at odds with the majority. Because my opinions are published months after a movie's initial release, I at least know when mine is a minority voice. What Women Want is a satirical romantic comedy about a guy named Nick [Mel Gibson] who discovers he can read women's minds. This occurs after a night during which Nick, attired in panty hose, slips and falls, along with the hairdryer he is holding, into a bathtub full of water. [You'll have to see the movie to find out why he is dressed the way he is.] Stunned by a mighty electric shock, he passes out. His new psychic ability is revealed to him the following morning. Nick is a hot commodity at a big advertising agency. He is quite the charmer, but he treats women like objects. Now that he can hear their thoughts, however, he learns that - surprise! - many women are rational, intelligent beings. He quickly learns that his ex-wife thinks he's an idiot, his daughter thinks he is a lousy father, and at work, the girls' opinions range from indifference to outrage. To make matters worse, his new boss, Darcy [Helen Hunt], now has the position he thinks he should have been given. People rarely change overnight, so the conniving Nick decides to use his new talent to his own advantage. He will use it to seduce women and to get Darcy's job by artfully stealing her ideas and making them his own. Too bad for Nick that he also finds Darcy so attractive. What Women Want is Gibson's first romantic comedy in nearly a decade. Ms. Hunt had a much better role as a woman who reforms a man in As Good as it Gets. Marisa Tomei and Bette Midler are very effective in small parts. The best character is Nick's daughter Alexandra, who is undergoing major teen angst. Ashley Johnson does a remarkable job of playing her. Why did I have problems with the movie? In part, it's because producer and director Nancy Myers, whose work [Father of the Bride, The Parent Trap, I Love Trouble] I've never cared much for, is in charge of a story idea that seems to be too clever for her abilities. Also, with a woman at the helm, you might expect that the female characters would think some interesting thoughts. Sadly, what these women have on their minds is so stereotypical and mundane that we wind up learning nothing new about what women want. Certainly some of the thoughts are hysterically funny, but I anticipated at least one or two fresh insights. Lastly, What Women Want is way too long. There is a silly pseudo-Freudian flashback used to explain why Nick is the way he is with women. It's unnecessary and pointless, as is a subplot concerning Nick and a female file clerk who thinks everyone ignores her. These scenes take up twenty minutes, explain nothing, and worst of all, aren't the least bit funny. Of course, several million viewers might disagree with me.
Rating: Summary: An entertaing light comedy. Review: Chauvinistic Ad Man (Two Time Oscar-Winner:Mel Gibson), who is a lady killer but doesn't have a clue about woman wants in a man. When he accidently shocks himself, the next day, he discovers-he has the Gift to hear-What Woman Thinks, Knowing any Woman, thier desire and in a man, they want. He becomes to accpet his gift to become a better man and more sentitive to woman until he falls in love with his new Boss (Oscar-Winner:Helen Hunt). Directed by Nancy Meyers (Co-Director:Father of the Bride) made a clever light-hearted fantasy comedy film with Terrific Comic Performances by Gibson and Hunt. One of the Highest Grossing Films of 2000. An surprisngly wonderful good film. DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1) transfer and an fine Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD's has good extras as:An running Commentary Track by the Filmmakers, Behind the Scenes Feautrette and More. This is a Winning film is for anyone is on the mood for a different romance, which will surprise everyone. Grade:B+.
Rating: Summary: Very funny... on the surface Review: I was really looking forward to this movie when I saw the previews, mainly because it starred two of my favorite actors; Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. I must say I was slightly disappointed... but only slightly. It is a very funny movie. Mel plays Nick, a shallow womanizer who suddenly has the ability to hear what females are thinking (all females, including dogs). Nick, while a basically decent sort of guy, is not altogether likeable, especially if you have strong values about feminism. Mel's portrayal is excellent, especially during scenes of outrageousness (like the scenes where he tries the feminine products). But, his character is too superficial to feel for. Helen Hunt's character Darcy, on the other hand, is real and down to earth, and very likeable. There is one poignant moment when Nick uses his "gift" to help a girl who might commit suicide. If there were more moments like this in the film, it would have been much more substantial and enjoyable movie. There was one whole area of the film that made no sense to me -- there's a girl in a coffee shop with whom Nick had always flirted... she had always made it clear that she was interested... but, only after Nick gets his new ability does he ask her out. But, he's too preoccupied with Darcy to take their relationship seriously. I was left thinking, "What was the point of that?" Overall, it's a very funny, but superficial romantic comedy (with a somewhat predictable ending).
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