Trailer- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeoLiTirRp4
Rating- fantasy/romance
Genre- R
Warnings- Inappropriate language/sexual situations/sexual imagery
You ever wonder what your boyfriend may be thinking about getting you for Valentine's Day every year? Well, this year it may just be this movie that came out recently on February 8, which can tell you a lot about what your boyfriend- as well as what other men- want.
A remake of 2000s 'What Women Want' comes 2019's 'What Men Want' starring actress Taraji P. Henson, who plays a sports agent named Ali who is demeaned by her male-dominated company but through the magical power of mind reading she discovers how to manipulate men to get what she wants. Yet at the same time, she also discovers what she wants as a woman.
Going into this, I pictured this to be a movie that would be released on the MTV or BET channel because it seemed like one of those films that you could just watch on a Sunday when you have nothing better to do. It would end up being forgettable but funny enough to be shown on television when they're having movie marathons. Does that mean I thought it'd be a bad movie? Not really, just decent enough to watch every six months to get a chuckle.
I would say I had some high hopes for this film, but was I proven wrong and shown how 'What Men Want' is something that I'd never want to know about again or is this something I'll always been thinking about after the end credits?
Like I said, I like to keep my expectations a little high to give the movie some credit. I don't want to sound like a cynical critic and act as if every movie doesn't reach my standards. I'm still learning all the time how to analyze films through my own teachings, but with that being said, I sat through ten minutes of this movie saying to myself that I wish I knew how to sleep on command because I couldn't bear watching it.
Oftentimes when I go see a movie, I like to bring my mom with me just to have someone to converse with and sometimes those movies contain scenes that you'd probably rather be alone for. But by the time I've reached adulthood, I've surpassed all of the awkward moments and just learned how to bear with them. However, with this...the raunchy imagery and language was so frequent that I felt myself sweating in my seat out of secondhand embarrassment. What made it worse is that that sort of comedy is made worse when it is overdone and unnecessary.
I'm pretty open as far as movies go, and I'll see anything as long as I find interest in it, but this movie wasn't a fan of build up. It could have certainly benefited from holding back a few naughty jokes in order to let the story progress, but the more it persisted in talking about sex and sex and sex and sex and sex.....
It just gets predictable.
See what I did there? The more you bring up this taboo thing, the less power it holds over your reactions. Some of the jokes could have been very funny, if only I wasn't expecting it.
Additionally, by making the jokes predictable, you make the characters predictable. Ali was pretty tame compared to the background characters, but I think her arc could've been developed better if she was played even more seriously. Like, she is the only serious character in the movie with just a few quirks and that could make her outrage with men all the more understandable because they do come off as jerks and horn dogs. However, with Ali also being a jerk and a horn dog what is the audience supposed to think? That just because she's a woman we're supposed to be supporting her? That's not how it works.
I believe Henson played Ali well for this comedy, but it still feels like a downgrade from the other things I've seen her in. I just found it to be more stiff acting at times, same to her co-star Josh Brener who played Ali's assistant Brandon, although I did find his bearable since it fit the character type he was playing. His character was entertaining and likable, same with Aldis Hodge who played love interest Will. I think out of the whole cast, Will was the most realistic as far as the wacky surroundings that he was placed in.
Other than those three, I have trouble saying nice things about the rest of the cast because they were practically the same archetype of macho men who looked down on women or only thought about sexual things, which while funny, paints a bad light on men who are not like that. I think it could've been executed better like this: Add more normal thoughts. I'm no fool, I know people say some of the most dirty things in their head, but to give the comedy a breather there could just be scenes where Ali heard people talking. No jokes, no sexual comments, just casual things. I also think the movie could've benefitted from adding some more female influence.
Throughout the movie, you see Ali's girlfriends and a couple of female coworkers, but they don't seem to drive the plot other to either stand there for background or drive a story in the most minor of ways which ultimately lead to nowhere. Even though we wouldn't have heard their thoughts, we could've gotten their input on how men seem to control them or how men are not all awful people. If it's just Ali's point of view, then there's really not much we can take from that than if we could see how other women were treated.
There's actually not too much I have to say about the plot as it felt pretty straightforward once you got past act 1 of the movie. Anything you guess is probably correct, and so there can be points taken off for that as well. But here are some things I did like about it: it was an easy movie to follow. Although it did have some moments that were unnecessary to put it thus making it a little longer than it needed to be, it can be given props for not trying to overcomplicate the story.
This is about reading minds after all, the idea of the story being realistic is out of the question. But as I said before, if some of the characters were more serious about the wacky antics happening around them then it could've been even more hilarious. And as much as I harped on how unfunny a lot of the jokes were, there were a few that shined for me that I cracked up about. I liked the delivery of the joke and it made sense to the storyline. I also enjoyed Ali's relationship with Will as it felt a little messy, but that rings true for a lot of new relationships. It was refreshing to see a relationship start in not the most romantic of ways and still fight to persevere in spite of that.
By the end of the movie, a lot of the audience members seem to enjoy it as they were applauding and shouting happily but I think I could've gone without seeing this comedy. I wouldn't say the raunchiness was x-rated levels at all, it was just too much all at once and thus made me more annoyed than it was intending. Most of the characters started at a level 10 and never came down, but as the film went on I was able to withstand it better. Once that initial shock gets out of the way, you just have to accept the next hour peacefully.
Would I watch this movie again? No.
Would I recommend it? If it's free, then I would say go for it.
I give 'What Men Want' a 2 out of 5 stars.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
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For someone who seems all about her business, Ali is blowing off a lot of people. Then again, she has her assistant...
"Just because you're gay" thank you exposition, like I couldn't figure that out.
You see, if Ali didn't say anything about Brandon being gay then the scene with the athletic guy in the elevator could have been funnier because the audience could have figured out by his reactions to the guy that he was gay.
Oh Pete Davidson, honey...they needed to do another take on that phone conversation.
Why would they not inform Ali of the guy being promoted to avoid that awkward moment where she catches the football? I feel like that was just to add in a funny joke instead of being realistic.
When Ali is embarrassed by not being promoted, the scene pans over to another women in the office who feels bad for her and I thought it would be interesting to have the two speak together about that incident and then their relashionship could develop as Ali learns how to manipulate men's mind. But no, we never see that woman again and not have any bonding with her character.
My mom brought up a good point during the film: why would Ali exercise in her regular clothes and then still wear them to the bar afterwards? I'd find that to be uncomfortable to deal with.
I get that it's a comedy, but I'm scared to think that there are women out there who really overdo it with taking control in the bedroom. I felt pain just watching it.
If Ben knew that what he was wearing on his face was underwear and not a Black Panther mask, why even do it? Surely he knows that it's gross to do that, and I don't want to hear that he's a kid and he doesn't understand. He knows what underwear is, he knows where it's been! Why make yourself go through that just to embarrass a stranger?
The condom on the jacket joke went on a little too long for me.
I knew Ali was saying the F word a few times throughout this! This time she said it very clearly, but the first few times it sounded muddled, like she was afraid to say it on camera.
Tracy Morgan, he may be a nice guy for all I know but I've never been a fan of his comedy. I feel like his scenes are going to be a challenge to push through.
Ugh, the newly renowned Christian lady trope. Let me guess, she's going to do something not so Christian by the end of the movie.
Why would the friend bring a psychic before going out to party? I could see myself doing that just because it's fun, but when I see someone else doing it it doesn't make sense.
The Uno skip card made me crack up for both its genuine humor and that it was too ridiculous that I couldn't believe that added that in. That's something I'd expect more in a parody movie.
If every single person in this movie is going to act like a swearing, horny idiot, then why should I be surprised when they do exactly that? What I'm saying is, too much of anything is not good and the point of having a character type like that is to make you laugh because it's so crazy that anyone would do that. Yet, in this world everyone is crazy to that level so it's no longer surprising- it's more annoying.
Would that penis inflatable really push Ali so hard that she'd hit her head on the counter? Also, the way she hit her head looks like the actress forced it to happen, so the hit didn't look like it hurt as much as it should've.
Why are Ali's friends in the same clothes if this is the day after the party? They could have changed.
I caught that! They changed the blue shirt guy's thoughts from, "That's my farts" in one of the trailers to "lady's underwear is comfortable."
So you're saying every male is a horny, innapropriate, disrespectful person in the office? Well...
It would've been funnier to me if instead of Brandon asking the physic if Ali soiled herself, that he thought it, and the audience could see that Ali is still listening in on his thoughts.
For someone who doesn't play poker, that Destiny's Child, 'pay my bills' montage was very confusing.
The reason I laughed at the video for Jamal is the same reason I laughed at the Uno scene. It was too damn ridiculous that I was shocked it was in the movie.
After the line that Ben says about, "ever since my mom died..." his performance sounds very stiff, like you know he was fed the lines. I won't judge the kid so much, he's only like five years old in this.
Is Ben going to fall over the railing? If so, that'll lead to Ali having to save him, which will show the boyfriend how much she cares about- oh, we're not doing that? Okay then.
That side plot about Ali's friend and her cheating fiancee felt forced into the story. It really wasn't needed, and could have easily just been a guy who she was dating before and breaks up with because she reads his mind and then finds her current love interest and sees that not all men are scum.
I don't even remember who that guy is on the television with Tracy Morgan and Jamal; was that the one who was promoted in the beginning of the movie?
There we go with a contrived break up between the two leads...as kind of bad it was for Ali to do that to her love interest (how do I remember the son's name but not the love interest?) it wasn't a horrible thing to do, compared to other things she could've done. I feel like this is dragging on something that isn't really a big deal.
Same issue with Brandon getting upset with Ali for yelling at him. Yes, she was wrong for that, but he clearly knew she was drunk. Plus, she just broke up with her love interest. I would cut her a little slack, even if I did get hurt.
I would be on edge if some promoter found me at one of my favorite spots. That's a little stalker-ish.
Something doesn't feel right with Brandon and Pete Davidson's character together. I never liked Pete's character and although I may sound ignorant for this but...he didn't come off as having a true interest in Brandon. I feel like they just did that to shock the audience, but I felt like it would've been nicer to see Brandon with that athletic guy in the elevator. Forget the whole submissive fetish, if they would've made it that the audience was never told that Brandon was gay and Ali continues to try and flirt with the guy in the elevator, but he refutes her, yet there's a future scene where it's just Brandon and the guy together and they show interest in one another, that would be pretty cute. With Pete's character, he comes off as a creep and therefore, not pleasant to imagine him with Brandon who I grew to like.
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