This is the type of remake I can get behind. I have zero interest in seeing the original What Women Want for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which is that as a woman I can definitively say that Mel Gibson is NOT what we want. But this remake didn’t just rehash the same story with a contemporary facelift. We switched genders and in doing so change the perspective and purpose of this film. It’s not about some dude trying to get the ladies. It’s now about a woman (a woman of color, no less) trying to get ahead in the workplace. Shut up and take my money.
Taraji P Hensen is a sports agent at a large agency, practically the very definition of a boys club. But she’s used to hanging with the guys and stepping up to them. Maybe too used to them, because she’s always in such a stand-your-ground mode that she doesn’t know how to relate to them at all. That all changes when some convoluted stuff happens and now she can hear the inner monologues of men. She tries to harness that to her advantage, but of course it goes hilariously wrong.
Okay so I didn’t connect with the comedy and the story was uber predictable. I didn’t care though. I was living for Taraji kicking butt. Lord only knows how many times you’ve heard me say that we need more brassy and ballsy ladies in Hollywood, so for me it was enough to revel in that. I’m proud to support a movie like this and I hope the studios take note and give us more
What Men Want – \m/ \m/ \m/ \n