What Men Want - yet another gender-flipped remake

trailer review

Thanks to Hollywood’s never-ending fondness for recycling ideas, we are now getting a new film inspired by the very mediocre Mel Gibson-starring romantic comedy What Women Want. Because everything in existence must be remade, obviously.

Director Adam Shankman and co. have taken the concept behind the 2000 Nancy Meyers film and flipped the gender to come up with – you guessed it! – What Men Want, a (hopefully amusing) look at what would happen if a woman could hear men’s inner thoughts.

The terrific Taraji P. Henson plays the lead role, portraying a sports agent who is passed up for a promotion and told it’s because she “doesn’t connect with men”. An encounter with a peculiar psychic leaves her with the ability to hear what men are thinking. She quickly realizes that she can use her new powers to her advantage in order to get ahead in a "man's world".

It appears the project aims to take a dated movie and update it for the #MeToo era. The filmmakers have the opportunity to ride the current waves of change and take a look at what it’s like for a woman to get ahead in a corporate career while exploring how men think about and objectify women. How well and sensitively the film tackles these subjects, of course, remains to be seen.

It is great to see Henson – who seems charming and feisty in the clip – as the protagonist of the movie. The supporting cast – which includes Tracy Morgan, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Josh Brener, Tamala Jones, Phoebe Robinson, Max Greenfield, Jason Jones, Brian Bosworth, Erykah Badu, Pete Davidson, and even features cameos by Shaquille O'Neal and Mark Cuban – is also extremely impressive. (And there is no Mel Gibson is sight, which is always a good thing.)

There is nothing particularly exceptional or inventive about the trailer though, and it doesn’t ever go in a very exciting, unexpected direction. Plus the movie clearly targets fans of raunchy comedies, and seems reliant on lots of swearing and adult humour, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Still, if you enjoy wacky, raunchy wit, then this gender-flipped revisit might be worth checking out. It could potentially be fun to get a female perspective on the idea. We do hope Shankman can give the concept a fresh spin and make good use of Henson and her co-stars’ considerable acting talent.

When Men Want arrives in cinemas on 8th February this year.

- Sameen Amer

The Express Tribune Blogs - 15th January, 2019 *