WHAT WOMEN WANT (2000)

WATCH NOW

Watch now ▶

WHAT WOMEN WANT

If only he/she knew what I was really thinking is a common enough thought in relationships, slight and profound, between the sexes. What Women Want is a contemporary fairy tale in which a cocky macho male (Mel Gibson) magically gets the ability to “hear” women’s thoughts. What an opportunity! At first he shamelessly exploits it, but slowly the gift mellows him into the ideal sensitive guy.

The parable is primarily feminist: Men need to listen especially to the stresses and inequalities women suffer in the workplace and to understand what they need and value, if they are to be better friends, husbands, fathers, colleagues. On a moral level, the issue is compassion. You can’t truly love unless you “feel with” the other person. But honestly, this movie never credibly gets that serious.

It’s an excuse for Gibson to star in a romantic comedy and he operates several gears above normal. If his Chicago ad exec character were a car, he would be a Ferrari. His flat out best moments, though, are in a warm comedy montage of him as a dad taking his estranged 15 year old daughter shopping for a prom dress.

Otherwise, the joy comes mostly from slapstick, like Mel trying to squirm into pantyhose (don’t ask why). The ubiquitous Helen Hunt is convincing but overqualified as the vulnerable hotshot creative director who is Mel’s competition and love interest. But most of what the women in this movie think is (sadly) just as dull as what men think. Some sexual situations fly past in the general airiness, otherwise O.K. for mature teens and adults.

To watch more movies like WHAT WOMEN WANT (2000) visit Fmovies.

Also watch

• WHAT DREAMS MAY COME (1998)
• THE APOSTLE (1997)
• THE WEDDING SINGER (1998)
• ARCTIC TALE (2006)
• WHALE RIDER (2002)