What Men Want
Directed by: Adam Shankman
Written by: Tina Gordon and Peter Huyck & Alex Gregory
Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Tracy Morgan, Aldis Hodge, Josh Brener, Erykah Badu, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Tamala Jones, Phoebe Robinson, Pete Davidson, Shane Paul McGhie, Richard Roundtree, Brian Bosworth, Jason Jones, Max Greenfield, Chris Witaske, Kellan Lutz, Roshawn Franklin, Karl-Anthony TownsMark Cuban, Shaquille O'Neal, Lisa Leslie, Auston Jon Moore, Charles Green
Comedy/Fantasy/Romance - 117 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 7 Feb 2018
Written by: Tina Gordon and Peter Huyck & Alex Gregory
Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Tracy Morgan, Aldis Hodge, Josh Brener, Erykah Badu, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Tamala Jones, Phoebe Robinson, Pete Davidson, Shane Paul McGhie, Richard Roundtree, Brian Bosworth, Jason Jones, Max Greenfield, Chris Witaske, Kellan Lutz, Roshawn Franklin, Karl-Anthony TownsMark Cuban, Shaquille O'Neal, Lisa Leslie, Auston Jon Moore, Charles Green
Comedy/Fantasy/Romance - 117 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 7 Feb 2018
I am not very good at chess - I focus on immediate, near-sighted moves rather than long-range strategy. However, I could see where What Men Want was headed every step of the way at least 11.5 moves in front of it. Moving past the obvious derivative nature of the premise lifted from Nancy Meyers’s 2000 What Women Want, the scenario with a gender switch is so telegraphic and paint by numbers, it feels obligatory. 'Ok, I know you’re going to hit your head, now let’s act shocked for a few minutes, yada yada yada, let’s get on with it already.' To save you two long hours in the theater, the twist is one cannot know what a man thinks, that comes from his heart, not his head. You’re welcome.
After you have a chuckle at the seven credited writers, three from What Women Want and four for this bloated installment, let’s meet our leading lady. Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson, Top Five) is in a good mood. She is about to be named partner at the male-dominated sports agency she works at in Atlanta. After a humiliating episode of expectations thwarted, the boss tells Ali, “You don’t connect well with men, just stay in your lane.” Ali’s lane are female Olympians and WNBA players, but in a fit of revenge doused with hot-headed hubris, Ali declares she will personally sign this year’s number one NBA draft pick, whose father is a controlling LaVar Ball knock-off, Joe ‘Dolla’ Berry (Tracy Morgan, The Night Before).
After you have a chuckle at the seven credited writers, three from What Women Want and four for this bloated installment, let’s meet our leading lady. Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson, Top Five) is in a good mood. She is about to be named partner at the male-dominated sports agency she works at in Atlanta. After a humiliating episode of expectations thwarted, the boss tells Ali, “You don’t connect well with men, just stay in your lane.” Ali’s lane are female Olympians and WNBA players, but in a fit of revenge doused with hot-headed hubris, Ali declares she will personally sign this year’s number one NBA draft pick, whose father is a controlling LaVar Ball knock-off, Joe ‘Dolla’ Berry (Tracy Morgan, The Night Before).
Taking far too long to arrive at Ali’s bump on the noggin’ moment, we arrive there via the film’s best supporting character, Sister (Erykah Badu), a suspect psychic who is far more equipped to sell you weed than prepare you for your future. Unfortunately, the writers opted for physical humor instead of more Sister. A prime example of the laggy script is Ali takes far too long screaming, waving her hands around, and acting like a woman possessed before Sister tells her the obvious - how about you use this new gift to your advantage? Soon enough, Ali invades the secret poker night she always knew existed, but could not locate, sidles up to Joe ‘Dolla’ and his prospect son telling them just what they most want to hear, and even begins a relationship with a lust at first sight single-dad, Will (Aldis Hodge, Straight Outta Compton).
It’s never a wise move to begin a new romance built upon a lie, but Joe ‘Dolla’ treasures close family units, and a single power-hungry woman is not who he wants shaping his son’s future. Quick on her feet and setting up the next hour’s worth of fretting, Ali passes off clueless Will as her husband and his little boy as their son. Hope that whopper doesn’t blow up in her face later on. Our collective telepathy arrives via the setups. We know Ali will trip up on the fake marriage, we know she will fall out with her friends because she can hear their significant others thinking to themselves about cheating, and we know co-worker relationships will turn around with Ali finally gaining the upper-hand before succumbing to a power she is not equipped to handle.
Henson is an Oscar nominee and always a pleasure to watch on screen and on TV. However, I wonder if anyone could successfully pull off such a manic performance director Adam Shankman clearly wants. Shankman desires frenetic, a true basket case. Someone like Tiffany Haddish most likely would have oversold that, but I suspect the direction for how Ali comes off is a bit misplaced. What Men Want would connect with the audience on a deeper plane if Ali employed her gift with more self-control and less physical flailing. The laughs do not come from the persistent slapstick pratfalls, but the more subtle humor. Erykah Badu dealing out an Uno card in the middle of her tarot deck is hysterical. Ali’s straight-laced friend, the kind who always reminds everyone how she found her Lord Jesus Christ, mentions she used to follow 2 Live Crew on tour.
The laughs lurk beneath layers of goof and even unnecessary characters. Ali’s father (Richard Roundtree) is around to show how he brought up her in a boxing gym, but it’s superfluous to the story. It seems all the writers’ ideas got through when a no-nonsense editor should have been ready with the delete button. Nobody, not the writers nor the director, considered the film would punch harder with a more composed, thoughtful humor instead of its whoopee cushion equivalent. However, take a moment to appreciate the enjoyable early to mid-'90s soundtrack. TLC's "Creep" plays as Ali first spies Will, Salt ’N Pepa's "Push It" accompanies the all knees and elbows sex scene, and En Vogue evokes sass when Ali feels ready to conquer. ‘90s R&B can’t help but enliven any dull movie. After the film reveals its expected wrap-up scenes, you will most likely remember those tunes on the way home rather than anything you just watched.
Comment Box is loading comments...
