Product: What Women Want [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 2.0
uneven and a bit stretched out
**1/2 In �What Women Want,� Mel Gibson plays an ad exec so misogynistic in his outlook that he makes Henry Higgins look like Richard Simmons. A confirmed bachelor, he basically sees women as little more than sex objects to be wooed, made love to and discarded at his own convenience and pleasure. Suddenly one day a freak accident occurs, allowing Nick the ability to overhear what women are thinking. First he is stunned to discover that many of the women around him find him to be a crass, obnoxious male chauvinist. Then he realizes that knowing what women want beforehand might come in very handy in helping him in his conquests. Finally, he comes to empathize with the struggles women face in their lives, particularly having to deal with boorish oafs like him.Like most movies based on a gimmick, �What Women Want� offers both good and bad elements in about equal measure. On the positive side, the gimmick itself is a clever one � as long as it remains fresh that is. It�s fun watching Nick get his comeuppance as he comes to learn that what he thinks is attractive behavior to women is actually the very thing that turns many of them off. However, as is usually the case in these films, the gimmick eventually begins to wear thin, and when Nick starts going the reform route, becoming, in effect, a �sensitive man,� the film loses its satirical bite and becomes soft and squishy. (Actually, this theme was explored to much sharper and more hilarious effect in �Tootsie� almost 20 years ago). This kind of plotting was a staple in the TV series �Bewitched,� but there it was forced to wrap itself up in less than 30 minutes, thus avoiding the problem of diminishing returns. This film, which runs a needlessly long 126 minutes, ends up exhausting the possibilities of the premise quite early on. We always know where the story is headed so we simply wait around for the events to play themselves out. Moreover, the filmmakers want to cover far more ground than they are able to in one film. Time and again, we find ourselves deflected from the core element of the film � Nick�s romance with a fellow advertiser played by the always wonderful Helen Hunt � by side forays involving his teenaged daughter, a coffee shop employee, and even a suicidal clerk at his office. I suppose this is an admirable attempt to give a fuller dimension to Nick�s life and character, but the strands are never very fully developed and they end up attenuating the romance at the film�s core.Gibson does a very fine job parodying his macho tough-guy image and Helen Hunt brings her unique glow to a woman who, though she finds herself at the top of the corporate world, still yearns for the peace and serenity that only a life of casual simplicity can bring. In an amusing casting coup, Alan Alda, long associated with �sensitive man� roles in the 1970�s and �80�s, appears as Nick�s boss.�What Women Want� offers some excellent performances and a few funny moments � but the limitations imposed on it by its gimmicky nature ultimately do it in.