Product: What Women Want [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 4.0
Definitely What I Want
Now here's a great movie. You got Mel Gibson playing a chauvanistic ad executive whose only primary goal in life is to get ahead in the business world, be a mediocre father, and nail every woman he possible can. Doesn't sound that appealing actually, does it? But alas, it makes for a brilliantly funny movie.Gibson plays Nick, who lives each day to his Frank Sinatra records. He's crude and brash, but those baby blues are hard to resist. When he thinks he's about to be promoted, he learns that his boss hired a woman named Darcy (played by Helen Hunt)for the job he desperately wanted. The first thing she does is assign a fun project for all her fellow advertisers-- try out several women's products (mascara, lipstick) and come up with a tag line for them. Nick is, of course, totally annoyed, but he does it anyway, falling in the bathtub after slipping on little bath pearls and electrocuting himself with a hair dryer. And BAM! He can suddenly hear what women think. What he at first sees as a curse, a therapist (played by a funny Bette Midler) tells him he's got a power most men dream of-- he knows what women want! So the story unfolds with Nick learning about the women in his life and even having an actual relationship with Darcy.This movie is funny and smart, and I never pictured Gibson in this role, although he fits it like a glove. The best kind of movie is the one where you actually believe the actors to be the people they're playing. Gibson has that effect nailed. The movie could have, however, done without the romance actually. Yes, perhaps that's odd of me to say considering that many people will class this movie as a romantic comedy. It would have been just fine with Nick learning about himself and seeing what exactly he could do to make the women around him feel less offended.Bottom line-- this movie is definitely worth seeing. I recommend it to any man who doesn't know what women want at all to perhaps get a few pointers from a fellow clueless man. And those baby blues of Gibson's will have women swooning. It's well done, well directed, well acted, and well played out. See this one!