Have you ever wondered what someone was thinking? What Men Want shows the reality of what it would be like to be a woman able to hear every man’s thought.
Taraji P. Henson plays Ali, a woman who is constantly trying to fit in with the “boy’s club” created at her work, where everyone is a sports agent. Ali thinks she is finally going to be promoted, but instead someone else who doesn’t work as hard gets offered the position. Ali is told she isn’t being promoted because she can’t relate to men. Then, after a wild night with her girlfriends, Ali meets a fortune-teller, and after talking with her wakes up the next day able to hear men’s thoughts. After some confusion, Ali begins to use the gift to her advantage to get promoted at work and find love.
What Men Want got its roots from the 2000 movie What Women Want, starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt. The premise is the same, except instead of Gibson being able to hear women’s thoughts, Henson can hear men’s thoughts.
Though the entire cast gave great performances, Henson was the perfect woman for the part. The electricity and fiery quality she brought to the role were unmatched by anyone. Her character is a strong woman who has a secret soft side, and Henson really did a great job of taking on the role.
Another treasure of the film was Aldis Hodge, who played Henson’s love interest, Will. Hodge created a character who was essentially the perfect man: strong, caring, family oriented and smart. In a phrase, he was the king of non-toxic masculinity. He brought such a loving energy to the character that was so fun to watch and fall in love with alongside Ali. Similarly a treasure was Auston Jon Moore, who portrayed Will’s son, Ben. Moore was so adorable that it made every second he was on screen a heartwarming moment.
All of the loyal Twilight fans definitely appreciated the appearance of Kellan Lutz, who portrayed vampire sibling Emmet Cullen in the young adult series, as Ali’s hot and kinky neighbor in the film. For fans of the Twilight franchise, it was certainly exciting to see Kellan Lutz on the big screen again.
The film had a lot of great moments, and overall wasn’t bad at all. The one issue with the film was that some of the jokes were ridiculously dragged out. For example, when the fortune teller, Sister (Erykah Badu), was trying to decide who to give the first reading, the scene used ridiculous slap-stick sort of humor that the movie would’ve been fine without.
By far the best part of the film was the relationship between Brandon (Josh Brener) and Danny (Pete Davidson). Brandon is Ali’s gay assistant, and Danny would always come on to Ali every day. However, when Ali was gifted the ability to read men’s thoughts, she found out that Danny was actually eyeing Brandon, not Ali. So she was able to set them up, and they were the cutest.
All in all, What Men Want was a fun, light-hearted rom-com that is perfect to see around Valentine’s Day. Taraji P. Henson and the whole cast are lovely, the plot is interesting, and the film leaves you feeling happy and empowered. It’s definitely one to see around the love-centric holiday.
