What Women Want (2000)

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Mel Gibson was a handsome man. During the press junkets for this film, many fluff entertainment reporters would question Mel, "so what DO women want?" The actor would laugh, the reporter would smile, and Hollywood Entertainment Report Tonight This Week Lowdown would lead off with a cute story. It is obvious that the marketing department for the studio thought they knew what women wanted and gave it to them- look at the poster and video box- 'WHAT WOMEN WANT,' and a picture of an adorable Mel grinning from ear to ear.

Mel Gibson plays Nick- the nicest, sweetest, most likable womanizer in film history. I was ready to see Mel treat women like crap, and get his comeuppance when he began to know what they were really thinking, but I was wrong. He stretches credibility by trying on women's products on the orders of his new boss Darcy (Helen Hunt). Hunt plays the exact same role she played on "Mad About You," Darcy comes to the agency with "bitch-on-wheels" rumors swirling about her, but she turns out to be nice. Couldn't we see some kind of Battle of the Sexes between Darcy and Nick, instead of sheepish smiles? Nick electrocutes himself in a bathtub with a hair dryer and can suddenly hear what women are thinking. He uses this to begin to take down Darcy, who got the job he wanted, and beds the pathetic Lola (Marisa Tomei), knowing her every sexual wish. He also begins to read the minds of his daughter Alex (Ashley Johnson), who is blossoming into womanhood and he can't do anything about it, and Erin (Judy Greer), an emotional mess of a coworker at his ad agency.

Nick beds down Lola in one embarrassing scene. He has been asking her out for months, gets her into bed, decides he loves Darcy, and gets rid of Lola by telling her HE IS GAY. I'm still waiting for the outcry from the LGBTQ+ community over this?, but then again, the director was a woman. Here is Nick, using an easy out (so to speak) to dump a character the writers should have trimmed in the first place. There's no logic behind the admission, or that Lola buys it and Tomei is promptly removed from the film. I kept hoping she would pop up later and tell Darcy this little gay fact, but nope.

Ashley Johnson is wonderful as Alex, who has obviously picked the wrong guy she plans to lose her virginity to on prom night. The role required a substantial amount of teen awkwardness, and Johnson is great. The unwatchable Bette Midler has an unnecessary cameo as a psychiatrist- her role seemed to be cast, and then written. If you are a known womanizer who can suddenly read the thoughts of the women you pursue, do you need a psychiatrist to tell you that you can use this power to get more women into bed? Like Tomei, Midler disappears, and I also kept waiting for her to pop up later. If you have an inkling about what Delta Burke and Valerie Perrine's purposes were here, you are smarter than I am.

The finale, after a VERY long running time, is a letdown. When Mel is alone onscreen, he has complete conversations with himself, like the dolt he played in "Conspiracy Theory." I wanted him to just shut up. Nick also cures suicidal depression in a nonsensical scene that is pure cringe.

This really is not a film- it is the result of test audience samplings and opinion polls- easy film making by committee, guaranteed to make money, and not harm anyone's career. "What Women Want" is lighter than a large cotton candy, and about as satisfying. Followed by a gender swapped remake.

Stats:
(2000) 127 min. (*) out of five stars
-Directed by Nancy Meyers
-Screenplay by Josh Goldsmith & Cathy Yuspa, Story by Josh Goldsmith & Cathy Yuspa and Diane Drake
-Cast: Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei, Alan Alda, Ashley Johnson, Mark Feuerstein, Lauren Holly, Delta Burke, Valerie Perrine, Judy Greer, Sarah Paulson, Ana Gasteyer, Lisa Edelstein
(PG-13)