Taraji P Henson Got Game
She Hears Men's Thoughts in What Men Want
Once upon a time, there was a Mel Gibson movie called What Women Want, the 2000 social comedy about a loathsome sexist who, after a bump on the head, can suddenly hear exactly what women are thinking. Horrors! Under the direction of the brilliant Nancy Meyers (Something’s Gotta Give), the rather thin premise ends up being a pretty good study on gender relations, showing how men should really listen to women more closely, enabling them to be more empathetic to women’s needs.
Almost twenty years later, the stiletto is on the other foot in Meyers’ rebooted female version of the tale, What Men Want. Director Adam Shankman, who has been smartly focusing much of his recent music video work on female singers—Carrie Underwood, Mary J Blige, Miley Cyrus—is behind the camera of what looks to be a hilarious comedy. Starring the extraordinary Taraji P. Henson, who should’ve been nominated for an Oscar for her role in Hidden Figures, as Ali Davis, a sports agent who is passed over for a promotion in her male-oriented field because of her gender. In the words of her boss, “You just don’t get men.”
After drinking a disgusting potion from a freaky soothsayer—not to mention a nasty bump on the noggin—she wakes up…woke, and can hear every silly, asinine, profound, and damn funny thought that runs through the minds of the men in her life including Tracy Morgan (30 Rock), Pete Davidson (SNL), and Max Greenfield (New Girl). Realizing the gift she’s been given, she takes full advantage, maneuvering her way up the ladder to grab the job she so justly deserves.
What Men Want opens February 9, 2019.
