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What Women Want tries just a little bit too hard to make itself look like a romantic comedy. While it may give complete satifaction to the typical female movie viewer aged 25-45, it won't do so well with a critic like me.
The movie stars Mel Gibson and starts out in his youth. His mother was a Las Vegas showgirl, so he grew up learning how to treat women as though they were sexual objects. Then it shows a typical day for Mel and his relationship with the women of his life. There's his cleaning lady, his doorwoman, the girl at the coffee shop, his errand-girl at work, his two secretaries, his ex-wife, and his daughter. What's more is a new character introduced into his life; a co-worker (Helen Hunt)who was given the promotion that he was seeking. Her job is to bring a more feminine side to the ad agency where Gibson works.
That night, Gibson is in a freak accident involving a hairdryer and a bathtub filled with water. He wakes up with the power to hear what women are thinking. He hears his cleaning lady snap at him, the doorwoman thinks he's sexy, his errand-girl thinks he's a jerk, and a staff meeting with Hunt results with him looking like an idiot. Frustrated, Gibson goes to a therapist (Bette Midler) who assures him that he has a great gift and can empower women everywhere.
Soon, Gibson is using this power to gain favor from his female co-workers, get a date from the coffee shop girl (Marisa Tomei), communicate with his daughter, and most of all, steal ideas from Hunt as she prepares a major advertising campain for Nike. Unfortunately, this raises doubts about his own sexuality. And it becomes frustrating as his feelings for Hunt grow.
There are a few problems with the movie. I could have done without Mel Gibson putting on pantyhose, mascara, and trying to wax his legs just to get a woman's perspective. It wasn't funny or necessary. And why did all the dance numbers in this movie have to come from Frank Sinatra? Of all the music that has a Las Vegas sound, the soundtrack is very limited. And why does Gibson and Hunt fall in love anyways? She tells him that she's recently divorced because of competition for success between her and her ex- husband. Wouldn't that same competition be there between her and Gibson? Even if there wasn't competition, they still fell in love in what would be only a few weeks. Another problem is that no character in this movie is broadened unless Gibson is present. Gibson talks to the other characters in the movie strictly on a one-on-one basis. No where is this expanded out to where everyone else communicates to each other. Their interaction with the outside world doesn't seem to exist.
Finally, this movie has only two choices for ending. Either he has this power or he doesn't. In either case, he learns to treat women with respect and not sexual objects. The typical Hollywood ending . . . How ordinary
p.c.
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