What Women Want (2000)

After an accident, a chauvenistic executive gains the ability to hear what women are really thinking.

Director:

Nancy Meyers

Writers:

Josh Goldsmith (story), Cathy Yuspa (story),

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	Nick Marshall
Helen Hunt	...	Darcy Maguire
Marisa Tomei	...	Lola
Alan Alda	...	Dan Wanamaker
Ashley Johnson	...	Alex Marshall
Mark Feuerstein	...	Morgan Farwell
Lauren Holly	...	Gigi
Delta Burke	...	Eve
Valerie Perrine	...	Margo
Judy Greer	...	Erin the File Girl
Sarah Paulson	...	Annie
Ana Gasteyer	...	Sue Cranston
Lisa Edelstein	...	Dina
Loretta Devine	...	Flo the Doorwoman
Diana Maria Riva	...	Stella

Storyline

Nick, a somewhat chauvinistic advertising exec hot shot, has his life turned haywire when a fluke accident enables him to hear what women think. At first all he wants to do is rid himself of this curse, until a wacky psychologist shows him that this could be used to his advantage! His first target is Darcy McGuire, the very woman that got the promotion he wanted. But just as his plan is beginning to work, love gets in the way...

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Plot Keywords:

advertising | playboy | psychiatrist | sabotage | electrocuted in bathtub | 

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Taglines:

He has the power to hear everything women are thinking. Finally... a man is listening.

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

15 December 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ce que veulent les femmes

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£3,375,075 (UK) (2 February 2001)

Gross:

ESP 1,712,022,838 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Icon Entertainment International, Wind Dancer Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Mel Gibson waxes his legs in his bathroom, he actually did wax his legs, and it did not hurt him nearly as much as it hurt him in the movie. He kept taunting all the women on set, saying "come on, this doesn't hurt at at all!"

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Goofs

When Nick is tripping on the beads in his bathroom, the shots of just his upper body don't have any beads on the floor whereas obviously the shots of just his feet slipping do.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Woman: [voiceover] You know the expression, "a man's man". A man's man is the leader of the pack, the kind of man other men look up to, admire, and emulate. A man's man is the kind of man who - just doesn't get what women are about.
Gigi: Nick, my ex-husband, is the ultimate man's man. I probably never should have married him. I don't think he understood a thing about me.

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Connections

Spoofed in Whistle (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Too Marvelous For Words"
Written by Johnny Mercer and Richard A. Whiting
Performed by Frank Sinatra
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under license from EMI-Capitol Music Special Markets

User Reviews

A romantic comedy that a guy can see too

This is pretty much the typical romantic comedy, but with an interesting twist; the main character has the ability to hear womens thoughts. The important thing was that for it to work, the character would be placed in a lot of interesting comical situations, where you could laugh at it, without it being too mocking of womens thoughts, or too far-out to enjoy. It succeeds pretty well, however the way the character gains and loses the ability were handled somewhat poorly. The humor is good, and there is plenty of it, throughout the entire runtime. The characters were believable, and the main character eventually grew to be likable. The plot was good, and the acting likewise. The only thing that brings the movie down, is the poor execution of the gain/loss of the ability to hear womens thoughts, and the sugar-sweet ending, that was too predictable and plain boring, as anyone who's seen one of the hundreds(possibly thousands) of romantic comedies out there. No actual new stuff brought to the table, apart from the interesting and original concept of a man being able to hear what women are thinking. OK for a romantic comedy. 7/10