Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating *
Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Kristen Ledlow, Josh Brener, Kellen Lutz, Mathias Alvaraz, Chris Witaske, Max Greenfield, Paul B. Johnson, Brian Bosworth, Kauser Mohammed, Richard Roundtree, Taj-Naranja Jenkines, Aldis Hodge, Auston Jon Moore, Devonta Freeman, John Collins, Tracy Morgan, Shane Paul McGhie, Lisa Leslie, phoebe Robinson, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Tamala Jones.
The world has got to adapt, it has to change and demand that history is written without bias, without agenda and with fairness of spirit in mind, it is the same when it comes to the arts, to literature and to cinema; what it doesn’t require is the same bad story being repeated but just in a different way, a mistake in film is highlighted exponentially and just because it is told from a altered perspective, be it gender, sexuality, race or creed, a bad idea is still unbelievably a bad idea.
A loose remake makes that tries to suggest its inclusivity may be lauded somewhere but it shouldn’t detract from the notion that a remake is meant to enhance a previous film’s reputation, not to sink it further, and to degenerate an already disastrous motion picture such as What Women Want with a frankly just as awful, somewhat equally offensive and in places showing traits of misandry. While Taraji P. Henson and Aldis Hodge do their upmost to see the film through with a sense of intelligent, even dynamic acting attached to it, the whole thing doesn’t just sink in the stomach, it actually makes anything else you see that day feel like a fairy-tale of observation.
What Men Want, will no doubt be seen as a little bit of fun, however if we are serious in wanting to equal the playing field, then surely we should be raising the bar higher, not lowering it, it is not acceptable, it is excruciating to see men act in such a way, so surely the same should be labelled at this loose remake.
If the film does redeem itself in any way it is in the message that comes from both the two leads and the performance by Josh Brener as Ali’s long suffering assistant; that to listen to understand and not aiming to reply is the best argument for knowing what everybody wants, men, women, non-binary, gay, lesbian, bisexual, it shouldn’t take the feeling of waging war in the battle of sexes, it should be to recognise that we are individuals with needs, that nobody because of their orientation or belief should be seen as a target for a cheap and in many cases, nasty joke.
A film that relies on being associated with a truly awful film such as What Women Want should recognise its own potential downfall, What Men Want, what nobody needs is a film such as this filling up their cinema time.
Ian D. Hall