What Men Want - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

What Men Want

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
For those of you old enough to remember Mel Gibson in his prime, What Women Want was probably one of the last major releases the actor did before he got blackballed in Hollywood due to his alcoholism that sent him spiraling downhill fast. It wasn’t the typical romantic comedy fare that Gibson was known for, but it was a fun change of pace for the good looking actor, and this natural boyish charm made a silly comedy rather fun. I have a special place in my heart for the film (even my wife rolls her eyes when I drag my imported Blu-ray out to watch now and again), and was hoping that the release of What Men Want would prompt Paramount to FINALLY put the film out on blu-ray domestically, but sadly I’ll have to make due to with my weak transferred import for the time being.

Now, to add insult to injury, not only do we NOT get What Women Want on Blu-ray, What Men Want is excruciating as a movie itself. A gender bending sequel/remake to the lighthearted original, What Men Want is a cliched film that uses the exact same narrative framework the original had (main character is a jackass business person, gets psychic powers to hear male thoughts, uses them to advance her career, and ends up ruining her romantic relationship only to learn her lesson at the last moment, lose her powers and use what she learned to live happily ever after….there, you’re done), but also utilizes some painful script writing, unfunny comedians, a “the world is rigged against us women!” battle cry that just doesn’t ring with any authority whatsoever.

Ali Davis (the lovely Taraji P. Henson) is a power house of a sports agent, and she’s about to make partner in her firm. Drunk on her own successes, Ali’s rise comes to a screeching halt when she’s shafted by upper management and the partnership position is given to a brown nosing guy with nothing near her accomplishments (of course it’s because the evil men’s club thinks less of her due to being a black woman), and the only way that she can gain back that partnership is by signing the single biggest upcoming NBA draft pick in the league, one Jamal Berry (Shane Paul McGhie) and his oddball manager/father, Joe “Dolla” Berry (Tracy Morgan).

Her goals seem a bit lofty, but things change for the better when after a visit from a psychic at her friend’s bachelorette party leaves her with the unwanted ability to hear men’s thoughts. Using this to her advantage, Ali starts manipulating every male around her, from the Berry’s to her new love interest Will (Aldis Hodge), to her coworkers and assistant. However, as was the case with What Women Want, Ali’s own arrogance and manipulations are her downfall, as no matter how well she can “read” someone with her powers, all is for naught if she’s ruining her relationships and as she says in the final plea to Will “being a horrible person” in general.

Yayyyyyyy! Happy ending! Unfortunately for us viewer What Men Want is NOT a worthy sequel to the 2000 What Women Want with Gibson. Taraji P. Henson makes for a solid character, but it’s the script that support hers and the comedians and cameos around her that ultimately is the downfall of the movie. The film tries to hamfistedly cram in tons of social commentary about how Ali is held down by other people’s expectations, and the men in the “good old boys club” of partners do everything humanely possible to be as misogynistic as possible short of twirling their villain mustaches and tell Ali their plan to dominate the world.

The humor is nonexistant for the most part, with Ali’s female friends having some of the worst comedic timing in the industry, and Tracy Morgan being Tracy Morgan. I’m not a wild fan of Morgan’s comedy, but if you’re a fan of the actor then you might get a kick out of some of his stings. On the flip side, there are some genuinely solid moments to the film. Aldis Hodge is is a good grounding character for Ali’s over the top attitude, and there’s a cameo by Kellan Lutz of Twilight fame which actually got me to laugh out loud. Richard Roundtree (good old Shaft himself) does what he can as Ali’s dad, but past those fleeting moments, What Men Want is a train that’s jumped the rails and careening wildly out of control into a ditch.




Rating:

Rated R for language and sexual content throughout, and some drug material




Video:

The one thing that doesn’t disappoint is the 2.39:1 framed Blu-ray. The digital image is shockingly clean and clear, and one of the best looking comedies of 2019 so far. The film was shot digitally and then transferred to a 2K digital intermediate for the Blu-ray release and it looks stunning. The image is given a very neutral color grading, and everything on screen is about as natural and razor sharp as you could hope for. You can see the age lines of Brian Bosworth’s face, as well as the little hairs surrounding Ali’s neck as she stumbled in from her “walk of shame”. Background are appropriately detailed, and everything is almost glossy and shiny in their appearance. Blacks are deep and inky and there is no signs of crush or major banding anywhere (just a few moments at the beginning of the film). There are some mildly soft shots inside the bar with her female friends, but other than that, this is a fantastic looking Blu-ray all around.







Audio:

Not to be outdone by the video, the 7.1 Dolby TrueHD track (been a while since we’ve seen a standalone TrueHD track outside of an Atmos core) is quite the stunner as well. Loud, raucous, and completely encompassing, the 7.1 mix hits from all directions. I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from a comedy like this, but I was pleasantly surprised at how aggressive and rich the track was. There are some dialog heavy moments throughout the movie, but there are so many times where we’re hearing the shriek of an NBA buzzer, or the roar of a Porsche engine, or the thundering LFE of the score that you don’t have time to just sit back and relax with this one. The club scene where Ali gets drunk and wakes up with her powers will literally rock you like the proverbial hurricane, and even the mild ambient noises around the office utilize the surrounds from all directions. It’s a good mix, and one that works way better than the film deserves.






Extras:

• Commentary with director Adam Shankman
• Deleted & Extended Scenes with introduction by director Adam Shankman
• Gag Reel with introduction by director Adam Shankman
• The Dream Team — Meet the wildly funny cast and crew as they take you behind-the-scenes of their comedic hijinks.
• Flipping the Narrative — Discover how What Men Want flips the script on what women must do to succeed in a man's world.
• What DO Men Want? — Laugh along with the cast and crew as they get one step closer to understanding what's on men's minds.
• Poker Night — Pull up a chair for one of the most epic poker nights imaginable.
• Ali + Athletes — Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) pulls out all the stops for her clients. Check out some hilarious cameos from superstar athletes.
• Sister Spills the Tea infomercial — You have questions, Sister has the answers! Watch music icon Erykah Badu play the hysterically eccentric psychic as she spills the tea on her mystical powers.

Final Score:
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I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from What Men Want based upon the trailer, but the movie outdid my wildest expectations and ended up being worse than I ever could have hoped for. The comedy is painful, the acting horrible except for Taraji and a few minor characters, and being that this was the perfect chance for Paramount to release What Women Want domestically on Blu-ray, I doubt we’ll see that any time soon either. The audio and video are simply fantastic though, and the extras pretty heavy for a new release, so if you’re a fan of the movie from it’s theatrical run, or are interested in checking it out you won’t be disappointed in the technical department. However, this is a film that would have me eating broken glass before watching again, so I’m going to leave you with a Skip It recommendation.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Kristen Ledlow, Josh Brener, Kellan Lutz, Max Greenfield, Paul Brian Johnson, Richard Roundtree, Aldis Hodge
Directed by: Adam Shankman
Written by: Tina Gordon, Peter Huyck, Alelx Gregory
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1, English DVS, French, Spanish DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Studio: Paramount
Rated: R
Runtime: 117 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: May 7th, 2019

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Skip It

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. So, what men want is to skip this movie. lol. Will do.

 

[Michael Scott]

Thanks for the review. So, what men want is to skip this movie. lol. Will do.

lol, couldn't have said it any better myself

 

[Todd Anderson]

"I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from What Men Want based upon the trailer, but the movie outdid my wildest expectations and ended up being worse than I ever could have hoped for."

 

[Valerius Walls]

Are there any trailers on the DVD? If there is, list them. Thank you. Because the Blu-Ray doesn't have any. Almost like Paramount band trailers on Blu-Ray. But if there's any on the DVD, list them. Thank you.

 

[Michael Scott]

Are there any trailers on the DVD? If there is, list them. Thank you. Because the Blu-Ray doesn't have any. Almost like Paramount band trailers on Blu-Ray. But if there's any on the DVD, list them. Thank you.

sorry, I don't have access to the discs anymore to check, but if I remember correctly there wasn't anything on loadup