She is the much respected yet ruthless black woman around her male-dominated firm who’s been getting passed over for partner for many years in a row. She, like Corporate America dictates, has always equated success with masculinity and did her best to be “one of the boys.”Įxcept Ali is obviously not a man.
Because that’s what she’s always seen around her: frivolous human connections less rooted in substance than in opportunity. The result is a resonating narrative that confronts sexism in the workplace and what it means both professionally and socially, when it’s the woman who decides to be a “ballbuster.” As we learn in the film, Ali grew up and throughout her life continued to mainly associate with men - from her single father (Richard Roundtree) to those who dominate the world of sports - and has effectively discarded romantic interests and paid little attention to her female friendships (Phoebe Robinson, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Tamala Jones). Contrary to the original 2000 film starring Mel Gibson - which sees him as a sexist male executive who gains the ability to hear women’s thoughts - this new version finds Henson as Ali, a female sports agent who’s fought so hard to fit into to the chauvinistic spaces she occupies that she doesn’t realize, until she gains the ability to hear men’s thoughts, that she’s become just as sickening and self-absorbed as the men with whom she surrounds herself.Īlso Read: 'Everybody Knows' Film Review: Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem Shine in Strong, Disquieting Thriller But on the other hand, an actress of her caliber should also be entitled to an original franchise of her own.Īll that aside, “What Men Want” is a classic example of a film that is amplified by the climate in which it’s born. So on the one hand, it’s great that Henson has this major vehicle that will hopefully catapult her to the status she deserves. Director Adam Shankman’s “What Men Want” is the latest in a long line of gender- and race-swapping remakes (“Ocean’s 8” and “Ghostbusters” are a few others) that Hollywood has determined to make its new cash cow. Henson (“Hidden Figures”) is only just now headlining her first big-screen comedy, but here we are.
It’s hard to believe that after more than 20 years in Hollywood, Taraji P.