Distributed by

Warner Home Video

Cert:

Cat.no: D 093244

Running time: 121 minutes

Year: 2000

Pressing: 2001

Region(s): 2, PAL

Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1

Languages: English

Subtitles: English

Widescreen: 1.85:1

16:9-Enhanced: Yes

Macrovision: Yes

Disc Format: DVD 9

Price: £19.99

Extras: Audio commentary, Interviews, Interactive Quiz, Trailer, Featurette, Easter Egg

Director:

Nancy Meyers

Cast:

Mel Gibson, Helen Hunt, Marisa Tomei, Alan Alda, Mark Feuerstein, Lauren Holly, Bette Midler

The fairer sex are an enigma - an elusive conundrum - to many men... not least to one Nick Marshall esq., a particularly macho advertising exec who's made his living from less-than-illuminated spins on the market appeal of scantily-clad young ladies.

As the world changes, so society evolves, attitudes and perceptions invariably alter, but all of this has passed him by. He's the epitome of the serial womaniser with sexist male attitudes, but in his line of work such outdated thinking spells disaster as the failure to recognize the importance of targeting a more female-oriented clientele means missing out on some very sizable chunks of the corporate pie.

Having been introduced this 40-something divorcee and absent father (played with real panache by an on-song Mel Gibson), whose world is about to be turned upside down in a rather unexpected manner, this wonderfully smart romantic comedy from director Nancy Meyers (The Parent Trap) sets up the story with consummate skill and incisive, chucklesome humour. No opportunity is passed up for a gag, no angle uncovered by a surprisingly balanced and ultimately touching script. There is an almost wilfully subversive joy taken in throwing a few risque lines of dialogue into the mix, or turning conventional cinematic preconceptions for this genre on their head.

The premise - guy wakes up after an accident able to actually hear women's thoughts - may be far-fetched, but the film's masterstroke is to not only maximise the comedic potential of this phenomena, but to inject some credible insight to What Women Want's gently unfolding central romance.

Shades of classic onscreen Hollywood courtships from decades long ago characterise the scenes with Gibson and a typically marvellous Helen Hunt, who as ever brings an immeasurable class to proceedings. Her presence, and inherently intelligent approach to portraying a fairly complex and important role, helps to take a project that could have descended into an excuse for a series of cheap shots at sexual stereotypes and raises it to something truly affecting.

Let's hear it, too, for the rest of a quality cast. Marisa Tomei (where did she disappear to in the latter-half of the 90s?) gives another adorably ditzy performance as a sex-starved coffeehouse waitress, providing some unforgettable moments along the way to aid Nick/Gibson's journey to his uniquely personal Damascus. An uncredited cameo from Bette Midler is comparitively brief but equally memorable, while the likes of Lauren Holly and Alan Alda do exactly what's required of them.

Essentially, What Women Want is an unashamed crowd-pleaser, but in the very best sense. It will inspire a varying degree of wide-ranging recognition in anyone with a pulse, while entertaining them courtesy of a charming and wryly funny take on the human condition and its attendant emotional tribulations. All that lets the film down is a rather hurried and unsatisfying resolution.

OVERALL

Review copyright © Jason Maloney, 2001.