What Women Want (2000)
Directed by Nancy Meyers
Advertising executive Nick Marshall is as cocky as they come, but what happens to a chauvinistic guy when he can suddenly hear what women are thinking? Nick gets passed over for a promotion, but after an accident enables him to hear women's thoughts, he puts his newfound talent to work against Darcy, his new boss, who seems to be infatuated with him.
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She also directed the amusing update of Disney’s The Parent Trap and co-wrote Private Benjamin, Father of the Bride, and Baby Boom.
As a writer, Meyers is the perpetrator of "Baby Boom," "Father of the Bride" and "I Love Trouble."
It’s about as high concept as today’s comedies get, and guided by Meyers’ fine-tuned hand, it really works (she wrote Protocol and Baby Boom, and wrote/directed the satisfying update of The Parent Trap ).
As a writer, Nancy Meyers has specialized in taking dusty, dog-eared concepts and refashioning them into bright, contemporary comedies ("Private Benjamin," "Baby Boom, "Father of the Bride").
She also directed the amusing update of Disney’s The Parent Trap and co-wrote Private Benjamin, Father of the Bride, and Baby Boom.
As a writer, Nancy Meyers has specialized in taking dusty, dog-eared concepts and refashioning them into bright, contemporary comedies ("Private Benjamin," "Baby Boom, "Father of the Bride").
For another, Nick Marshall's character is such an anachronistic Rat Pack knockoff, down to the lipstick kiss on his face, his love of Frank Sinatra and his willingness to break into a Gene Kelly-influenced soft shoe at the slightest provocation, that you'll think at times you've wandered into the long-delayed remake of "Ocean's 11."
It’s about as high concept as today’s comedies get, and guided by Meyers’ fine-tuned hand, it really works (she wrote Protocol and Baby Boom, and wrote/directed the satisfying update of The Parent Trap ).
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For one thing, the film's underlying plot of a rivalry between two advertising executives, one a hard-working woman, the other a womanizing man who takes unfair advantage of her, is rather close to the outline of that archaic 1961 Doris Day-Rock Hudson vehicle "Lover Come Back."
In "What Women Want," the blue-eyed star of "The Patriot" and "Braveheart," proves a natural at playing a cocky womanizer.
Acclaimed as an action star in the Lethal Weapon and Mad Max anthologies, a historical widescreen fancier earlier this year with The Patriot and his 1995 award-winning Braveheart, Mel Gibson�s roguish advertising executive in What Women Want takes a sidestep, showcasing his hitherto second-tier romantic comedy talents that borrow a whimsical wink from Maverick and a lateral pass from the head strong arrogance and lunacy of Detective Sergeant Martin Riggs.
Meyers is revisiting this turf, having directed the Steve Martin remake of Father of the Bride, and creates a fertile comic showcase for the eager Gibson.
She also directed the amusing update of Disney’s The Parent Trap and co-wrote Private Benjamin, Father of the Bride, and Baby Boom.
As a writer, Meyers is the perpetrator of "Baby Boom," "Father of the Bride" and "I Love Trouble."
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The problems with this film can mostly be pegged on Meyers (director of "The Parent Trap" remake ), who seems to have been timid about taking command of her stars.
Similar to director Nancy Meyers' last outing The Parent Trap, this comic melodrama doesn't take many risks or explore any new territory.
She also directed the amusing update of Disney’s The Parent Trap and co-wrote Private Benjamin, Father of the Bride, and Baby Boom.
It is cleverly written, well-acted and well-directed by Nancy Meyers (who directed the remake of "The Parent Trap").
It’s about as high concept as today’s comedies get, and guided by Meyers’ fine-tuned hand, it really works (she wrote Protocol and Baby Boom, and wrote/directed the satisfying update of The Parent Trap ).
But the actual film, by chick-flick writer/producer Nancy Meyers, whose only directing credit before this is 1998's The Parent Trap , is, I must admit, better than the sum of its parts.
In the supporting cast arena, Ashley Johnson (1999's "Anywhere But Here") has the most significant role, and is highly effective as Nick's bitter daughter Alex. Johnson paints Alex as a realistic, likable, if occasionally stubborn teenager, and has what are questionably the best scenes in the movie, including a delightful montage of Nick helping her to pick a prom dress, and a late, heartfelt scene where, for the first time in her life, Alex finds herself being able to open up to her father.