I’ve given my thoughts on the remake and since I liked it I’m glad it’s already made Paramount a profit just from its domestic theatrical release! It’s nowhere near the smash What Women Want was though. Although the original wasn’t much better reviewed, it had something very few movies have-a star with the box office clout of peak Mel Gibson.
In fact, it’s something I’d argue no film has anymore. I took a Film Finance class while a USC grad student over six years ago and the professor talked about how 20 years earlier there were a dozen true movie stars and but now there was only Will Smith. Audiences would still go out of their way to watch “the new Will Smith movie” but no one else got that treatment. Then of course After Earth came out just months later…
Professor Bernstein had his theories on what had become, by late 2012, of the other big movie stars from the 90s and early 2000s and Mel Gibson was referred to as developing too much baggage. He certainly made a comeback behind the camera a few years later with Hacksaw Ridge (amazing film BTW!) but I think he’s gotten too old to become a leading man again. Even as far as directing goes I frankly think that due to the “Me Too” movement it’s more likely he gets expelled from the Academy a la Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski, and Bill Cosby than get another nomination.
The dearth of stars who will automatically draw filmgoers to the theater anymore is likely due to larger changes-namely, the rise of streaming services and home theater systems making people less inclined to leave the house to watch movies. Even some of the most famous names like Julia Roberts and Mr. Smith himself have starred in products made for Amazon and Netflix, respectively.
The year 2000 was still a different time though. I’m one of the many people who paid to watch What Women Want in the theater. Actually, maybe I didn’t-as a teenager I often paid for one movie and then snuck into a second. Of course you could always do that then-nowadays many multiplexes try to draw people away from their home theaters with fancy assigned seats.
Sorry, I’m getting sidetracked. Mel Gibson’s charisma drew hordes of fans into the theater but that biggest strength might also be the movie’s biggest weakness. At least considering Helen Hunt’s getting cast in the female lead role. When the film first came out I read an IMDB comment that stated my feelings absolutely perfectly. I’m paraphrasing-even I can’t remember reviews word for word 18 years later-but it basically said “Helen Hunt is the worst thing about the movie. Not only does she have no chemistry with Mel Gibson, she looks like a man. Marisa Tomei is wonderful in her part but has unfortunately been relegated by Hollywood to supporting roles.”
Although the part about Helen Hunt’s looks was pretty mean, I didn’t think she had any chemistry with Mel Gibson either. Nor any charm herself. Not here, not in As Good As It Gets, not on Mad About You (which I was sometimes in the room for when my parents watched it), nowhere. The big arc of the movie was his learning to treat women better, especially her, but I wasn’t rooting for that. Nick was such a lovable cad it was much more fun watching him antagonize her. (Note: this isn’t the place to talk about Mel Gibson’s real-life appalling behavior. I’m only talking about the character of Nick being lovable)
And frankly everything I just said about Helen Hunt also applies to Ashley Johnson as Nick’s daughter. You can take out the part about As Good As It Gets, replace Mad About You with Growing Pains, and repeat the previous paragraph.
However, I LOVE Marisa Tomei. I’m sorry she never became an A-list star but I guess if people weren’t going to see the leading roles she got after her shocking Best Supporting Actress win you couldn’t expect studios to keep letting her headline films. I am glad she got two more Best Supporting Actress nominations last decade (one of which was for a movie I’ll write about in the coming days!) and now she makes a great young Aunt May in the MCU movies. I was also very happy to see her in Green Book until I realized that was actually the girl from Freaks and Geeks.
Sorry, I’m getting sidetracked again! Tomei captures your heart in this movie and seeing Nick mistreat Lola makes you furious. Spoiler: While she does call him out, it’s a big letdown that it only leads to him applying what he learned to treating Darcy better. I wish he’d instead had a heartwarming moment with Lola!
I recently watched the Everything Wrong With What Women Want video on the CinemaSins YouTube channel. I didn’t even realize Judy Greer was in the movie but I do remember Nick’s becoming a hero for his suicidal coworker. Judy Greer’s performance helped make that subplot so beautiful. I’m really glad she went on to bigger and better things!
Well, not that much bigger and better. Never seen her in a leading role. She’s kind of like Marisa Tomei, without even the Oscar recognition or the handful of leading roles. Wow, now I’m sad. 🙁
On the bright side, I twice saw a wonderful short film called The Best Friend and the filmmakers told me they got the idea because they watched 27 Dresses and found Judy Greer’s character much more engaging than Katherine Heigl’s.
Back to What Women Want-Sarah Paulson is also hilarious as a woman discriminated against because of her gender and super angry about it. The future American Horror Story star is someone with leading lady looks who’s for whatever reason had a character actress’s career path but it’s great to see gems like this performance from her.
Just like I said about What Men Want, people aren’t watching this movie for life lessons or to have their heart warmed; they want laughs. Same comment regarding the laughs in the remake definitely applies to the original-it’s such a high concept comedic premise it’s almost impossible to mess up and these filmmakers didn’t.
The emotional moments though-they dropped the ball with their casting choices. Sorry not sorry; that’s my opinion.
Final Verdict: Remake’s slightly better. Laughs are equal but the serious moments here are extremely hit or miss based on who’s in them.
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