Taglines: She can hear men’s thoughts. Let the games begin.
Sports agent Ali Davis (Taraji P. Henson) gets up extra early to rack up clients and stay on top of her co-workers. She is helped by her assistant Brandon (Josh Brener) as he escorts her to her job at Summit Worldwide Management. Ali is confident that she will get a partner promotion that she has been working extra hard for. On the elevator down, Ali sees her handsome neighbor that she refers to as “Captain Fucktastic” (Kellan Lutz). She tries to get his attention but cannot since he’s listening to music. She tells Brandon that she wishes she could find out what’s going on inside his head.
The pair arrive at SWM, which is mostly male-dominated. Ali gathers around with the other guys for a meeting in which her boss Nick (Brian Bosworth) is getting ready to select the new senior VP, and he tosses a football to his pick. Ali intercepts it, thinking it was for her, but it was to Eddie (Chris Witaske), a guy sitting two seats next to her. Ali confronts Nick to find out why she wasn’t promoted. Nick acknowledges that Ali is a hard worker but he says she just doesn’t connect well with the other men. Ali storms out and announces to everyone in the building that she WILL sign rising basketball superstar Jamal Barry (Shane Paul McGhie) and prove to others why she deserves the promotion.
Ali goes to spend time with her father Skip (Richard Roundtree) at the boxing gym he manages before going to grab dinner with him. Skip points out a new bartender named Will (Aldis Hodge), whom Ali finds attractive. She stays there to introduce herself, and Will makes her a special cocktail. They go back to his house to have sex, but Ali is overly aggressive. In the morning, she wakes up to find Will’s son Ben (Auston Moore) wearing her panties on his head. She realizes she is late for work, and as she runs out, she sees a picture of Will with his wife. Dismayed that he failed to tell her about being married with a kid, Ali leaves quickly.
Ali goes to meet her co-workers as they try to work out a deal with Jamal and his father Joe Dolla (Tracy Morgan), who wants a magazine cover position. However, Ali has to negotiate with basketball legend Lisa Leslie to share with Joe. Lisa refuses, which throws Joe’s intentions to work with Ali out the door. To make things worse, Brandon points out to Ali that she has a used condom stuck to her back.
Ali joins her best friends Mari (Tamala Jones), Olivia (Wendi McClendon-Covey), and Ciarra (Phoebe Robinson) for Mari’s bachelorette party. The others see that Ali is feeling down, but they agree with her being bad with men. Olivia then mentions that she hired a psychic named Sister (Erykah Badu) to read their fortunes. Ali goes first, and Sister reads her cards to determine Ali’s work frustrations and a potentially budding relationship with Will. When Ali mentions her troubles, Sister gives her a foul-smelling tea to drink to help her. Later, the ladies go out to a club to dance. Ali gets drunk and goes to dance, only to end up tripping and knocking herself unconscious.
What Men Want is a 2019 American romantic comedy film directed by Adam Shankman and starring Taraji P. Henson, Aldis Hodge, Josh Brener, Erykah Badu, Richard Roundtree and Tracy Morgan. The film is a loose remake of the 2000 film What Women Want. The plot follows a woman who — after drinking a potent concoction given by a shaman — gains the ability to hear men’s inner thoughts. The screenplay was written by Jas Waters and Tina Gordon Chism.
The film was released in the United States on February 8, 2019, by Paramount Pictures and BET Films. It grossed over $72 million worldwide. Like What Women Want, it received mixed reviews from critics, although Henson’s performance was praised.
What Men Want (2019)
Directed by: Adam Shankman
Starring: Taraji P. Henson, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Max Greenfield, Kellan Lutz, Pete Davidson, Aldis Hodge, Tamala Jones, Erykah Badu, Josh Brener, Richard Roundtree, Tracy Morgan
Screenplay by: Tina Gordon Chism, Peter Huyck
Production Design by: Mark Hutman
Cinematography by: Jim Denault
Film Editing by: Emma E. Hickox
Costume Design by: Sekinah Brown
Art Direction by: Rachel Block
Music by: Brian Tyler
MPAA Rating: R for language and sexual content throughout, and some drug material.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: February 8, 2019
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