What Women Want is a 2000 American romantic comedy film written by Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, and Diane Drake. Nancy Meyers directed the film, and it stars Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt.

The movie was released on December 15, 2000, by Paramount Pictures in the United States and Canada. Icon Productions released it in other countries. Critics had mixed opinions about the film, but it was very successful at the movies. It earned $182 million in the United States and Canada and $374.1 million worldwide. The film cost $70 million to make, and it became the fourth most popular movie of 2000.

A version of the movie called What Men Want was released in 2019. It stars Taraji P. Henson, Tracy Morgan, and Aldis Hodge.

Plot

Nick Marshall is an advertising executive in Chicago who is biased toward men and skilled at marketing products to them and trying to impress women. He believes he will receive a promotion at the advertising company Sloane Curtis, but the company’s leader, Dan Wanamaker, instead announces that they are hiring Darcy Maguire, a top competitor, to help the company better connect with women. At the same time, Nick’s 15-year-old daughter, Alex, is staying with him while his ex-wife, Gigi, who has remarried, is on her honeymoon. Nick embarrasses Alex, who is upset because he is overly protective when he meets her older boyfriend, Cameron.

Darcy asks the team, including Nick, to create advertising ideas for feminine products during a staff meeting. Later, Nick accidentally falls into his bathtub while holding an electric hairdryer, shocks himself, and loses consciousness.

After waking up, Nick discovers he can hear women’s thoughts. At first, he dislikes this ability because he learns that most women avoid him and think he is untrustworthy. His former therapist, Dr. Perkins, suggests he use this skill to understand women better, noting that he could answer a question Sigmund Freud was never able to answer: “What do women want?”

Nick secretly listens to Darcy’s ideas but gradually becomes interested in her. Alex is angry about Nick’s past neglect but begins to connect with him when he takes her shopping for a prom dress. After Nick learns through his telepathic ability that Alex plans to have sex with Cameron on the night of the prom, he tells her that Cameron is not interested in her for who she is, but only for what he can do with her. Alex believes Nick is being overprotective and trying to ruin her prom, so she ignores his advice.

Nick and Darcy spend more time together and develop a romantic relationship, but Nick steals one of Darcy’s ideas for a new Nike ad campaign aimed at women. Later, he regrets this action, especially after Dan fires Darcy because of it. Nick convinces Dan to rehire Darcy, explaining that the ad idea was hers. Over time, Nick improves his relationships with women, especially his coworkers. He loses his telepathic ability during a severe storm while traveling to meet Erin, the office messenger, who had been thinking about ending her life. Erin is happy when Nick offers her a highly desired promotion.

When Cameron ends their relationship at the prom because Alex refuses to have sex with him, Nick comforts Alex, strengthening their repaired bond. He visits Darcy and explains what happened. Darcy fires him but later forgives him, and they share a kiss.

Cast

• Mel Gibson as Nick Marshall: A Chicago advertising executive, he gains the ability to hear what women are thinking. Logan Lerman as Young Nick Marshall
• Helen Hunt as Darcy Maguire: Nick's co-worker, she later becomes his romantic interest.
• Marisa Tomei as Lola: She works in a coffee shop and wants to become an actress. Nick uses his ability to win her favor.
• Mark Feuerstein as Morgan Farwell: Nick's best friend, who is mentored by him.
• Lauren Holly as Gigi: Nick's ex-wife and mother of Alex. She recently married Ted, and they leave on their honeymoon at the start of the movie.
• Ashley Johnson as Alex Marshall: Nick's daughter, who stays with him while her mother, Gigi, and stepfather, Ted, go on their honeymoon. She has a boyfriend named Cameron, who ends their relationship after she refuses to sleep with him immediately. At first, she has a difficult relationship with her father, but they eventually reconcile.
• Judy Greer as Erin: A copy clerk at Nick's workplace, she is often ignored and was not chosen for a promotion without being told directly. She is thinking about ending her life.
• Alan Alda as Dan Wanamaker: Nick's boss.
• Delta Burke as Eve
• Valerie Perrine as Margo
• Lisa Edelstein as Dina
• Sarah Paulson as Annie: Nick's secretary, whose job involves doing simple tasks for him. She finds this work disrespectful, especially because she has an education from a top university. She has a boyfriend who lives in Israel.
• Ana Gasteyer as Sue Cranston
• Loretta Devine as Flo
• Diana-Maria Riva as Stella
• Eric Balfour as Cameron: Alexandra's older boyfriend, who is manipulative and ends their relationship after she says she is not ready to sleep with him after the prom.
• Robert Briscoe Evans as Ted: Gigi's second husband and Alexandra's stepfather. He leaves with Gigi at the beginning of the movie to go on their honeymoon.
• Alex McKenna as Alexandra's friend
• Bette Midler as Dr. J. M. Perkins (uncredited)

Reception

What Women Want earned $33.6 million during its first weekend in theaters. It became the top movie in the box office when it opened, beating How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It also had the largest opening weekend in December at the time, surpassing Scream 2. This record remained until 2001, when Ocean's Eleven took the title. During its second weekend, What Women Want was overtaken by another film starring Helen Hunt, Cast Away. The movie earned $182.8 million in the United States and $374.1 million worldwide, making it the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2000.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 53% based on 122 reviews. The site’s summary states, “Although Gibson performs well, What Women Want is a traditional, light-hearted comedy-romance that does not fully use its story.” On Metacritic, the film scored 47 out of 100 based on 33 critics, indicating “mixed or average reviews.” Audiences who saw the film gave it an average grade of “B+” on a scale from “A+” to “F.”

Kimberley Jones of The Austin Chronicle wrote a mildly positive review, praising Gibson’s acting and comparing parts of the film to classic comedies but noting the ending felt “slow and drawn out.” Roger Ebert wrote that the movie “jumps between good scenes and weaker ones but is not boring and is often very funny.” Stephanie Zacharek of Salon criticized the film, saying it “treats women poorly despite being marketed to them.”

For his role as Nick Marshall, Gibson was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Film and a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor in a Comedy/Romance Film. Hunt won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress in a Comedy/Romance Film. Mark Feuerstein and Marisa Tomei received nominations for supporting roles. Tomei also received a nomination for a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, and Ashley Johnson was nominated for a Young Artist Award.

Composer Alan Silvestri won an ASCAP Award for Top Box Office Films for the movie’s score. The film received a Saturn Award nomination for Best Fantasy Film from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films in the United States. It also won the Bogey Award in Platin from the Bogey Awards in Germany. The film was nominated for Best Casting for Feature Film, Comedy by the Casting Society of America in the United States and received the Golden Screen Award in Germany.

Legacy

In 2009, the website Pajiba shared an article stating that producer and scriptwriter Peter Chiarelli was creating a sequel to a film. This new version would change the story to show the perspective of a woman who could hear men's thoughts. Cameron Diaz was considered to be the main actor. The movie was released in 2019 as What Men Want, with Taraji P. Henson in the lead role.

In 2004, the Marathi film Aga Bai Arrecha! was directed by Kedar Shinde from India. It is loosely based on What Women Want.

A Chinese version of the film was directed by Chen Daming. It was released in 2011 and starred Andy Lau and Gong Li.