If anyone should reclaim the deeply problematic legacy of a film like “What Women Want” (short answer: not
Mel Gibson), then it’s
Taraji P. Henson.
The
Golden Globe winner stars in the upcoming “
What Men Want,” a remake of the 2000
Nancy Meyers film, as a woman who can read the predictably disgusting thoughts of the opposite sex.
The first trailer for the film dropped on Tuesday and if the hit-your-head-and-wake-up-with-a-different-outlook-on-life genre is your thing (we see you, “I Feel Pretty”), then watching Henson’s character Ali infiltrate the boys club at her corporate job with some new skills will do the trick.
Overlooked for a promotion and frustrated at work, Ali seeks to understand men better with the help of Erykah Badu (!), who gives her some drug-infused tea. After a wild night out, she discovers that she can hear men’s inner thoughts. Hijinks (and patriarchy dismantling) ensue.
After the original film dominated the box office with a worldwide gross of $374 million, a sequel with Cameron Diaz was batted around for a couple years before all involved lost interest in the project.
In 2017, Henson was named as the star of the film and, for what it’s worth, we’d pay good money to see her replace Mel Gibson in all future remakes of his films. We can see her yelling “FREEEEEDOM!” on horseback now.
“What Men Want,” which hits theaters Jan. 11, 2019, also stars Tracy Morgan, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Tamala Jones, Max Greenfield, Phoebe Robinson and Shaquille O’Neal.